Kid Rock - So Hott
Kid Rock doesn’t do subtle. Never has and never will. Which is probably why I’ve never been keen on his brand of sleaze rock before. But ‘So Hott’, despite being as subtle as a brick in the face, has actually grown on me. It starts as it means to go on, with thumping drums and heavy guitar riff which clearly draw on influences such as Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, and AC/DC. Probably a bit too clearly, if you listen to the Robert Plant-esque screeching that leads into the vocals.
So it’s hitting all the right buttons until the lyrics kick in. I won’t write them down here, because if I read them back, I think I’d laugh too much. Lyrically, Rock is the same as ever - crude, heavy, and simple. I finally gave in to the laughter when I noticed the final track on the single was the ‘clean’ version. My first thought was that that would have to be an instrumental. The whole style of the single is quite reminiscent of later Alice Cooper material, except without the lyrical intricacies that Cooper is capable of.
It’s difficult to see what Rock is aiming for with this CD. The sleeve lists previous successes such as filling in vocals for classic bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Metallica, entertaining the troops in Iraq, and inducting people into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ‘So Hott’ itself is given the classic ‘American Badass’ and ‘Bawitdaba’ as its B-sides, which either suggests a lack of original material, or another ‘subtle’ reminder that he’s still around. All in all, it comes off as an attempt to become part of the ‘classic’ rock pantheon. Not that that’s a bad thing. Because this single is disturbingly catchy, and actually something approaching the style of Rock’s heroes.
In a screw-the-world mood? Play this loud and proud. Just try not to laugh at the lyrics. And incidentally, the ‘clean’ version works pretty well. It may even make a radio hit. As a run-up to the album ‘Rock N Roll Jesus’, this is a pretty good sign.