Kid Rock & The Twisted Brown Trucker Band - Live Tucker (2006)

"Live Trucker" is the first live album by Kid Rock released on February 28, 2006.  Like Bob Seger's classic "Live Bullet", paying homage to the artwork right down to the typeface and also choosing to record in his hometown of Detroit, but if Live Bullet caught Seger on the rise, Live Trucker catches Kid on his decline. This isn't a hard-driving, sweaty rock & roll record; this is a Vegas revue, all glam and glitz, with its heart in showbiz. Of course, Kid Rock has always had his tongue planted firmly in his cheek when he went about his self-mythologizing, particularly on his still potent and funny 1998 breakthrough, "Devil Without A Cause", but on this live effort recorded largely in August 2004, his joking has turned into inadvertent self-parody. This wasn't the case on his eponymous 2003 effort, which may not have set the charts on fire, but it did capture him in good form, where his rough and rowdy ways still seemed roguishly charming. Here, it's possible to hear the toll that all the partying has taken on him: he sounds hoarse and winded, and when he trades lines with his keyboardist, it seems as if it's because he doesn't have the energy to finish the song, not because it makes for a better show. And while the Twisted Brown Trucker Band sound tight, they also sound too slick, never really giving this white trash rock & roll the grit that it needs. Of course, the album isn't helped by its ridiculously front-loaded sequencing, where "Bawitadaba," "Cowboy," and "Devil Without a Cause" follow back to back in the first four tracks, and his next biggest hit, "Picture" (here performed with Gretchen Wilson), also appears in the first half of the record; with the exception of "Only God Knows Why," the second half consists largely of new material, or lesser-known hits.  Other highlights are the medley of "Somebody's Gotta Feel This" and "Fist of Rage," bridged together by Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love". "Cowboy" has the Dukes of Hazzard's theme song "Good Ol' Boys" removed from it. Likewise with "Devil Without a Cause" as AC/DC's "Back in Black" was removed from the first chorus. "You Never Met a Motherfucker Quite Like Me" includes a verse of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" in the middle of the song. The album's final track is a rehearsal track from St. Louis 2004 called "Outstanding," a soul/funk cover originally done by The Gap Band.

 

01.  "Son of Detroit"   (R. Brooks, D.A. Coe, T. DeLuca, H.E. Tipton)  - 5:11

02.  "Bawitdaba"   (J. Krause, R.J. Ritchie, M. Shaffer)  - 5:44

03.  "Cowboy Intro"   - 2:56

04.  "Cowboy"   (Ritchie, Shaffer, J. Travis, J. Trombly)  - 5:02

05.  "Devil Without a Cause"   (J. Hutchins, K. Olson, Ritchie, Shaffer, L. Smith, T. Shaw)  - 6:11

06.  "Somebody's Gotta Feel This / Fist of Rage"   (Olson, Ritchie, Shaffer, Travis)  - 5:41

07.  "Picture" (feat. Gretchen Wilson) (Ritchie)  - 6:09

08.  "American Bad Ass"   (J. Hetfield, L. Ulrich, Ritchie)  - 4:10

09.  "Rock N Roll Pain Train"   (Ritchie)  - 4:05

10.  "Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp"   (M. Gross, Ritchie)  - 7:11

11.  "You Never Met a Motherfucker Quite Like Me"  (Ritchie, R. Van Zant, A. Collins)  - 5:48

12.  "Cocky"  (F. Beauregard, Ritchie, Shaffer)  - 3:04

13.  "Only God Knows Why"   (Ritchie, Shaffer, Travis)  - 6:33

14.  "Outstanding"  (Ronald Calhoun, Lonnie Simmons, Charlie Wilson)  - 5:33

Released:  February 28, 2006

Genre:  Hard Rock, Rap-Rock

Label:  Atlantic

Length:  73:29

Producer:  Kid Rock

Personnel

Kid Rock - Vocals, Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Drums, Percussion

Kenny Olson - Lead Guitar

Jason Krause - Metal Guitar

Aaron Julison - Bass Guitar

Mike Bradford - Bass Guitar

Smith Curry - Dobro, Lap Steel Guitar, Slide Guitar

Jimmie Bones - Piano, Keyboards, Organ, Wurlitzer, Harp

Stephanie Eulinberg - Drums, Percussion, Vocals

Paradime - Turntables, Vocals

Uncle Kracker - Turntables, Vocals

Joe C - Vocals

Gretchen Wilson - Vocals

Lauren Creamer - Background Vocals

Karen Newman - Background Vocals