Bad Magick: The Best of Shooter Jennings & 357's

Shooter Jennings | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 24, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Universal South
• ASIN: B001PCJFXK
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,062 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

In five short years, Shooter Jennings has gone from performing in the small club scene to playing for thousands, including music festivals like Bonaroo and Stagecoach to name a few. Bad Magick: The Best of Shooter Jennings and the .357's is an all encompassing listening experience of 13 fan favorites from Shooter Jennings' last four albums, plus 2 tracks never before released on CD. With one listen, fans get an idea of who Shooter Jennings is musically,with songs he has written about life, blending the sounds of country, blues and rock n' roll. This album has it all, including the ever popular "4th of July" to his cover of his friend Hank Williams Jr.'s "Living Proof". This collection is for all Shooter fans, whether this is the first album they sink into or whether they've been with him from his beginnings. With a tour starting in the spring and into the summer, Shooter fans both old and new will get to experience his music along with his band, the .357s.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Seems contractual, but good country is good country., May 29, 2009

By 

Alex Nennig "al27" (Oshkosh, WI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bad Magick: The Best of Shooter Jennings & 357's (Audio CD)

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The so-called "Country Music" we hear on CMT and on the radio isn't really Country Music. When it started, country was a form of expressing the feelings of the downtrodden, it was tales of sorrow and how the human spirit can still endure no matter how down on your luck you might be. In short, it was the blues for white people.

In modern times, most music fans shun country because, honestly, its terrible. Most of the time, instead of living up to its heartfelt and honest roots, modern country sounds like a bunch of watered down, twangy arena rock, and people are forced to endure idiotic songs about beer goggles, honky tonk badonkadonks, and how when events transpire in Mexico oftentimes said events remain in Mexico.

And while these self-celebratory, T-shirt slogan inspired tales of redneckery get airplay and sell records to people who don't really know any better, there remain a few artists on the fringe who know the real spirit of country and still create country songs that, when you hear them, don't inspire thoughts of suicide.

Shooter Jennings is one of those artists. This guy gets what country is. And he should, Waylon Jennings is his daddy. While Shooters music doesn't exactly break new ground, his mash up of Southern Rock and Outlaw Country certainly does a good job of reminding people that country music isn't a big joke.

This "best of" does a good job of capturing why he's worth your time. He puts a lot of heart into his music, avoids the smarmy cliche's of modern radio country, and his music just feels... real.

That said, I wonder if this release wasn't to fulfill some contractual obligation with his record label. The guy only has three albums (four if you count the live album), and I doubt he's done with his musical career, making this "best of" a bit premature and unnecessary.

Regardless of the reasons behind it, this compilation is a good one. Anyone who likes country or southern rock would do well to pick up some Shooter Jennings, whether it be this best of or just a couple of his studio albums.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bad Magick is perfect if you simply want to get a taste for Jennings' stuff, June 7, 2009

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Seth R (MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bad Magick: The Best of Shooter Jennings & 357's (Audio CD)

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First things first, I don't know a whole lot about Shooter Jennings, or even country music for that matter. I know Shooter is the son of Waylon Jennings, and I've heard that he is the equivalence of "cool" in the country music world. How much truth there is to the latter, I'm not sure. And that's really about it, so I'm unbiased to say the least. As a rock enthusiast I want to hear something that has grit, pertness, and perhaps some vulgarity, so I've given this Best Of collection a shot.

I breathed a sigh of relief discovering this isn't the "Yee-haw, get your boots on!" country most people identify with the genre. Bad Magick offers a variety of styles - some mellow, some upbeat, some blues, some southern rock - there's a bit of everything. I feel Jennings really has talent and isn't going for the sure-money redneck songs that get swallowed up en masse. It's like he just wants you to hear a song he wrote from the heart. I imagine the band on a front porch or in a musty church hall somewhere playing for anyone who will listen. It's genuine material.

The music spans four albums and includes a few cover songs as well (Dire Straits' "Walk of Life," Hank Williams' "Living Proof"). Bad Magick is perfect if you're like me and simply want to get a taste for Jennings' stuff. Because of my unfamiliarity I can't say if this Best Of collection truly offers all the best songs in his catalog, but based on these songs I'd say his other releases would be just as promising.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Your Daddy's Waylon, June 3, 2009

By 

Michael Kear (Enid, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bad Magick: The Best of Shooter Jennings & 357's (Audio CD)

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What a fantastic album! If you aren't familiar with the career of Shooter Jennings, this "best of" collection is the perfect introduction to his genius. From the toe-tapping honky-tonk standard of "Manifesto No. 1" to the dark and haunting "Dark Magick" to the all-out guitar-driven rock and roll of "Daddy's Farm", this collection has something for fans of southern rock, alternative country, or progressive outlaw music. Shooter Jennings is a songwriter extraodinaire. Shooter will probably never get the respect he deserves from the Nashville establishment, but for those of us who appreciate his pure poetry, art, and amazing talent, we offer Nashville the Johnny Cash salute. My advice: GET THIS ALBUM. You will thank me. And your CD player will wonder if you even have any other CDs.