Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Over the past few years I have heard a couple of Shooter Jennings songs on the radio. The one that most comes to mind is "4th of July" which was a hit back in 2005, and I have heard some other songs on his radio show on Sirius XM; other then that I never really followed his career or purposely listened to his music. Listening to this album, however, has given me a better idea of his talent, style and voice.

The man does have a talent for music, I can't deny that, and he has a pedigree that should allow that. His style would probably be described as a mating of southern rock and country western. And his voice is like Kid Rock's, only he can actually sing and hold a tune.

In my opinion I would describe Shooter's music as Kid Rock, if Kid Rock just did country and never did rock/rap music, with the exception that Shooter has a better voice and understands country music better.

Highlights of the track lineup include his biggest hit "4th of July", title track of his latest album "The Wolf", a fun little southern ditty "Manifesto No. 1", a decent cover of "The Walk of Life", and one of the previously unreleased songs Shooter's version of the Hank Williams Jr. song "Living Proof".

The album has its highs, but they are few and nothing really stands out to me. Jennings seems to write and sing for himself more than the listeners and I think that holds back the music a little bit. It just isn't my cup of tea, but I do see how this music can still be appreciated and enjoyed by a fan of this brand of country, all I can say is give the songs a listen before you buy.

"Bad Magick" from Shooter Jennings and the .357s is, as other reviewers have indicated, a greatest hits CD. This kind of release often suffers from a lack of coherent theme, and this one is no exception. Rather than highlighting the many aspects of Jennings' work, it points up the fact that he has yet to find a consistent voice, in terms of both expressing himself and his sound. This is a very listenable CD, but nothing stands out and nothing compels repeated listening. Some of the reviewers here have referred to the sound as alt-country, but I would disagree with this. The sound is much closer to typical southern rock, and I can't help feeling that if Shooter and his band would move away from his country legacy and embrace rock, they would do better. PS: I have two words for the producers of this CD: Liner. Notes. If you are trying to recruit new fans rather than just recycle songs the existing fans have heard, we want to know more than who wrote each song and which previous release included it. Who's sitting in? What's the back story for the previous releases? What's Jennings' vision and driving force? (Aside from "my dad gave me this guitar but warned me about the evils of stardom"). Do us and the band a favor and help us get interested!

I have to say I was surprised to see a Best Of out there already for Shooter Jennings, I didn't think he had enough albums out yet. I bought his debut album, Put The "O" Back In Country when it was released and thought that was a great disc. It's nice to hear that Shooter's music hasn't changed much since then. Shooter (the song of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter) does country music that is a little country and a lot of outlaw and southern rock. The music is sloppy, but that's not a bad thing. Much of today's country music is very polished and shines and ends up sounded very processed. Shooter's music is real, his lyrics are a lot like his fathers.
If you're a fan of southern rock or Waylon Jennings you will really like "Bad Magick" if you're already a fan of Shooter's you probably already have these tracks (except for the two new tracks) but I think you'll like this compilation nonetheless.

With a sound that at times reminds me much of one of my favorite Southern Rock bands: Lynyrd Skynyrd, I can pop this disc in, hit play and not at all feel like I want the disc to quickly end so I can hear something else. Granted, my introduction to Shooter Jennings came much like a few other folks here have commented, via his 'hit' song 4th of July which made noise on country radio in 2005. Though I didn't go out of my way to find more Shooter Jennings music, I enjoyed that tune while it was in the radio playlists/rotations.

A few years later finds this Best of collection with that song and a collection of 14 other songs, two of which were previously unreleased (the Lonesome Blues live track, from AOL Music Sessions; and Living Proof). Also included in the mix is the live track Daddy's Farm though in listening to that track you'd have a tough time, through most of the track, telling that it was recorded live as (again, for most of the track) it lacks the traditional screaming fans that one might expect from a live recording. The crowd is there, but isn't noticable until about midway through the track as it becomes an opportunity for the band to jam. Walk of Life is the Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits hit, with this version sticking close to that classic while also exhibiting a bit of a country twang.

As a finished compilation the mix of tracks here gives listeners a nice range of the types of music you might hear from any of Shooter Jenning's previous albums. Flirting with southern rock, new country, alternate country, offering something for just about anyone to find and enjoy.

I'm going to buck the trend on this one and give it a five.

Why? Because I really liked it.

I picked up this Shooter Jennings CD because I wasn't familiar with his music. On first listen, I felt it was good. On 2nd listen I felt it was really good.

It doesn't try to be traditional country, and it doesn't try to be southern rock. It's somewhere in between. Shooter's music speaks for itself. He has his own voice and isn't afraid to go where the music takes him.

As this is my first CD of his, I'm not looking at it from a greatest hits standpoint, but rather one of his CD's, and it was good enough to make me want to seek out more of his music and tell several friends about.

In my book, that's darn good.

Music listeners looking for an album with a bit of Country paired with a Southern Rock edge will be pleased to discover Shooter Jennings and the `Bad Magick' album. This music is guaranteed to get you moving and make you try to sing along even though you don't yet know the words to the songs!

The songs are fun, serious, and soothe the soul in the way that only good Country or Blues music can.

Shooter Jennings sounds as if he is fully invested in each track, enjoying himself on the fun songs and sounding like he's giving some sage advice from someone who knows on the more serious ones.

I dare anyone to not immediately start belting out the line "Busted in Baylor County" by the time the chorus rolls around the second time while listening to the song by that name.

I have to say I've found a new artist to enjoy and will happily pick up some more of Shooter Jennings music soon.

Although mostly I listen to Rock & the Blues, I'm kind of a closet country fan. Once Vesta and I drove from L.A. to Houston with nothing in the CD player but the first two Highwaymen CDs. Just played 'em over and over. Waylen, Willie, Johnny and Chris, what a band. They were/are the best of country music in my opinion, which I know doesn't carry much water. Shooter Jennings not only carries on that tradition, but it shoots it straight into the world of rock and roll with a touch of the blues fused right into it. Some may call this country, but this is like no kind of country you've every heard.

I don't know how I missed Jennings' albums, don't know why someone hadn't clued me in, but until I listened to this one for the first time yesterday, I hadn't even heard of Shooter Jennings. Will I have now and I'll be getting his other records and the next time we make a trip to Tejas (coming up in a couple weeks) we'll be playing them all.