Electric Rodeo

Shooter Jennings

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 4, 2006)
• Original Release Date: April 4, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Universal South
• ASIN: B000EPFD4Y
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #76,408 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Shooter Jennings's 2005 debut, Put the "O" Back in Country, outlined the artistic differences--and similarities--between himself and his parents, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. This second time out, his tight, raw trio bristling behind him, his vocal roar remains less weathered, though he deliberately, momentarily evokes Waylon on "Some Rowdy Women," the darkly futile "Hair of the Dog," and "Little White Lines," a fearful, foreboding tale of cocaine abuse. His reflective, vulnerable side emerges on the sorrowful "The Song Is Slipping Away" and the painfully contrite ballad "Aviators." Sly humor drives a revival of Hank Williams Jr.'s "Living Proof" that begins by paying homage to the original, luring the listener into momentarily believing that Jennings, too, is desperate to free himself from a famous daddy's shadow. It is, of course, a brilliant fake-out. Near the song's end, he and the band flip right into the famous instrumental vamp Waylon used on so many of his hits, a wise-assed move worthy of Waylon himself. --Rich Kienzle

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good rebellious rock 'n roll...country style, April 4, 2006

By	DanD - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Everybody who's anybody knows that, in the country music world today, the best music is not found in mainstream Nashville. It is instead found on the alternative scene--on hundreds of miles of two-lane highway; in a Texas honky-tonk; in the middle of nowhere, parked beneath the stars.

This is where Shooter Jennings enters the picture. The first question you must ask yourself: Is he following in his daddy's footsteps? The answer is, of course, yes--Waylon created the alt-country scene, by introducting attitude, honest songwriting, and superior musicianship. So of course Shooter is trying to live up to all that. Is he hanging on Waylon's coattails? That's something you'd have to judge for yourself.

I, personally, say it doesn't matter--not at this point in his career. Shooter Jennings is good--far better than his radio-friendly peers. Ignoring the frequent Waylon references on this album (once or twice would be oddly touching; when it's every other song, it's just a bit nauseating), we can judge Shooter's music on its own merits. And his music soars. His first album was pretty darn good; ELECTRIC RODEO is possibly even better. There are no tender love-ballads here (a superb hidden track closed out his debut record), but there are songs of living on the road, of the perils of life, of heartache, of living in someone's shadow, of the racist tendencies of swamp critters...everything. A humorous, sardonic tale of breaking up ("Aviators") stands beside the social commentary of "Alligator Swamp (The Ballad of Dr. Martin Luther Frog, Jr.)". From yearning for home to comparing life on the road to drug usage...ELECTRIC RODEO is a stellar contemporary alt-country record. Not the first of it's kind, not the best of it's kind--but probably better than much of what you've heard. Check it out. Does talent run in the bloodline? One thing's for sure--attitude still does. And, perhaps, quite a bit of talent, as well.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing, November 20, 2006

By	D. Allen "Mr. Mojorisin" (McKinney Texas) - See all my reviews

If you like country music but you think yer gonna puke everytime you have to suffer through a "country" song from Nashville these days, and you happen to like classic rock, you would probably appreciate what Shooter's trying to do here. Folks, this is the Real Deal. I don't mean real country or real rock - this is a hybrid - I mean he's making music that is honest and down to earth. A flash in the pan, he's not. He's going to be around for awhile.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars saving country music, April 5, 2006

By	Jim Easy (College Station, TX) - See all my reviews

Shooter Jennings is similar to his dad in a lot of ways...... but their main similarity is originality. On the one hand you've got this Nashville scene with people like Rascall Flats and Big and Rich who wouldnt know real country music even if it got drunk, beat the hell out of them, and ran off with their wives. On the other (at least where I'm from) there's this Texas Country that started out as original but is beginning to devolve into disposable music.....Shooter Jennings is neither... his music is the only music around that is really keeping outlaw country (real country) alive....he's got the strong rock influence (most people from the country listen to as much led zepp as they do george jones)..but he doesn't try to go punk with it like Hank III. The lyrics are about pain, loss, living through it, and paying the people back that did it to you.. what country is supposed to be about....not Ohh my woman left me ill have a good cry... like David Allan Coe says real country would be about How I Drank my wife away... or shot her for cheating on me... This album is better than Put the O Back.. and I loved that one