Horse of a Different Color [Collector's Edition, Special Edition]

Big & Rich | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 4, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Collector's Edition, Special Edition
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• Run Time: 53 minutes
• ASIN: B00020H916
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (281 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,363 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #39 in Music > Country > Cowboy

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Country music had no bigger story in 2004 than the rise of the Muzik Mafia, a renegade group of Music City misfits led by Big & Rich (Big Kenny Alphin and John Rich, the latter formerly of Lonestar) and Gretchen Wilson. Both acts shook up Nashville's lethargic, formulaic format--Wilson with her take-no-bull brand of redneck chic, and Big & Rich with their eclectic, wild-haired blend of honky-tonk, rock, rap, ballad, and western, the shoot-'em-up motif for their traveling circus, i.e., Wild West show. Their debut, Horse of a Different Color, which showcases the pair's unusual high-low vocal harmony, is both funny and irreverent ("Kick My Ass"), not to mention clever. (They sing "bad word" in place of a rhyming epithet.) Boasting "music without prejudice" in their self-mythologizing "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)," they reference Charley Pride as "the man in black," and trot out country music's first African American rapper, Cowboy Troy. Yet race turns to "racy" in the duo's hit single "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)," the disc's least interesting cut. The easy laugh and rapped stanzas overshadow the smarter lyrics on the rest of the record, which concerns itself not only with frontier justice, but, surprisingly, with old-time religion (Jesus, tolerance, and in a song about sexual abuse, "Holy Water"). Like many professional funny men, Big & Rich--accomplished songwriters and (now) producers--are dead serious beneath it all. Even if this horse opera of a novelty act doesn't last, look for them to shape much of what gallops out of Nashville for a good, long run. --Alanna Nash

Product Description

Big & Rich Promotional package for 2004 Country Music Awards. Full CD of album Horse of a Different Color and the DVD of Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy. Only sent to CMA members.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 66 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outlaw music for a new generation! May 4, 2004

By DanD VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

"Brothers and sisters, we're here for one reason only...we present to you COUNTRY MUSIC WITHOUT PREJUDICE!"

And so begins one of the best, and certainly most daring, country albums ever recorded. "Horse of a Different Color" is not what you're used to hearing. Do I have to attempt to describe this album? Take John Mellencamp, add a dose of Skynyrd, some Kid Rock, a little Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, and a touch of Toby Keith's attitude. That doesn't cover it (I don't think you can describe this album in any way other than GREAT) but it'll do.

Big & Rich features "Big" Kenny and John Rich (former bassist/vocalist for Lonestar, before the band lost the belt-buckles). These two guys harmonize on every track--and it is oh such a heavenly sound.

Songs such as the engaging "Rollin" and the party anthem "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" (love that title) express the boys' music tastes, and why they aren't embarrassed to be rockin' cowboys in an age of traditionalism. And yet, few songs are countrier than the barroom brawlers "Big Time" and "Drinkin' 'Bout You." "Love Train" takes a look at the world's problems, from racial tentions to how the Bulls play without Jordan. "Kick My Ass" is a song for the underdogs (and the party hounds). "Six Foot Town" tells of a young man's angst to leave the town that's too small for him. "Live This Life" is a moving look at, well, living your life. "Holy Water" is a touching song about a woman who's trying to regain her innocence. The first single, "Wild West Show," is a bit cliched (but purely enjoyable) look at a broken relationship compared with the wild west.

I covered more songs than I meant to; I appologize for taking so much time. But you gotta understand--this album is excellent. I'm glad to have John Rich back on the airwaves (his solo career went nowhere), and I'm super-glad he joined forces with Big Kenny. The two are excellent singer/songwriters, and they make superb music together. Yes, their album's a little strange (what country album previously has featured a multilingual rapper?), and yes, they might get charged with pushing the barrier (both in style and lyric) a bit too far. But that's country music, folks. It's always changing; and believe it or not, Big & Rich are throwing it back to the good days--the days where Johnny Cash was still king, and rock n roll and country music were brothers.

"Horse of a Different Color" is a must-have album. I purchased it just today, and it's already one of my favorite albums of all time. Buy it, please; you deserve that much, don't you think?

37 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS CD ROCKS! country style July 3, 2004

By a country boy at heart who likes to rock

Format:Audio CD

Some reviewers have complained about the sound and the lyrics that Big and Rich are selling us. OPEN YOUR MINDS! This is NEW country, not your old fashioned Hank Williams/Willie Nelson brand of music. Not that old fashioned country music is bad. But times change and so does the music. Big and Rich have introduced a whole new sound to country music, a much overdue style.

As far as the lyrics being "empty and mindless", as one person wtote, they must not have listened to "Saved" or "Holy Water". Both these songs, among several others, have real heart and soul to them. The lyrics are very thoughtful and meaningful.

As for some of the other songs like "Rollin'","Kick My Ass" and "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy", these are just plain fun to listen to and even dance, if your'e in the mood. As for the video for "....Cowboy", it's a mix of City Slickers meets Rocky Horror Picture Show meets the girls from "Addicted to Love" video meets Moulin Rouge. It's awesome and very creative, but most of all, it's FUN!!!

That's what the whole cd is, fun. The guys can really harmonize great together and in the song "Live This Life", sound almost like Simon and Garfunkel. There are so many different kinds of music and styles going on, it'd be hard not to find something you liked on this cd.

Like other reviewers, I, too, bought this for the "Save A Horse.." song, and wound up loving EVERY song on the cd.There's ballad, rock and rollers, a little funk/hip-hop/rap, and plain old country music.

These guys are enormously talented and you can tell they are having fun making their own style of music. If your'e a fan of good music, of any kind, I promise you won't be disappointed with this cd.

Big and Rich is just what country music needed, a real shot in the arm with a dose of NEW music.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Insane and wonderful! July 19, 2006

By Sara L. Wilburn

Format:Audio CD

I heard "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" at a friend's wedding reception earlier this year, and I was blown away. As soon as the song came on, the whole room went insane, singing and stomping along. I finally picked up the CD last week after getting into Gretchen Wilson's music and hearing about the Muzik Mafia. This is the best CD I've bought all year... and this is coming from someone who used to hate all "new" country music. This CD mixes practically every genre imaginable into country, and the result is a gorgeous, complex, interesting and sometimes hilarious CD. I hope these guys continue making music for a long, long time, "without prejudice!"