| Product Summary | | Label: Wea/atlantic/lava | | UPC: 00075678328527 | | Release Date: 6/13/2000 | | Buy.com Sku: 60413043 | | Item#: MD67HS | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 25530 | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Intro ~ Uncle Kracker |  | | 2. Better Days ~ Uncle Kracker | | | 3. What'chu Lookin' At ~ Uncle Kracker | | | 4. Follow Me ~ Uncle Kracker | | | 5. Heaven - (featuring Kid Rock/Paradime) ~ Uncle Kracker | | | 6. Steaks 'N' Shrimp ~ Uncle Kracker | | | 7. Who's Your Uncle? ~ Uncle Kracker | | | 8. Whiskey & Water ~ Uncle Kracker | | | 9. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah ~ Uncle Kracker | | | 10. Aces & 8s ~ Uncle Kracker | | | 11. You Can't Take Me ~ Uncle Kracker | |
| Known to friends and family as Matt Schafer, Kracker is the man behind the turntables in Kid Rock's Twisted Brown Trucker band. Now this kickin' DJ is ready to step out from the decks to take a piece of well-earned spotlight for himself. Produced by Kid Rock and engineered by Mike Bradford (known for his work with Madonna and Anita Baker), Kracker's eponymous Top Dog/Lava/Atlantic debut was recorded on the back of the tour bus during Kid Rock's co-headlining Summer '99 trek with Limp Bizkit. The laidback Yin to Kid Rock's thunderous metal Yang, Kracker serves up a tasty serving of Detroit rock 'n roll stew, blending a little motown, country, southern rock and hip-hop. This diverse musical mix is topped off with the DJ/MC's own flowing, loose-limbed, story-telling raps.
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Uncle Kracker (vocals); Kid Rock (vocals, guitar, programming, scratches); Jimmie Bones (vocals, keyboards); Kenny Olson, Jason Krause (guitar); Lynn Owsely (pedal steel guitar); James Montgomery (harmonica); Michael Bradford (bass, programming, background vocals); Stefanie Eulinberg (drums). | | Personnel: Uncle Kracker (rap vocals); Kid Rock (guitar, programming, turntables, background vocals); Kenny Olson, Jason Krause (guitar); Lynn Owsely (pedal steel guitar); James Montgomery (harmonica); Jimmie Bones (keyboards, background vocals); Michael Bradford (bass, programming, background vocals); Stefanie Eulinberg (drums). | | Personnel: Kid Rock (vocals, guitar, drums, programming, scratches); Jimmie Bones (vocals, keyboards); Jason Krause, Kenny Olson (guitar); James Montgomery (harmonica); Stefanie Eulinberg (drums); Mike Bradford (programming, background vocals). | | Audio Mixers: Kid Rock; Mike Bradford. | | Photographer: Chapman Baehler. | | Kid Rock plays the Dr. Dre role as his protege Uncle Kracker is unleashed upon the music world with DOUBLE WIDE. The album opens with a skit in which Rock gives career and "health" advice to a seemingly humble Uncle Kracker, and melts into a world of live instrumentation, old school hip-hop rhyming, and very hot beats. | | "Better Days" has Uncle Cracker doing his best ZZ Top/Billy Gibbons, with bluesy, gravelly vocalizing. "Follow Me" has a neo-funky shuffle that evokes bands such as The Getaway People and The Push Stars, while "Heaven" mixes East Coast-inspired beats with a country-flavored chorus that's catchy as hell. "Steaks & Shrimp" offers old-school posturing and rhyming while "Who's Your Uncle?" is surely Uncle Cracker's "Bawitdaba," and his mission statement of domination is clear. "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" features instantly likeable pop choruses and "Aces & 8's" oddly combines techno influences with a C&W flavor. DOUBLE WIDE will most likely take Uncle Cracker from the trailer park to the big stages. | | Kid Rock plays the Dr. Dre role as his protege Uncle Kracker is unleashed upon the music world with DOUBLE WIDE. The album opens with a skit in which Rock gives career and "health" advice to a seemingly humble Uncle Kracker, and melts into a world of live instrumentation, old school hip-hop rhyming, and very hot beats. | | "Better Days" has Uncle Cracker doing his best ZZ Top/Billy Gibbons, with bluesy, gravelly vocalizing. "Follow Me" has a neo-funky shuffle that evokes bands such as The Getaway People and The Push Stars, while "Heaven" mixes East Coast-inspired beats with a country-flavored chorus that's catchy as hell. "Steaks & Shrimp" offers old-school posturing and rhyming while "Who's Your Uncle?" is surely Uncle Cracker's "Bawitdaba," and his mission statement of domination is clear. "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" features instantly likeable pop choruses and "Aces & 8's" oddly combines techno influences with a C&W flavor. DOUBLE WIDE will most likely take Uncle Cracker from the trailer park to the big stages. | | With Kid Rock's "Only God Knows Why" playing in the background, Kid Rock's prot?g? Uncle Kracker poses his mentor a question: "What if I don't make it?" It's hard to believe that a musician would open his major label debut CD with inspirational career advice from Kid Rock. But Kid Rock does knows thing or two about becoming a rock icon to legions of suburban teens and porn stars. As Kid Rock's self-proclaimed best friend/DJ/backup singer/multi-platinum co-writer/sidekick thug boy, Uncle Kracker has Kid Rock's MTV-ready charisma and raunchy rock-rap fur-lined coattails to thank for the existence of this album. Maybe there is something in his native waters of Detroit, but Uncle Kracker definitely takes full advantage of the opportunity and delivers an amusing, party-ready debut CD of country, rockabilly, and hip-hop-infused rock & roll that is guaranteed to please. | | Each song drips with Uncle Kracker's laid-back, white-trash, Detroit-worshiping, beer-swilling attitude. "Better Days" is a soulful, country-fried rock ode to drifting through life, ready-made for an afternoon of lawn chairs and sun. "What 'Chu Lookin' At?" is a declaration of moving on, dissing girls of the past, and partying on. "Heaven" is a memorial to the glory of Detroit that perfectly blends the twanging country guitars of "If Heaven Ain't a Lot Like Dixie" with testosterone-drenched hard rock. It's male bravado, plain and simple. | | Your opinion of Uncle Kracker, however, is largely dependent on your opinion of Kid Rock. Kid Rock's fingerprints are left all over the album, which is understandable considering he produced and co-wrote nearly every song. The album is even filled with samples from Kid Rock's breakthrough album, 1998's Devil Without a Cause. If you loved Devil Without a Cause and History of Rock, you'll find Double Wide a welcomed third helping. It's more of the same; however, Uncle Kracker provides an added dose of melody to the Kid Rock formula with his gravelly, mellow, and rather soulful voice. It lacks the mosh-pit power of Devil Without a Cause but eclipses nearly everything on History of Rock. At times, the album does sound a bit recycled, but when you're having this much fun at a party, who really cares? Who knows how long the formula will remain fresh, but on Double Wide, Uncle Kracker hits like a full house of raucous dynamite. [Double Wide was also released in a "clean" edition, containing no profanities or vulgarities.] ~ Brian Musich |
Producer: Kid Rock; Michael Bradford |
Engineer: Michael Bradford |
Musical Guests | | Kid Rock | | Paradime |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 06/13/2000 | | Original Release Date : 2000 | | Catalog ID : 83285 | | Label : Lava Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00075678328527 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Entertainment Weekly (7/7/00, p.130)
- "...An unexpected pleasure: a multi-textured melding of water-sprinkler pop, amiable rapping, free-flowing hip-hop, and blues-rock brawn....tastier than an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord..." - Rating: A-Entertainment Weekly (7/7/00, p.130)
- "...An unexpected pleasure: a multi-textured melding of water-sprinkler pop, amiable rapping, free-flowing hip-hop, and blues-rock brawn....tastier than an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord..." - Rating: A a Q (Summer/01, p.112)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...Very close to [producer, Kid Rock's] previous efforts....exhibiting a neat easy-going reluctance to rock out..." Q (Summer/01, p.112)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...Very close to [producer, Kid Rock's] previous efforts....exhibiting a neat easy-going reluctance to rock out..." |
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