Kid Rock
First Kiss
Release Date: Feb 24, 2015
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, American Trad Rock, Hard Rock, Detroit Rock
Record label: Warner Bros.
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Album Review: First Kiss by Kid Rock
Acceptable, Based on 5 Critics
Based on rating 4/5
"I got them red-blooded white-boy blues," Kid Rock sings. Now 44, he finds himself looking back wistfully, tracking the passage of time. He laments that "we can't fight this getting older" — but the LP's muscular rock & roll tells another story. The Kid has no intention of aging gracefully — happily, he's as ornery and open-hearted as ever.
Based on rating 7/10
Kid Rock gives away the game in his album titles, making it plain on 2015's First Kiss that he's taking a sepia-tinted look back at his past, thinking back fondly to lost love and old tunes. In short, he's tapping into the nostalgia that coursed through his last big hit, 2008's "All Summer Long," and turning it into a full album. Generally, this means leaning hard on his longstanding Bob Seger infatuation and ratcheting up the country inclinations that turned a little too stuffy on the Rick Rubin-produced Born Free.
Based on rating 2/5
Kid Rock “First Kiss” (Warner Bros.) 2 stars KID ROCK uses the lyrics on his latest album to let everyone know exactly what he loves — and what he loathes. Loves: Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams III, Marvin Gaye, Chevys, whiskey, beer. Loathes: Coldplay, Facebook, Twitter, Coachella, the NSA, and all opponents of the NRA. So detailed a list makes the music sometimes seem less like an album than like a personal ad, if not a political position paper.
Based on rating 1/5
Were time travel made available to Kid Rock, he would – according to this album’s title track – go back to the moment he first locked lips with a lady. Some might consider this a waste of a considerable quantum-mechanical gift. After all, he could try to prevent some of the world’s greatest atrocities – ideally starting with the recording of this, his 10th album, which I am prevented from declaring the worst album ever made only by the fact that there are other Kid Rock albums I have yet to hear.
Opinion: Very Good
If you made a list of all things that Kid Rock likes and dislikes you’d have a pretty good summation of his 10th album, “First Kiss. ” In the pro column: Reminiscing, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Jr. , Keith Whitley, Jesus, whiskey, beer, and bourbon.
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