Take one part Mellencamp, one part Bob Seger, two parts Jimmy Barnes, gargle and hoick into a spitoon. Hard to think this Kid once touted himself as a rapper.
That said, despite the heavy, country-rock dominance on Born Free, one of the best songs here is Care - a collaboration with
R&B hip-hoppers Mary J Blige and T.I.
The track is still a good-old-boy rock number, via Motown maybe, but Kid Rock's raspy vocals are complemented well by Blige's wailing and T.I.'s easy rapping.
It's the title track where Kid Rock really gets his Jimmy on. On first hearing Born Free (nothing to do with lions, by the way) you'd swear the former Working Class Man had returned. There's certainly a touch of his Driving Wheels here, along with Johnny Diesel-worthy guitar work. But once you get past the comparison, if you can, there's a lot to like on this album.
3/5
