CD Review- Shooter Jennings- Bad Magick- The Best Of Shooter Jennings & The .357’s

The Background:
On Tuesday, March 24th, Universal Records South released Bad Magick: The Best of Shooter Jennings and the .357’s. It’s an all encompassing listening experience of 13 fan favorites from Shooter Jennings’ last four albums, plus two tracks never before released on CD. Ten of the album’s tracks were written or co-written by the singer. The collection offers a little bit of everything and represents what his music is all aboutBorn the son of a country outlaw, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, Shooter gravitated towards the rock n’ roll music scene at an early age, but after his father’s death realized the legendary Jennings had never heard him sing a country song apart from one home recording session at a young age. Shooter moved to Music City three years later with his band, the .357’s. Together, in just a few short years, they released four country albums with a signature rock flare that drew an immediate fan base of all ages. Combining a blend of country, blues and rock ‘n’ roll, Shooter Jennings has developed his own unique style of music, not shadowing in his famous father’s footsteps. “I sound like myself,” explains Shooter. “I guess that comes from finally doing what I want, even though I’m embracing my heritage, too. That’s important in country music.”

The Review:
Black Magick’s cover art- faint man-in-black photos behind the headline name- just about says it all. With a name everyone recognizes, Jennings has teased with the fringes of mainstream southern country rock success. Shooter Jennings plays country-rock that’s a whole lot more rock than country. “Bad Magick” is as blistering as anything Lynyrd Skynyrd or Molly Hatchet ever did, and “4th Of July” is as fun as Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long.” Jennings is as unapologetic and unrepentant about his hell raising as any of his outlaw-country ancestors (including his famous dad), but that that doesn’t mean his songs lack self-reflection. With Jamey Johnson and the aforementioned Kid Rock making outlaw country cool again, maybe Shooter can be a player. He has the support of old-school country icons as back-ups with names like George Jones, the Oak Ridge Boys & Doug Kershaw. And while some of his previous albums were a little on the uneven, this Best Of album is perfect- highlighting all of his best work (whether it hit charts or not.) The album is a rocking testament to generational greatness.

Sounds Like:
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Seger, Kid Rock & Charlie Daniels- all with his Daddy Waylon’s voice.

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
4th of July
Southern Comfort
Bad Magick
Slow Train
This Ol’ Wheel

The Verdict:
Four Out Of Five Stars