Uncle Kracker 72 And Sunny CD

Uncle Kracker (AKA Matt Shafer) and his buddy Kid Rock have always been proud of their brand of hick-hop, which somehow straddles the worlds of country and urban nuance. For his third solo album, 72 & SUNNY, Shafer eliminates much of the heavy rock and rap aspects that initially brought him to the fore, and instead heads in a direction more in line with classic rock and contemporary country. Working with his touring band, the Michigan native also adds an odd assortment of guest talent, including Poison's Bret Michaels, session vet Russ Kunkel, and country stalwarts Brent Mason and Phil Vassar.

Here Uncle Kracker whips up a number of songs that wouldn't sound out of place on a mainstream country station. Kracker easily moves from the yearning "Don't Know How (Not to Love You)," with its mention of one-eyed jacks and Biloxi, to the fiddle-and-harp-driven stomper "A Place at My Table," where Patsy Cline and George Jones get name-checked. Capping the album off is "Last Night Again," a tear-in-your-beer weeper featuring country star Kenny Chesney, who previously teamed with Kracker on the hit duet "When the Sun Goes Down."

Personnel: Uncle Kracker (vocals); Annie Ree Bradford, Bret Michaels (vocals); Mike Bradford (guitar, pedal steel guitar, dobro, keyboards, bass guitar, drums, background vocals); Frank Myers (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Brent Mason (electric guitar); Dan Dugmore (pedal steel guitar); Eric Gorfain (violin); John Catchings (cello); Phil Vassar (piano); Kenny Chesney (bass guitar); Russ Kunkel, Jerome Day (drums).

Guests: Kenny Chesney, Bret Michaels

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.Spin (p.106) - "The stunning artistic merits almost go without saying, but the collection is also a fine document of Sonic Youth's ability to sniff out budding hipsterati..." - Grade: A