Track Listing

1. Put the O Back in Country
2. 4th of July - Shooter Jennings, George Jones
3. Lonesome Blues
4. Solid Country Gold
5. Busted in Baylor County
6. Sweet Savannah
7. Steady at the Wheel
8. Manifesto No. 1
9. Letter
10. Southern Comfort
11. Daddy's Farm

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63188 in Music
• Released on: 2005-03-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.com
Famous since infancy for his legendary parents, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, Shooter Jennings arrives at his inevitable debut with the weight of the gods on his shoulders. He attempts to point up his heritage--rather than be crushed by the weight of it--by inviting George Jones and Hank Williams Jr. to appear in spoken-word bits which bookend the record. (The Possum also contributes a weak cameo on "4th of July.") But such shilling comes off as exactly what it is, and the listener knows to expect a song about how awful Nashville is and how modern country just ain't got no soul. Jennings does not disappoint--in fact, he's got a couple tunes like that (the Neil Young-based title track and "Solid Country Gold"), and he also obliges with an Outlaw penchant for self-mythologizing ("Busted in Baylor County," about being jailed for speeding and smoking). The younger Jennings doesn't have his father's commanding baritone, his mother's delicate balance of pathos and strength, or even their natural songwriting ability, though he blends Southern rock and hillbilly with ease, and demonstrates a wicked sense of humor on "Manifesto No. 1," in which sex and Jesus share equal time. But his uneven bow ultimately ingratiates for its honesty. In presenting a vulnerable self-portrait as a rootless, restless man, burning up the road to try to outrun his own heartache and confusion, Shooter honors his heritage in the best livin', lovin', and losin' tradition. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews

In The Shadows, Part 2
Hank Williams, Jr. had the unheralded task of trying to make it as a country singer in his legendary father's shadow. Now, Shooter Jennings is taking on a similar task. No matter how good this guy is, he'll probably go to his grave being known as "Waylon's Boy" or get hassled by phrases like, "If it weren't for his daddy, he'd be just another loser." Well, much like Hank, Jr., Shooter Jennings self-titled debut attempts to come out of the shadows by way of Southern rock and a little hillbilly hash.

The album is actually very good. The title song shakes things up by firmly shaking a fist at modern country music. This is followed by some twangy Southern rock in the form of "Fourth of July," "Lonesome Blues," "Solid Country Gold" and "Busted In Baylor County."

The album's pace slows down a little bit with "Sweet Savannah." It almost sounds like Kid Rock if he'd grown up in Dothan, AL instead of near Detroit, MI. The rest of the album picks up speed, especially "Daddy's Farm," which may be a little tough to swallow for the kids who grew up on Garth, Shania, and Mr. and Mrs. Faith Hill.

The only moderate miscue is "The Letter." It just doesn't fit the mood of this album overall. It kills the steam built up by the songs that precede it, and makes the recovery effort, lead by the very Southern rocky "Southern Comfort," very difficult.

Hank, Jr. makes a cameo on Shooter's answering machine, and the Possum contributes a little flair early in the album. It feels more like Southern rock than actual country, but it's a whole lot better than what's being passed off as country these days. Jennings is more of an outlaw than Big & Rich could ever hope to be. Where those guys come off as "polished rebel," Jennings seems like the real deal.

Give this guy a chance. Don't write him off immediately because of his genetics. I don't know how far his music wil take him, but one thing is for sure, he's got a tough, uphill climb from here.

Nice Debut for Shooter
Put the O Back in Country is a great debut album from Shooter Jennings that sounds nothing like anything that has come out of Nashville in recent years. It's rough and unpolished and at will probably never be played on the radio. It is just the kind of album that country music has been missing for a long time.

Shooter may be the guy to put life back into the outlaw movement started many years ago by the likes of Johnny Cash and, of course, Waylon. And while there will no doubt be comparisons between Shooter and his father, he does not sound like and doesn't try to sound like his father. But like his predecessors, his music is against the grain and raw and will hopefully have the same kind of lasting effect on the music industry.

As far as the cd, the weakest song, by far, is the title track, with my favorites being 4th of July, which sounds a lot like early Steve Earle, Manifesto #1 and Southern Comfort. All of the songs are solid and are well worth the money, which is a rare accomplishment for a country artist these days.

Who cares about the title?
It's the music that counts, usn't it? At least Shooter credits Carlene Carter for the whole "Put the whatever back in the somethingorother" concept. I don't like the title and think the title song is the weakest one on the CD and wish he had just called it "Shooter Jennings" and put in his gorgeous take on Charlie Robison's "Sunset Blvd." instead. Besides that, this is my absolutely favorite album of 2005. It's been in my car stereo since the label sent me a promo in Dec. and it's just made for cranking while you move it down the highway. This album kinda grew on me in layers. I already loved "Fourth of July" and "Busted in Baylor County" since Shooter first posted them on his website in 2003. "Steady at the Wheel," "Daddy's Farm" and "Manifesto" grabbed me the first time I heard them and I still play them practically every driving day. "Lonesome Blues," "Solid Country Gold" and "The Letter" took longer to grow on me, but they did. I still haven't decided whether I like this version of "Southern Comfort" better than the one he did on "Stargunn Live" in 2002. "Sweet Savannah" took the longest to grow on me because I flat didn't like the older version on his Stargunn album in 2001. And that hidden cut - don't all of us gals dream about having a man write something like that for us? This is an amazing debut from an artist who wrote almost the entire album, cut it on his own dime and got it released by a major label just as he did it. How many of this year's crop of newcomers could do that?