The History of Rock.

Kid Rock, The History of Rock (Lava/Atlantic)

Robert James "Kid Rock" Ritchie hails from Romeo, Michigan, one of Detroit's dinky, dirty northern `burbs, largely working-class, white -- chock full of the proverbial fast cars, street drugs, and nothin' to do. Promise is what you make it -- promises difficult to find. Life's choices vary from bustin' videos at the strip mall, line work at the Chrysler plant, or hangin' with hood dudes on the corner -- or maybe playing guitar in a rock'n'roll band. Sort of a no-brainer, right? Ritchie's fame stems from his blend of Zeppelin-style hard rock, hard core rap, and hip-hop and his penchant for waggling an upthrust middle finger at the world, the bad little white boy's salute.

And now that he's a Star, what better to grace the charts with than a "best of" collection spanning the decade when he was just another wannabe, grinding it out on the chitlin' circuit. Yes, indeedy, this is the history of Kid Rock, uh, not really rock'n'roll, that is, unless you sorta ignore everything recorded before "The Immigrant Song" and Licensed to Ill. Ritchie assembles his idea of the best of his ...