| The History of Rock | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | May 30, 2000 | |||
| Studio | White Room Studios (Detroit, Michigan) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 64:46 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Kid Rock chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The History of Rock | ||||
| ||||
The History of Rock is acompilation album by American rapperKid Rock. Released in 2000, the album consists of re-recorded versions of songs from Rock's 1993 albumThe Polyfuze Method, remixed versions of songs from his 1996 albumEarly Mornin' Stoned Pimp, demos and unreleased songs, including the single "American Bad Ass". The album debuted at number two on theBillboard 200, with first week sales of 457,000 copies.
Many of the compilation's songs were previously released on Kid Rock's second and third studio albums,The Polyfuze Method[1] andEarly Mornin' Stoned Pimp.[2] The inclusions fromThe Polyfuze Method have been re-recorded for this compilation,[2] while the songs fromEarly Mornin' Stoned Pimp are remixed.
The new recording "American Bad Ass" has been praised byAllMusic andRolling Stone as being the best song on the compilation.[1][4] Thenu metal song is built aroundsamples fromMetallica's song "Sad but True", while paying lyrical tribute to Ritchie's influences such asJohnny Cash,Grandmaster Flash,David Allan Coe, theBeastie Boys andBob Seger.[1][4][5]
Also new to this compilation are the songs "Abortion", ahard rockblues song,[2] "Fuck That", categorized byEntertainment Weekly asalternative rock,[2] and "Born 2 B a Hick", which has been compared stylistically toChuck Berry.[2] "Fuck That" previously appeared on the soundtrack to the 1999 filmAny Given Sunday.
"Born 2 B a Hick" was an older song that Kid Rock had never recorded.[2] Despite its title, "Abortion" is ananti-drugballad, whichRolling Stone described as "[finding] common ground between theGeto Boys andLynyrd Skynyrd".[4]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 64/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [7] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C[2] |
| Dotmusic | [8] |
| Kerrang! | [9] |
| NME | 6/10[10] |
| Rolling Stone | [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
| Spin | 5/10[12] |
| Wall of Sound | 77/100[13] |
The History of Rock received mixed to positive reviews from critics, earning a 64 out of 100 score onMetacritic.[6]
Kid Rock promoted the album with hisHistory of Rock Tour.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing forAllMusic, gave the album four out of five stars, saying that "It's not a great listen, but its swagger and white-trash style make it the second-best record in [Kid Rock's] catalog to date".[1]
Rob Sheffield, writing forRolling Stone, gave the album three out of five stars, writing that "History peaks with the two new songs".[4]Entertainment Weekly panned the album, however, giving it a C, writing, "Perhaps this marginal collection by a potentially major act should have been calledThe History of Rap (by White Boys)".[2]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording source | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" |
| 1:08 | |
| 2. | "American Bad Ass" |
| New track | 4:32 |
| 3. | "Prodigal Son" | Ritchie | Re-recorded fromThe Polyfuze Method | 6:41 |
| 4. | "Paid" | Ritchie | Remixed fromEarly Mornin' Stoned Pimp | 4:45 |
| 5. | "Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp" (featuringJoe C.) |
| Remixed fromEarly Mornin' Stoned Pimp | 7:14 |
| 6. | "Dark & Gray" | Ritchie | Re-recorded from the EPBootleg: August 1994 | 4:56 |
| 7. | "3 Sheets to the Wind (What's My Name?)" | Ritchie | Re-recorded fromThe Polyfuze Method | 3:59 |
| 8. | "Abortion" | Ritchie | Previously unreleased | 4:29 |
| 9. | "I Wanna Go Back" | Ritchie | Remixed fromEarly Mornin' Stoned Pimp | 5:29 |
| 10. | "Ya' Keep On" |
| Remixed fromEarly Mornin' Stoned Pimp | 3:57 |
| 11. | "Fuck That" | Ritchie | Previously released on theAny Given Sunday soundtrack | 3:42 |
| 12. | "Fuck U Blind" (Not featured on clean version) | Ritchie | Re-recorded fromThe Polyfuze Method | 3:57 |
| 13. | "Born 2 B a Hick" | Ritchie | Unreleased demo | 1:42 |
| 14. | "My Oedipus Complex" (featuringTwisted Brown Trucker) | Ritchie | Re-recorded fromThe Polyfuze Method | 8:19 |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[24] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[25] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[26] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
