Uncle Kracker - Seventy Two & Sunny (CD)

All Music Guide

Few folks are on the fence about Kid Rock protégé Uncle Kracker. People either love him or hate him. With 72 And Sunny, his third solo disc, the latter rule most often applies, as Kracker blatantly pilfers from the likes of Bob Seger, The Eagles and others on tracks like "Further Down The Road." Largely absent of originality, Kracker brews up airwave ripe, albeit sugary lovelorn dreck like "Rescue" and the doo wop novelty "Please Come Home." That's not to say 72 And Sunny is all annoyingly tepid, as the alluringly sunny "This Time" fuses country and classic rock with inexplicably pleasant results. Elsewhere, Uncle Kracker delivers "Writing It Down," an uplifting piano ballad that is too good to dismiss. But then he goes and teams up with hit country musician Kenny Chesney to reprise the, ahem, magic of that artist's "When The Sun Goes Down." Simply put, their second pairing, for "Last Night Again," is just another disposable, drunken bar romp. And like the bulk of Uncle Kracker's secon...d musical helping, it's dang hard to swallow. - John D. Luerssen, All Music Guide Read more Less