Robert Christgau: Dean of American Rock Critics

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Consumer Guide Album

Shooter Jennings: The Wolf [Universal South, 2007]
So who is Shooter Jennings if he isn't Waylon's son? He hopes you don't ask--mentions "my dad" in the first verse of his third album, and before long also namechecks Johnny, Merle, Hank, and Audrey in case you missed the point. Shooter has himself a rockin' band, and he can write a little--"Old Friends" male-bonds with some warmth and "She Lives in Color" female-bonds with some warmth. But he's the type who loves his darlin' for those "ladylike things," and at bottom, he's selling an "authentic" revival of a marketing tool--one his dad invented, known as outlaw country. The most likable song here is by Shooter's 4F-ing drummer, who's in it for the pussy straight up. Sure there are ladies who love outlaws, and guys who wish said ladies loved them instead. But why anyone else should care about this stuff only Willie Nelson could tell you, and his fee is fifty grand. [Rolling Stone: 2.5]