This time, Uncle Kracker has decided to adopt a more straightforward, radio hit friendly approach. Rap is almost absent, only present on three songs, and the emphasis is placed on just writing good, fun pop tunes. I don't consider this selling out, since the rap dominance of the debut was probably due at least in part to Kid Rock's extensive co-writing credits. On this album, Kracker is merely trying to get out from under Kid Rock's shadow, and get attention for his own style. On the plus side, there are more individual songs that stand out this time around, as opposed to the original, where much of the second half of Double Wide blended together and coasted on a good vibe. Thankfully, Kracker hasn't gone completely Sugar Ray on us (despite that band's singer making a negligible guest appearance on the title track), since he jumps back and forth from country, to blues, to funk, and to simple radio friendly pop tracks.

Standouts include the oughta-be huge single "In A Little While", which takes the standard "summer song" sound, ala LFO and Sugar Ray, and finally does it right, with a surprisingly emotional chorus. "To Think I Used To Love You" is a straight-up country song, which is really catchy, and avoids the typical country sappiness (unfortunately, "Letter To My Daughters" does not, but it's a pretty song anyway). The cover of "Drift Away" accomplishes little that the original didn't, but it's one of my favorite songs anyway, and since it fits here, I'm always glad to hear it again. "Memphis Soul Song" is the ballad that should have been a hit instead of "Follow Me". It's lyrically rich, and a beautiful song in general. And "Baby Don't Cry" is a powerful blues wail about moving on from a bad relationship.

If there's a shortcoming with this album, it's that it lacks the quality that has made all Kid Rock / Twisted Brown Trucker related albums up to this point favorites of mine, and that is the fusion of disparate musical elements into a new sound. There are a lot of influences here, but each song can be easily labelled "Pop song", "Country Song", "Funk Song", etc. The only times that the classic TBT fusion is allowed to return are in the three rap numbers, the best of which is "Keep It Comin'", a great tune with a riff that rocks harder than almost anything on Double Wide. Overall, this is a solid follow up to a great debut album, and if it's less original or interesting, it will at least be a lot easier for people to digest, and there's something to be said for that too.

15 of 18 found the following review helpful:

uncle kracker no stranger to shame  Feb 05, 2003

As a 43 year old mother of 3, I feel a little old to like this guy so much. He is so talented though, my whole family has liked his singles. Unfortunetly though, I bought this cd based on the singles that I had heard and even though I saw the "parental warning" I had no idea about the hidden soundtrack. I was so excited to buy this cd . I listened to it twice and really liked most of the songs, even the first rap song was o.k. although not my favorite. Because of the time lapse on the last track (and the fact that the cover didn't mention it unless you read the small print) I totally missed this last song. My teenage son was the one to find it and point it out to me. He is so great on most of his songs, I wish he would leave the explicit words out. Otherwise I will continue to follow his work, he has a lot to offer.

12 of 14 found the following review helpful:

this CD ROX!  Aug 03, 2003
By T. Hart "Vinyl Ripper"
I am 10 years old and my Dad and I both love this CD all the way through. Uncle K's version of Drift Away makes my Dad sing too loud. My highlights of the CD are Drift Away, In a Little While, Letter to my Daughters and No Stranger to Shame, but the entire CD is wonderful!!

6 of 7 found the following review helpful:

Drifting Away  Jan 25, 2004
By Jamie Jeffords
Like most people here, I got this CD for Drift Away, which is a fantastic cover. The other songs on here aren't bad, either. Uncle Kracker is a much better singer than one would expect from his Kid Rock roots. i even ike his rap/rock combo style. That's a big compliment considering I am not a fan of most rap music. The only draeback is the hidden track. It was vulgar apparently just for the sake of being vulgar. It kept this thing from geting five stars. I don't see wh Uncle Kracker feels the need to put such tracks on his CDs to earn his stripes. His vocal talents are more than enough to sell CDs without a parental advisory sticker to attract attention.

4 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Kracker at his best!!!!!  Jul 10, 2003

This cd ROCKS!!!!! My favorite song is Drift Away. If you like Kid Rock, get Double Wide. If you just like Uncle Kracker, definately get this cd!!!!!!!!!!

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