Born Free (Kid Rock album)

Born Free is the eighth studio album by American musician Kid Rock. It was released on November 16, 2010 with the title track as its lead single.^[8]

Born Free
Studio album by Kid Rock
Released	November 16, 2010 (2010-11-16)
Recorded	January–July 2010
Studio	Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, California, Shangri-La, Los Angeles, California,[1] The Allen Roadhouse, Clarkston, Michigan
Genre	Country rock[2] heartland rock[3]
Length	56:10
Label	Atlantic Top Dog
Producer	Rick Rubin
Kid Rock chronology
Rock n Roll Jesus (2007) Born Free (2010) Rebel Soul (2012)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	4.3[4]
Metacritic	63/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	(B)[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]

The country-oriented album was produced by Rick Rubin featuring several high-profile artists such as T.I., Sheryl Crow, and Bob Seger. This is Kid Rock's first, and to date, only album not to feature a Parental Advisory sticker and is his first all-country album. It is also the first album since 1993's The Polyfuze Method not to feature his backing band Twisted Brown Trucker. Marlon Young is the only member from Twisted Brown Trucker to perform on the album. Kid Rock describes it as "very organic blues-based rock and roll".^[9] Cable network TBS used the title track, "Born Free", for its coverage of the 2010 Major League Baseball postseason. As of June 16, 2011 Born Free is certified Platinum by the RIAA for shipments in excess of one million copies. This gave Kid Rock his sixth Platinum album certification in the US. A Michigan only promotion was released with the album. It was a 4-song EP called Racing Father Time.

Release and promotion

The album's lead single was the title track. The songs promotional push included being the theme for the MLB Playoffs, European Music Awards and the CMA Festival. He also performed "Times Like These" at the American Music Awards and "Care" at the Rally for Sanity. This led to a debut of 189,000 copies sold and landing at number five on the Billboard 200. VH-1 aired the Isle of Malta concert special. The following single "God Bless Saturday" became the secondary theme song for ESPN's College Game Day. The third single "Collide" saw him reunite with Sheryl Crow with whom he previously recorded his 2002 single "Picture" and went on a joint tour with. "Purple Sky" failed to chart and the final single was "Care" with rapper T.I. and depending on the version, Martina McBride, Mary J. Blige or Angaleena Presley of the Pistol Annies.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Born Free received mixed reviews from most music critics.^[10] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".^[10]

AllMusic praised Born Free, saying it "goes a long, long way toward keeping that heartland flame burning bright: it’s familiar yet fresh, and song for song it’s the best album Kid Rock has cut since Devil Without a Cause.^[3] This album was number 16 on Rolling Stone's list of the 30 Best Albums of 2010.^[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Born Free"	5:14
2.	"Slow My Roll"	4:19
3.	"Care" (featuring Martina McBride and T.I.) (Ritchie, Young, Clifford Harris)	4:12
4.	"Purple Sky" (Ritchie, Young, Jason Boland)	4:06
5.	"When It Rains"	4:46
6.	"God Bless Saturday"	3:35
7.	"Collide" (featuring Sheryl Crow and Bob Seger on piano)	4:49
8.	"Flyin' High" (featuring Zac Brown)	4:03
9.	"Times Like These"	5:57
10.	"Rock On"	5:23
11.	"Rock Bottom Blues"	3:51
12.	"For the First Time (In a Long Time)"	5:46

All tracks are written by R. J. Ritchie and Marlon Young, except where noted

Target bonus tracks

13. "Rock N Roll Jesus" (live)
14. "Lowlife/Keep Your Hands To Yourself" (live)
15. "Care" (Demo Version with Mary J. Blige)

Racing Father Time EP

1. "The Midwest Fall"
2. "Lonely Road of Faith" (Alt. version)
3. "Slow My Roll" (Porch version)
4. "Forty"

Sample credits

• "Born Free" - "I Feel Fine" by The Beatles (Guitar)
• "God Bless Saturday" - Get Back by The Beatles ( Guitar)
• "Times Like These" - "Learn To Be Still" by Eagles (Acoustic Guitar)

Personnel

• Kid Rock - lead vocals, guitar
• Marlon Young - lead guitar
• David Hidalgo - guitar
• Matt Sweeney - guitar
• Justin Meldal-Johnsen - bass
• Lenny Castro - percussion
• Chad Smith - drums, percussion
• Benmont Tench - keyboards, piano
• Blake Mills - banjo, guitar

Additional personnel

• Bob Seger - piano on "Collide"
• Sheryl Crow - vocals on "Collide"
• Zac Brown - vocals on "Flying High"
• T.I. - vocals on "Care"
• Martina McBride - vocals on "Care"
• Mary J. Blige- vocals on " Care ( Demo Version)"
• Trace Adkins- background vocals on "Rock Bottom Blues"

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2010) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 7 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[13] 11 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 9 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 7 US Billboard 200[16] 5 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[17] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2010) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 92 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 89 Chart (2011) Position US Billboard 200[20] 16 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[21] 2

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[22]	Gold	40,000^
United States (RIAA)[23]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Rick Rubin on Crashing Kanye's Album in 15 Days". Newsweek. 27 June 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-03-31.
2. "Kid Rock: Born Free". 10 November 2010.
3. Born Free - Kid Rock allmusic. Retrieved on November 19, 2010.
4. "Born Free by Kid Rock reviews | Any Decent Music". www.anydecentmusic.com. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
5. Light, Alan. "Born Free". Metacritic.
6. Collis, Clark (November 10, 2010). "Born Free Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
7. Light, Alan (November 16, 2010). "Born Free". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
8. "Kid Rock as a Potential Senate Candidate: What We Can Learn About His Politics From His Music | Billboard". www.billboard.com. July 18, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
9. Bonaquro, Alison. "Kid Rock Feels like he is Born Free to Sing with Everybody". CMT.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.Graham, Adam (May 30, 2010). "Kid Rock to Launch New Album Sept. 7". The Detroit News. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
10. "Born Free Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
11. "The 30 Best Albums of 2010". Rolling Stone (December 25, 2010). Retrieved January 18, 2011
12. "Austriancharts.at – Kid Rock – Born Free" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
13. "Kid Rock Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
14. "Offiziellecharts.de – Kid Rock – Born Free" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
15. "Swisscharts.com – Kid Rock – Born Free". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
16. "Kid Rock Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
17. "Kid Rock Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
18. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
19. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2010". hitparade.ch. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
20. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
21. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
22. "Canadian album certifications – Kid Rock – Born Free". Music Canada.
23. "American album certifications – Kid Rock – Born Free". Recording Industry Association of America.