St. Lunatics

• Free City [Universal, 2001] A-

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Free City [Universal, 2001]
How to top "Old MacDonald"? Hire nanny goats and moo cows as rhythm animals, all the while denying that you live on a farm. Why this misapprehension should concern guys who share a home base with Chuck Berry, Ike Turner, and Stagger Lee needn't concern us here. What matters, as we and they know, is that it permits an ear joke that sets off many others on one of the few crew records ever made that doesn't dishonor the headman's hit. In fact, with Nelly on more than half the tracks, I prefer this one. Having discovered how many Lexuses you can buy on good nature when the beats are right and the vocals friendly, they've scaled down the pro forma tough-guyisms of Country Grammar to some playa playing and brand names. True star: producer Jason "Jay E" Epperson, who'll nail any sound you can think of and more to the one, two, three, or four--and delight you every time. A-