The Polyfuze Method

The Polyfuze Method is the second studio album by Kid Rock. Released in 1993 by Continuum and Top Dog Records, the album marked the beginning of Kid Rock's shift from hip hop music to rap rock. The Polyfuze Method saw Kid Rock further develop his "trailer-park pimp-daddy persona".[4]

The Polyfuze Method
Studio album by
Kid Rock
ReleasedMarch 16, 1993
Recorded1992–1993
Genre
Length58:52
Label
  • Continuum
  • Top Dog[2]
ProducerKid Rock, D-Square, Mike E. Clark
Kid Rock chronology
Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast
(1990)		 The Polyfuze Method
(1993)		 Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp
(1996)
Singles from The Polyfuze Method
  1. "Back from the Dead"
    Released: May 24, 1993
  2. "U Don't Know Me"
    Released: December 29, 1993
  3. "I Am the Bullgod"
    Released: December 1993
  4. "Prodigal Son"
    Released: March 11, 1994

Producer Mike E. Clark worked with Kid Rock to give the album a more rock-oriented sound with live instruments, including heavy metal guitar and flute. The album was noted for its extensive sampling-based sound showcasing "a love and mastery of Paul's Boutique-esque sample-collage based production".[5]

Background

In 1990, Kid Rock signed with Jive Records and released his debut album, Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast. Despite the album's success, Kid Rock was dropped by Jive. In 1992, Kid Rock signed with Detroit independent record label Continuum; the following year, he recorded his second studio album, The Polyfuze Method with producer Mike E. Clark.[3]

Artistry

The Polyfuze Method shows Kid Rock developing a rap rock sound.[1][2][6][7] The Village Voice writer Chaz Kangas described Kid Rock on this album as having "a love and mastery of Paul's Boutique-esque sample-collage based production".[5] Producer Mike E. Clark worked with Kid Rock to help give the album more of a rock-oriented sound than his debut, utilizing live heavy metal guitars and sampling rock artists like Pink Floyd, as well as hiring a flute player to perform on the album.[3] The album served as a crossroads between his hip hop and rock career, still maintaining a strong hip hop sound carried over from Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast, while beginning Kid Rock's use of rock and roll and country influences via sampling.[3][4] A 2017 profile by Billboard categorized the album as being defined by "trippy AOR samples".[8]

According to Allmusic's Johnny Loftus, The Polyfuze Method "represents a significant leap forward not only in the development of Kid Rock's unlikely mixture of classic rock, hip-hop, and country influences, but his own trailer-park pimp-daddy persona."[4] Loftus feels the music on The Polyfuze Method was influenced by Public Enemy and N.W.A.[4] He describes "Killin' Brain Cells" as being categorized by "big percussion and a funky guitar sample",[4] and that the song's lyrics were defined by "the confluence of blind bravado, hard liquor"—these characteristics, along with the mixture of rock and hip hop, foreshadowed Kid Rock's 1998 multiplatinum major label album Devil Without a Cause, according to Loftus.[4]

Chaz Kangas, writing for The Village Voice, said that The Polyfuze Method "his approach’s metamorphosis into painting with broad strokes of other genres in his work". "Prodigal Son", an autobiographical song, lyrically describes Kid Rock leaving his family home to pursue a music career.[5] Kangas wrote that "In retrospect, the song today almost sounds like his outlaw manifesto."[5] The song "Fuck You Blind" contained live guitars, which was not typical of the era's hip hop.[4]

Release

After signing with Atlantic Records, Kid Rock licensed The Polyfuze Method to the label.[9] The album was not offered for sale when Kid Rock's catalog became available on iTunes.[10]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]

The album received mixed reviews upon release.[4] In a retrospective review, Allmusic's Johnny Loftus gave the album three out of five stars, writing, "Despite its strong suggestion of what was to come, Polyfuze Method doesn't really go anywhere."[4] The Village Voice, however, praised the album's sample-based sound and called the song "Prodigal Son" a "classic".[5]

Track listings

1993 CD release
  1. "Fred" (Skit) – 0:25
  2. "Killin' Brain Cells" – 3:55
  3. "Prodigal Son" – 5:18
  4. "The Cramper" – 4:12
  5. "3 Sheets to the Wind" – 4:43
  6. "Fuck U Blind" – 3:55
  7. "Desperate-Rado" – 4:25
  8. "Back from the Dead" – 4:43
  9. "My Oedipus Complex" – 5:35
  10. "Balls in Your Mouth" – 3:48
  11. "Trippin' with Dick Vitale" – 4:07
  12. "TV Dinner" (Skit) – 0:47
  13. "Pancake Breakfast" – 3:02
  14. "Blow Me" – 2:31
  15. "In So Deep" – 1:59
  16. "U Don't Know Me" – 5:25

Vinyl release
Side one
  1. "Fred" – 0:52
  2. "Killin' Brain Cells" – 3:55
  3. "Prodigal Son" – 5:18
  4. "The Cramper" – 4:12
  5. "3 Sheets to the Wind" – 4:43
  6. "Fuck U Blind" – 3:55
  7. "I Am the Bullgod" - 4:51
Side two
  1. "My Oedipus Complex" – 5:35
  2. "Balls in Your Mouth" – 3:48
  3. "Pancake Breakfast" - 3:02
  4. "Rollin' on the Island" - 7:42
  5. "U Don't Know Me" – 5:24

Polyfuze Method Revisited 1997 release
  1. "Fred" – 0:52
  2. "Killin' Brain Cells" – 3:55
  3. "Prodigal Son" – 5:18
  4. "The Cramper" – 4:12
  5. "Three Sheets to the Wind" – 4:43
  6. "I Am the Bullgod" – 4:51
  7. "Fuck U Blind" – 3:55
  8. "Desperate-Rado" – 4:25
  9. "Back from the Dead" – 4:43
  10. "My Oedipus Complex" – 5:35
  11. "Balls in Your Mouth" – 3:48
  12. "Rollin' on the Island" – 7:47
  13. "Rain Check" – 1:14
  14. "Trippin' with Dick Vitale" – 4:07
  15. "TV Dinner" – 0:30
  16. "Pancake Breakfast" – 3:02
  17. "Blow Me" – 2:31
  18. "In So Deep" – 1:59
  19. "U Don't Know Me" – 5:24
  20. "Untitled" – 0:37

Some of these tracks were re-recorded for the compilation "The History of Rock"

Additional Crew
  • Bob Ebling – Drums
  • Bill Grant – Bass Guitar, Guitar
  • Kid Rock – Guitar, Loops, Bass Guitar, Producer
  • Chris Peters – Guitar, Bass Guitar
  • Dono Zoyes – Bass Guitar
  • Jon Slow – Flute
  • Peg Leg Sam – Harmonica
  • Mike Henry – Guitar on "In So Deep"
  • D-Square – Producer
  • Mike E. Clark – Producer

References
  1. "The Polyfuze Method - Kid Rock - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  2. "Kid Rock Raps With The Devil". Mtv.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  3. "Kid Rock before the fame: The definitive Detroit oral history". Freep.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  4. Loftus, Johnny. "The Polyfuze Method - Kid Rock/Allmusic". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
  5. "In Defense of Kid Rock: Try Hating These Classics". Villagevoice.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  6. Hess, Mickey (9 July 2018). Is Hip Hop Dead?: The Past, Present, and Future of America's Most Wanted Music. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275994617. Retrieved 9 July 2018 – via Google Books.
  7. Perkins, William Eric (9 July 1996). Droppin' Science: Critical Essays on Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture. Temple University Press. ISBN 9781566393621. Retrieved 9 July 2018 – via Google Books.
  8. "Guns, Unions and Globalism: The Evolution of Kid Rock's Musical Populism". Billboard.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  9. "SPIN". SPIN Media LLC. 1 October 1999. Retrieved 9 July 2018 – via Google Books.
  10. "iTunes to offer Kid Rock's entire album catalog from 'Devil Without A Cause' on; you can pre-order it now". Mlive.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
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