AMG Review of Happy Hour: The South River Road Sessions

Gregory Heaney
All Music Guide

A follow-up to 2009’s soft rock outing Happy Hour, Happy Hour: The South River Road Sessions finds rapper turned rocker Uncle Kracker trying to put a country spin on a handful of tracks from his last album. The result is a bit of a mixed bag. Some tracks, like “Smile,” are less produced, giving them a more natural feeling without the obviously programmed drums of the originals providing that slick, studio feel. On other parts of the album, like "Me Again," pedal steel has been added to give the album a little dose of country twang, making the songs just different enough that fans won't feel like they're listening to the same album again. All in all, The South River Road Sessions is an EP that should appeal to fans of the Kid Rock/Uncle Kracker country-rock revival.