Big Kenny, The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy

Kenny Alphin (better known as Big Kenny) has long had an artistic flair for taking his music in unexpected directions. The Big half of Big & Rich (John Rich being the Rich half, of course) actively defies genre labeling, and his new album, The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy, finds his rogue tendencies intact, if not growing. This is an odd record. Like his 2005 solo album, Live a Little (which was actually recorded in 1999, long before Big & Rich became famous), Big Kenny veers wildly from influence to influence. Quiet Times features modern pseudo-country mixed with arena-rock anthems and Kenny's quavery crooning. And quirks. Plenty of those. Describing the album with such words may not sound very appealing, but Kenny makes it all hang together somehow. Perhaps it's not his best work, but the more adventurous of his fans will still enjoy the ride.