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A pair of gonzo country showmen initially shunned by the Nashville mainstream but eventually becoming the face of the Music City as the 2000s drew to a close, Big & Rich were the most unlikely country success story of the new millennium. They didn’t appear from nowhere, but when Horse of a Different Color exploded in 2004, it sure seemed like they did, memories of John Rich's time in Lonestar vanishing, along with any trace of Big Kenny’s years struggling on the fringes of major-label studios. In its place was something cheerfully, grotesquely super-sized, happy to revel in a bad taste that camouflaged exactly how eclectic the duo was, how Big & Rich happily pushed hip-hop braggadocio into their rocking country, building their music on chant-along sports anthems and ballads, the former showcasing their humor, the latter their sentimentality. Soon after “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” because a smash, Big & Rich started firing out hits, not just as performers but as writer/producers, tur...