Kenny Chesney Albums (13)
What The Critics Say
Kenny Chesney may title his 12th album after the pop standard that he sings here with Willie Nelson, but don't mistake Lucky Old Sun for Nelson's Stardust. Chesney is tipping his hat not to the Great American Songbook but the great ball in the sky, the one that shines on beaches from coast to coast, with the Gulf of Mexico being a particular favorite in his book. Lucky Old Sun is designed to be a soundtrack to laid-back afternoons on warm sand, which by now is very familiar territory for Chesney in his personal and professional life. Since Chesney swaps Jimmy Buffett's boozy goofball schtick for gentle strumming, this isn't music for a party, it's music that laps softly against the shore. To be sure, there's some pleasure to be had here, but it's all about appreciating the album as pure texture and sunbleached mood music, which is appealing as far as it goes. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates'
Release Date 9/11/2007
Tracks 11
Label RCA
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What The Critics Say
There's no denying that the title Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, Kenny Chesney's tenth studio album, bears an undercurrent of autobiography, as if he's telling us exactly what he's all about. Given this, it would seem logical that this album would be built upon original songs -- especially since its title echoes Be as You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair), his intimate 2005 album of originals -- but Just Who I Am has not one original song, when even its 2005 predecessor, The Road and the Radio, had a pair, including the very good "Beer in Mexico." Just Who I Am might not come from Chesney's pen, but these songs nevertheless have the appearance of being autobiographical, as they dwell upon teenage nostalgia, bittersweet memories, and the importance of family because life speeds by faster than you'd think. All of this gives the impression that Chesney is living a comfortable, familiar middle-aged existence, surrounded by his wife and kids, appreciating what he's got but looking back on his life with a fond eye. This isn't quite true -- Chesney is leaving his thirties without a wife and kids, which makes the number of songs celebrating close family feel a little odd (even if the song "Wife and Kids" finds Kenny pining for this close-knit family), since these are not songs about who Chesney is; they're about who is audience is. This carries over to his breezy, steel-drum island songs -- particularly the George Strait duet "Shiftwork," a mellow workingman's anthem where George and Kenny playfully soften the F in the title, making for a genuinely funny highlight -- right down to the arena-filling ballads, such as "Dancin' for the Groceries," an instant camp classic where Kenny looks sympathetically at a single mom stripping to support her kids (a kindness undercut by hammy, clumsy lyrics, epitomized by "in sequins and laces/she's dancing for braces"). These mawkish sentiments are heavy-handed, as are the arrangements in the power ballads, which are just slightly too clean and commercial, produced with an eye on the middle of the road. This measured, polished production does mean that the ballads, of which there are just a bit too many, do blend together unless they tend to go a little over the top, whether it's the seize-the-day sentiment of "Don't Blink" or that stripper-mom salute. Fortunately, then, Chesney does spend some time creating party songs for the islands, songs that may be just as calculated as the power ballads but at least are livelier, which make them more immediate and more lasting than the ballads, whether it's the cheerful morning-after memories of "Got a Little Crazy," a ridiculous Joe Walsh-driven version of Dwight Yoakam's rocker "Wild Ride," or "Shiftwork." That's not a whole lot of good times for an 11-track album, but when paired with the couple of light, midtempo cuts that have a little more snap -- such as the opener, "Never Wanted Nothing More" -- it does mean that Just Who I Am just manages from sinking into adult contemporary murk, even if it's hard to shake the feeling that Chesney is spending too much time acting how his audience expects him to be instead of just being who he is. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Live: Live Those Songs Again'
Release Date 9/19/2006
Tracks 14
Label BNA
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What The Critics Say
If Kenny Chesney wasn't going to save the album title of Live Those Songs Again for a career-spanning retrospective, he might as well use it on a live album, even though it does bear an unfortunate and unintentional double meaning when attached to a live album -- as is in, "Live!...Those Songs Again." Familiar though they may be, these Chesney songs don't sound as weary as all that, particularly because Chesney gives them the widescreen spectacular treatment of his stadium shows, which this 2006 live release fairly faithfully documents. In an arena setting, Chesney's AOR roots ring out loud and clear, to the point where he sounds less a country singer than an heir to '80s heartland rock -- an association he openly courts within the liner notes of the album, where he name-drops Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp (misspelled as "Mellancamp"), and Bryan Adams and is seen sporting a "Bruce Live 1975-1985" shirt. He pulls off these mid-America arena rock moves well. He's sometimes overshadowed by his slicked-up, pumped-up band. Even if Chesney does wind up disappearing into the atmosphere at his own party, it almost seems like he's playing the gracious host, letting his band and audience enjoy the show more than he does, because it's about them, not him. As such, this album is fun for fans: it's a souvenir to a old party and could serve as a soundtrack to a new party. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Road and the Radio arrives at the end of a busy 2005 for Kenny Chesney. As the year opened, he followed up his 2004 blockbuster When the Sun Goes Down with the mellow Be as You Are. A few months later, he married movie star Renee Zellweger, and four months after that, she filed for divorce. Two months after that, Chesney returned with The Road and the Radio, the big, splashy proper follow-up to When the Sun Goes Down. Given such a tight, hectic schedule, it shouldn't come as a great surprise that The Road and the Radio sounds rushed, as if Chesney didn't have the chance to properly decide the right course for this album. He certainly didn't have the chance to write much -- only two of the songs here bear his credit, compared to the all-original Be as You Are and When the Sun Goes Down, which had four original compositions. Since Chesney has always demonstrated a good ear for material, this isn't a great detriment; he picks good tunes here, highlighted by the wry, lazily rocking "Living in Fast Forward." But the haphazard nature of The Road and the Radio means not only does the record fail to gel, but that its rough edges are particularly noticeable. "Rough" isn't quite the right word, though, since one thing this album is not is rough: it's a smooth, polished, commercial effort, heavy on anthemic choruses and bright surfaces. In other words, this is the poppiest that Kenny Chesney has ever sounded, from how the atmospheric keyboards on the opening title cut recall U2 to how "Summertime" is driven by a gurgling talk box guitar. This in itself wouldn't be a big problem -- it's been a long time since Chesney has pretended to be straight country, and he's very good at country-pop -- but the problem with The Road and the Radio is that the songs just aren't very memorable. The record is surely pleasant, but apart from the aforementioned cuts, plus the easy-listening Springsteen/Mellencamp tribute "In a Small Town" and the party-hearty "Beer in Mexico," the songs themselves don't rise above background music. And while that's enough to make it an enjoyable enough listen, it's also enough to break the hot streak he began with 2002's No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Be as You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair)'
Release Date 1/25/2005
Tracks 13
Label BNA
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What The Critics Say
Conventional wisdom dictates that the Caribbean Islands are where you go to relax, not work, but not for Kenny Chesney. The Tennessee native found his muse on the islands, and it changed his life and work. He started his career as a good, if unremarkable, neo-traditionalist singer, but he slowly built his own identity as a singer and songwriter, largely due to the time he spent in the islands, a love that he celebrated in his music and interviews. Not since Jimmy Buffett has a musician been so thoroughly identified with the life of a beach bum, but there is a big difference between the two. Buffett happily creates a soundtrack to a never-ending party, coasting a combination of good times and easy grooves and while Chesney certainly does indulge in this ingratiatingly lazy vibe, he also finds the islands as a place for introspection, and nowhere is that more evident than on his eighth album, 2005's Be as You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair). This is the companion piece to the breezy, bright modern country of 2004's When the Sun Goes Down, a relaxed, low-key collection of ballads and easy-rolling pop tunes that strikes precisely the right contemplative note, as if it were designed to be played during a picturesque ocean sunset. Which isn't to say that Be as You Are is a confessional album, or even a collection of overly introspective songs. There are autobiographical details threaded throughout the record, particularly on the opener, "Old Blue Chair," but the songs are open-ended, so listeners can identify with the narrator, or they're nice, mellow party tunes like "Key Lime Pie" or slow dance numbers like "Magic." It's a quiet record, but hardly an album that features Chesney alone with his guitar. Be as You Are is as polished and professional as When the Sun Goes Down, yet it's designed for quiet afternoons, not parties on the weekend. To Chesney's credit, he's as appealing on this set of relaxed tunes as he was on its gleaming, ultramodern predecessor, and taken together, they are strong proof that he's one of best singers and songwriters working in contemporary country music in the mid-2000s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kenny Chesney's stardom snuck up quietly. He had a string of modest successes during the late '90s, but he never made crossover waves until 2002's No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems, when his steady touring and steady shift toward adult pop paid off with his first number one album, but that was nothing compared to the stunning first-week sales of its successor, When the Sun Goes Down, which also debuted at number one to the very healthy sales of over 550,000. Chesney had clearly filled a void, one left by the diminished presence of Garth Brooks -- a singer who blurred the lines between '70s mainstream pop/rock and contemporary country, a singer who made adult-oriented music about everyday things. At one point Chesney was aligned with neo-traditionalist country singers, but by When the Sun Goes Down, he had left that far behind, using country as mere flavoring on an album whose heart and soul is firmly within the tradition of '70s singer/songwriters. Where Garth Brooks merely covered Billy Joel (and a latter-day tune at that), Chesney drops references to Joel, James Taylor, and Steve Miller, while covering Dave Loggins' "Please Come to Boston." So, it's not an entire surprise that he favors ballads, usually the anthemic type designed to fill out arenas, and when he does turn the tempo up, it's still laid-back, in the fashion of Jimmy Buffett, as on the appealing duet with Uncle Kracker on the title track. Chesney often refers to living in the Islands (the Caribbean Islands, that is) in his nice song-by-song liner notes and every one of the many pictures in the disc's booklet features him on an island, but this is hardly a tropical album -- it's a record for middle America, for soccer moms and sentimental NASCAR dads, for those who opted out of the corporate rat race in favor of a loving relationship, as the character in "The Woman With You" did. It's for a generation raised on rock but living on country, people who like to reminiscence but are perfectly happy in their domestic life. If this sounds condescending, it's not meant that way; it's an apt description of an album that captures a time, place, and mindset, the way Sgt. Pepper provided the soundtrack to the Summer of Love. Peppered with references to Abercrombie & Fitch, American Express, dogs named Bocephus, old frat brothers, and forgotten sorority sisters, all set to a canny blend of state-of-the-art country, '70s sensibility, and '80s production (check out muted delayed rhythm guitar on "I Go Back"), it's a thoroughly modern mature-pop album. Like Shania Twain's Come On Over or Up!, this is music that's meant to have universal appeal, but it's far subtler in its approach, not least because it's delivered not by a diva, but a humble guy with a likeable, friendly voice. It may not be country, but that doesn't matter; When the Sun Goes Down is winning, sturdy mainstream pop, and after hearing it, it's easy to see why so many listeners now take Chesney to heart -- he's writing the soundtrack to their lives. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan'
Release Date 10/7/2003
Tracks 11
Label BNA
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
An entry for the 2003 Christmas season was a natural move for Kenny Chesney after the blockbuster No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problems made 2002 his banner year. But in typical Chesney fashion, his holiday album tries to be a little more easygoing than the usual Music City rehash of tried 'n' true yuletide chestnuts. The sunny south of the border vibe that lit up the video for No Shirt's title cut is alive and well on All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan; the album's own title track is a nice, swaying number that approximates the Cascades' "Rhythm of the Rain" into its breezy Buffett feel. Like Chesney's best material, it's a contemporary country number crossed effortlessly with pop, and it's just a little bit cheeky, too. "Don't worry baby," he sings. "We'll celebrate plenty/I'll buy you some shades and a brand new bikini." He seems truly honest when, in his liner notes, Chesney explains how as a kid he spent the season in his native east Tennessee, but now likes to head down to the Caribbean for the holidays. And he backs up that sentiment with the title track and a fun steel drum run through "Jingle Bells." However, the remainder of All I Want for Christmas leans more toward Nashville safe bets than easygoing St. Bart's. Fans likely won't mind; after all, Chesney's duets with Randy Owen (on the Alabama classic "Christmas in Dixie") and Willie Nelson ("Pretty Paper") are solid, and -- ever the softie -- he brings his mom and Aunt Sharon in for a touching take on "Silent Night." But filler like the needlessly electronicized "Silver Bells" or "The Angel at the Top of My Tree," which is basic pop-country dressed up in Christmas ribbons and bows, might have been replaced with more of the title track's temperate climes. Chesney and his pals sure look like they're having a great time in the back cover photo, lounging in the sun and sand with their Santa caps. But All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan could have spread the Coppertone around a little more, instead of relying on Nashville conventionalism. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
'No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems'
Release Date 4/23/2002
Tracks 12
Label BNA
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Kenny Chesney has a voice that'd be perfect for hard country, but he just doesn't have his heart in it. He likes the sweet melodies and smooth production that come with crossover country-pop, and while that may have been a frustration at one point, at least for those who consider pure country as the only guideline for quality in country, by his sixth album, 2002's No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems, he's landed upon an effortless blend of pop and twang, something that is undeniable in its crossover intentions but rather charming all the same. Perhaps Chesney relies a bit too much on ballads and mid-tempo numbers throughout this album, but even the sprightlier numbers here -- the terrific opener "Young," "Big Star" -- are not honky tonk ravers, but heartland-styled rockers that gently rock and keep the melody in the forefront. So, all of No Shoes flows smoothly, and little of it could be called pure country -- the most down-home thing about the entire enterprise is the rounded twang in his voice -- but as a mature, even-handed country-pop album, it doesn't get much better than this in 2002, since it's melodic, well produced, strong on solid material, and most of all, very well sung. It's one of the highlights in his catalog. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kenny Chesney's voice has always been a remarkable instrument, capable of a wide range of emotional expression, despite Chesney's subtle approach and laid-back delivery. On Everywhere We Go, however, this unique talent seems wasted on too many cookie-cutter ballads and country-rock numbers that don't even pretend to rock. Chesney is at his best on songs like "What I Need to Do," a Don Henley-like mid-tempo pop song. The song's quietly desperate, regular guy lyrics fit Chesney like a glove, and consequently make ridiculous country stud-muffin filler like "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" sound completely out of place. In its finest moments, this album recalls the work of Don Williams. Unfortunately, these moments are rare; unlike Williams, Chesney seems afraid to explore the darker areas of his psyche and is content to wallow in Hallmark card emotional territory. The musicianship on Everywhere We Go is superb (typical for Nashville studio cats), yet the players here -- like Chesney -- have little meat in which to sink their teeth and, thus, sound a bit sleepy. ~ Pemberton Roach, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Building upon the bright, cheerful punch of Me and You, Kenny Chesney widened his musical vision on his fourth album, 1997's I Will Stand. This is partially due to his own pen -- he has two songwriting credits here and none on the predecessor -- but it's more down to the music he's chosen to sing and the persona he conveys here. He's relaxed, friendly, and assured, never trying too hard, which gently draws listeners in on both his ballads and rockers -- and, what is turning increasingly into his specialty, the sunny midtempo tunes, equally suited for the beach or the bar. This is typified by the breezy "She Gets That Way" and the hazy '70s soft rock vibe of his co-written original "You Win, I Win, We Lose," and even the snappier songs (such as "She's Got It All" and "Steamy Windows") don't push too hard -- which is fine, because the slower songs don't get mired in sappy sentiment, as "That's Why I'm Here" makes clear. It never sounds like Chesney would belong to either the hillbilly heaven or honky tonk hell that he sings about on the purest country song here -- the one that also features verses by Tracy Lawrence and George Jones -- but that's the appeal of Kenny Chesney: he doesn't live in the past, but he doesn't disrespect it, either. He's merely in the present, trading upon modern sounds and the tunes that he grew up with, making contemporary country that feels country in how he mixes up country-rock, soft rock, and pop, and it's down so casually that it's easy to take for granted how good he is on this record, the first that really brought his star persona to the forefront. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
