Mark Chesnutt Albums (14)
'Rollin' with the Flow'
Release Date 4/29/2008
Tracks 12
Label Lofton Creek
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What The Critics Say
Most fans know that Mark Chesnutt is a dying breed in country music, among the last in line of a particular tradition. Chesnutt spent a full decade trying to get signed before his manager Joe Ladd scored him a deal with MCA in the early '90s. Chesnutt's Rollin' with the Flow is another steady, consistent, remarkable country record, filled with great songs, amazing musicians, stellar production, and -- of course -- his clear, clean, expressive voice. It also seemed in mid-2008 that music fans were rediscovering his brand of no-frills, clean-sounding country. The dozen tracks on Chesnutt's 12th album on the independent Lofton Creek Records reflect, that after 22 years in the music biz, he remains a solid and completely trustworthy artist who delivers no matter the setting. Producer Jimmy Ritchey assembled an all-star cast, including bassist Glenn Worf and guitarists B. James Lowry and Brent Mason, with drummers Eddie Bayers and Lonnie Wilson, among others, reflecting the singer's deep commitment to modern honky tonk music. These days, this is as straight-up country as you're likely to find. The song selection contains a pair of originals by Chesnutt as well as a few by Ritchey and Bob Regan, including the opener, "Things to Do in Wichita," a midtempo guitar-drenched ballad that feels like a road trip song. Chesnutt sings in his winsome baritone about the many miniscule things he does to kill time while waiting for his estranged girlfriend to call. The title track, written by Jerry Hayes, is another shimmering ballad about living through the changes he's endured during the process of road rambling. These are both sad songs, but they also transfer honest emotion and tell stories that people can insert themselves into and empathize with. There's also great humor here, as in the rollicking "(Come on In) The Whiskey's Fine," which feels like an update of "High Friends in Low Places." (Chesnutt recorded the song before Garth Brooks.) Add to this the midtempo rocking country blues of "If the Devil Brought You Roses." In sum, anybody remotely interested in real country music these days needs to seek out Rollin' with the Flow; it's as solid an album as Chesnutt's ever recorded -- which is saying plenty. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'Heard It in a Love Song'
Release Date 9/5/2006
Tracks 10
Label Cbuj Ent
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What The Critics Say
After releasing a long series of cookie-cutter Nash-Vegas albums through most of the '90s, Mark Chesnutt took a welcome step back to his honky tonk roots on his fine 2004 album Savin' the Honky Tonk, and while Heard It in a Love Song lacks the hard country feel of that disc, it's a solid set that confirms the man's musical instincts are back on track. Heard It in a Love Song is primarily devoted to covers of tunes associated with the likes of Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Johnny Paycheck and Waylon Jennings, with Chesnutt focusing on love (both good and bad) most of the time. Chesnutt's sure got a way with a weeper -- "A Day in the Life of a Fool" and "Apartment #9" practically demand a beer to cry in -- and he brings a warmth and weathered sentimentality to "Dreaming My Dreams with You" and "Goodbye Comes Hard for Me" that's touching without getting saccharine. While the cover of the Marshall Tucker Band's "Heard it in a Love Song" is the slickest thing here, it still gives off an honest barroom ambience, and the rest of this album compares favorably to Chesnutt's great early work. At less than 31 minutes, Heard It in a Love Song's only flaw is its length -- with Chesnutt sounding this good, most fans will wish there were another few songs on this set, but what's here is modern-day honky tonk served strong and straight and sounding mighty fine. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Savin' the Honky Tonk'
Release Date 9/14/2004
Tracks 15
Label Universal
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What The Critics Say
There's a lot of truth to the title of Mark Chesnutt's tenth album, 2004's Savin' the Honky Tonk. Chenutt began his career as a new traditionalist country singer, indebted to Merle and George and singing straight-ahead honky tonk, but as his star rose and the decade rolled along, he moved further and further into country-pop, culminating in his 1999 crossover hit "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," a cover of Aerosmith's love theme to Michael Bay's absurd Armageddon. It might have been his biggest hit, peaking at 17 on the pop charts, but this wasn't a breakthrough to a new level of success. Shortly afterward, he lost not only that newfound pop, but he had a hard time cracking the country Top 40 as well. He left Decca/MCA Nashville after 2000's Lost in the Feeling, releasing a formulaic eponymous album on Columbia in 2002, yet despite a modest hit in its first single, "She Was," the album disappeared quickly and, with it, so did Chesnutt's contract with Columbia. Left without a major, Chesnutt signed with the indie Vivaton and decided to abandon the increasingly poppy, polished material that characterized his albums of the late '90s. So, he turned back to honky tonk as much to save himself as to save it, and the results are by and large pretty terrific. Singing hardcore honky tonk, Chesnutt not only sounds comfortable and relaxed, he's re-energized, both by the straight-ahead setting and the freedom to pick songs without an eye on the airwaves. There are still a couple of ballads that are slightly treacly, but in this unadorned setting, the sentiment doesn't seem so saccharine. Plus, they're primarily used as a change of pace here, since the heart of this record is in twangy, rollicking honky tonk songs. Three songs mention drinking or beer in the title, two others mention honky tonks, one tune is about "Mama's House," and a bunch of others are filled with bad behavior, heartache, and humor. While Chesnutt's band is a bunch of Nashville pros, the music is none too polished -- it's clear that they're having a good time, and it's hard for listeners not to have a good time as well. Perhaps Savin' the Honky Tonk will be just a one-off for Chesnutt, and he'll return to poppier material after this return to his roots, but hopefully not. This album proves that he's at his best when he sticks to the hard stuff. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Mark Chesnutt was one of country music's top stars in 1991-1994, a period when he scored five number one hits. In the subsequent five years, he cooled slightly, but still scattered eight Top Ten hits, the last of them being a chart-topping country version of the Diane Warren-penned Aerosmith hit, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," in 1999. He has struggled since then, and the failure of his 2000 album Lost in the Feeling led to the severing of a decade-long relationship with MCA Records. As the eponymous title of his Columbia Records debut indicates, he is attempting to start afresh, but he is doing so without changing much other than his label affiliation. He has picked 11 entries from the Nashville songwriting combine, hired the usual Nashville sidemen, and made an average country album. The release was preceded by several months by a single, "She Was," a sentimental ballad about a saintly mother, that hadn't made a lot of headway on the charts by the time the album was released. Its one-dimensional idea is fairly typical of mediocre country songwriting, and there's more of the same on the full-length disc, including "I'm in Love With a Married Woman" (the twist, of course, being that the married woman is the singer's own wife). Chesnutt turns comic on the album-opening litany of screwups, "Don't Know Why I Do It," and "My Dreams." But just as the sentimental songs aren't really that moving, the humorous ones aren't that funny. There are potential singles that turn up late on the disc, particularly the country-pop "I Want My Baby Back" and the romantic "I Drew Me." But Mark Chesnutt is a just-OK collection appearing at a time when the singer really needs to shake things up to get his career back on track. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'Doing My Country Thing'
Release Date 2/21/2002
Tracks 10
Label Axbar
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What The Critics Say
Album number ten is a good, solid effort from Mark Chesnutt. From songs one to ten, Lost in the Feeling is symbolic of the old days, pure tradition and lots of honky tonk. Chesnutt, sounding very Haggard-esque says he picks songs simply because he likes them and they'll work well in his live show. From the toe-tapping "Angelina" to the provocative "Love in the Hot Afternoon," it's clear what works well for him. He takes a stab at the old Conway Twitty hit, the album's title track, "Lost in the Feeling"and sings it with the finesse of an artist who has been doing this for a long time. Worth mentioning also are two of the album's ballads, "Try Being Me" and "Somewhere out There Tonight." Lost in the Feeling works as a must-have for Chesnutt fans. ~ Maria Konicki Dinoia, All Music Guide
'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing'
Release Date 2/8/1999
Tracks 10
Label MCA Nashville
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What The Critics Say
What do we make of Mark Chesnutt's foray into crossover territory? The bulk of I Don't Want to Miss a Thing is smooth new country, retaining the elements of neo-traditionalism that characterize the best of Chesnutt's earlier albums. There's a nice mix of material, ranging from the tender "Tonight I'll Let My Memories Take Me Home" to the honky tonk of "That's the Way You Make an Ex," which seems to be an homage to George Strait's "All My Ex's Live in Texas." There's also the witty "My Way Back Home," the tale of a man who returns back to "home sweet mobile home" to find that his woman has left him, literally, homeless, and the vaguely Cajun "Jolie." If I Don't Want to Miss a Thing ended there, this would be another good, but not necessarily great, Mark Chesnutt album. But overshadowing the other nine songs on the album is the title track. "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" was penned by Diane Warren, best known for writing hit adult contemporary ballads for the likes of Cher and Celine Dion. The song's first appearance was on the Armageddon movie soundtrack, where it became a major hit for Aerosmith in 1998. While Aerosmith's rendition was over the top, Chesnutt tames the beast, even as the arrangement builds to a dangerously bombastic climax toward the end. On "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," Chesnutt proves he can sing power ballads with the best of them. But that one of the best honky tonk singers of his generation starts tackling this sort of material says a lot about the state of traditional country in Nashville, none of it good. ~ Martin Monkman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Thank God for Believers continues Mark Chesnutt's streak of winning albums, confirming his status as one of the finest neo-honky tonkers of '90s contemporary country. What sets Chesnutt apart is his passion -- he genuinely believes in this music, and he delivers it with conviction. That passion makes the occasional weak song forgivable, but fortunately, there aren't many weak moments on Thank God for Believers -- it's just strong, thoroughly enjoyable modern country. ~ Thom Owens, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Mark Chesnutt's Wings is one of his most impressive efforts, showing the singer expanding his sonic template by stepping away from the commercial leanings of his recent material, yet leaving a slight pop and rock influence to his straightforward traditional country. What really makes the album rank among his best is the consistent quality of songwriting. Featuring songwriters like Jim Lauderdale and Todd Snider, Wings is filled with first-rate material that pushes at the borders of contemporary country while preserving its heritage. Ranging from romantic ballads to Bakersfield-type rave-ups, the record showcases Chesnutt at his finest. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
