The Bottom Line: Chesney has a good voice and strong writing skills, but this overproduced album has "please look at me, see how crossover I am" written all over it.
Justin_Cord's Full Review: When the Sun Goes Down [Bonus Tracks] [Limited] by...
I love country rock and No Depression – Gram Parsons, Mike Nesmith’s First National Band, Uncle Tupelo. But I don’t like country pop. I say this upfront because Kenny Chesney’s new album “When the Sun Goes Down” could be better than I think it is.
To me, if the only thing that makes an album “country” is the fact that the person who’s singing has a Southern accent and he occasionally sings about getting drunk because women are so hard to understand, then it’s not really country.
Yes, there’s a banjo on “Sun.” But there’s also an obnoxious electric guitar that pops up for solos on several tracks, first on “I Go Back.” It’s a good song, about how music can be a touchstone for the pivotal events in our lives. But the arrangement is overproduced and slick.
The arrangements are overproduced throughout Chesney’s album, especially on the song that gives the album its title.
“When the Sun Goes Down” is a duet with Uncle Kracker, the guy? band? who/that did that pointless remake of Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away.” Steel drums and lyrics about chillin’ on the beach do conjure up a relaxing vacation, but the song just sounds contrived to me, like it’s trying very hard to appeal to as many different youthful demographics as possible.
Chesney obviously is a talented songwriter. The simple, elegant arrangement of “Old Blue Chair” is a marked contrast to the rest of the album. And, yes, “Being Drunk’s a Lot Like Loving You” is pretty funny.
Chesney also is a great singer. His voice sounds assured, and his delivery is genuine on emotional tracks like “There Goes My Life,” a tune about a young man who has an unexpected child, and then loses her because he’s too immature to handle the transition to adulthood.
If Chesney made an album that was more stripped down and less eager to please any and all radio station program lists, then I’d be happy to listen up.
Recommended:
No
Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out
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