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Kenny Chesney|The Road And The Radio

The Road And The Radio

Kenny Chesney

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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 /TiVo

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The Road And The Radio

Kenny Chesney

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1
The Road and the Radio
00:05:08

Wyatt Beard, Background Vocal - Casey Beathard, Composer - Casey Beathard, Lyricist - Kenny Chesney, Performer - Kenny Chesney, Producer - Kenny Chesney, Composer - Kenny Chesney, Lyricist - Tim Hensley, Background Vocal - Buddy Cannon, Producer

(P) 2005 Sony Music Entertainment

2
Living in Fast Forward
00:03:32

Wyatt Beard, Background Vocal - Kenny Chesney, Performer - Kenny Chesney, Producer - Tim Hensley, Background Vocal - Buddy Cannon, Producer - Rivers Rutherford, Composer - Rivers Rutherford, Lyricist - David Lee Murphy, Composer - David Lee Murphy, Lyricist

(P) 2005 Sony Music Entertainment

3
Who You'd Be Today
00:04:15

Bill Luther, Composer - Bill Luther, Lyricist - Kenny Chesney, Performer - Kenny Chesney, Producer - Buddy Cannon, Producer - Aimee Mayo, Composer - Aimee Mayo, Lyricist

(P) 2005 Sony Music Entertainment

4
You Save Me
00:03:56

Wyatt Beard, Background Vocal - Brett James, Lyricist - Brett James, Composer - Kenny Chesney, Performer - Kenny Chesney, Producer - Tim Hensley, Background Vocal - Buddy Cannon, Producer - Troy Verges, Composer - Troy Verges, Lyricist

(P) 2005 Sony Music Entertainment

5
Summertime
00:03:27

Wyatt Beard, Background Vocal - Kenny Chesney, Performer - Kenny Chesney, Producer - Craig Wiseman, Composer - Craig Wiseman, Lyricist - Tim Hensley, Background Vocal - Buddy Cannon, Producer - Steve McEwan, Composer - Steve McEwan, Lyricist

(P) 2005 Sony Music Entertainment

6
In a Small Town
00:04:12

Wyatt Beard, Background Vocal - Kenny Chesney, Performer - Kenny Chesney, Producer - Tim Hensley, Background Vocal - Jon McElroy, Composer - Jon McElroy, Lyricist - Buddy Cannon, Producer - Cory Mayo, Composer - Cory Mayo, Lyricist

(P) 2005 Sony Music Entertainment

7
Beer In Mexico
00:04:33

Wyatt Beard, Background Vocal - Kenny Chesney, Performer - Kenny Chesney, Producer - Kenny Chesney, Composer - Kenny Chesney, Lyricist - Tim Hensley, Background Vocal - Buddy Cannon, Producer

(P) 2005 Sony Music Entertainment

8
Freedom
00:04:42

Wyatt Beard, Background Vocal - Bill Luther, Composer - Bill Luther, Lyricist - Kenny Chesney, Performer - Kenny Chesney, Producer - Tim Hensley, Background Vocal - Buddy Cannon, Producer - Tom Douglas, Composer - Tom Douglas, Lyricist

(P) 2005 Sony Music Entertainment

9
Tequila Loves Me
00:04:07

Wyatt Beard, Background Vocal - Arnie Roman, Composer - Arnie Roman, Lyricist - Kenny Chesney, Performer - Kenny Chesney, Producer - Tim Hensley, Background Vocal - Jon McElroy, Composer - Jon McElroy, Lyricist - Buddy Cannon, Producer - Buddy Cannon, Background Vocal

(P) 2005 Sony Music Entertainment

10
Somebody Take Me Home
00:03:31

Wyatt Beard, Background Vocal - Kenny Chesney, Performer - Kenny Chesney, Producer - Radney Foster, Composer - Radney Foster, Lyricist - Tim Hensley, Background Vocal - Buddy Cannon, Producer - Randy Rogers, Composer - Randy Rogers, Lyricist

(P) 2005 Sony Music Entertainment

11
Like Me
00:05:11

Wyatt Beard, Background Vocal - Troy Jones, Composer - Troy Jones, Lyricist - Kenny Chesney, Performer - Kenny Chesney, Producer - Tim Hensley, Background Vocal - Buddy Cannon, Producer

(P) 2005 Sony Music Entertainment

Album review

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 /TiVo

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