Kenny Cheney has attained a place in country music that few have achieved over the years. After slowly building his career in the 1990’s, Chesney exploded into superstardom this decade with a mix of reflective ballads, fun country rockers and a lot of time spent at the beach. A couple of years ago Chesney met, married and quickly divorced Renee Zellweger and from the sound of the songs on his latest album, “Lucky Old Sun,” that relationship really has affected him. The first track on the album is “I’m Alive” and it softly and reflectively discusses the way Chesney feels after the wake of that break-up. Dave Matthews guests for the last verse of the song.
“Way Down Here” is another reflective song and it discusses finding that one place in your life where you want to be, particularly when you’re feeling ‘down.’ Since Chesney’s famously enthralled with the Caribbean, “Way Down Here” is him wanting to spend time there; “if I’m gonna be down, I’m gonna be down way down here.” “Boats” speaks to the spirit to want to be free and away from the life that we have to get away from. It’s a song that speaks to the human condition of wanting to get away or to do things after tragedy has struck us. “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven” is the first single from “Lucky Old Sun” and it features Bob Marley’s backing band “The Wailers.” When you think about the lyrical message, everyone does want to go to a ‘better place’ when they die, but who wants to die right now? We all want to live ‘forever’ even if we know it isn’t going to happen.
Mac McAnally is a poetic singer/songwriter who has been friends with many of Nashville’s finest over the years (and a touring member of Jimmy Buffett’s band). “Down The Road” was originally recorded by Mac in 1990 for one of his many overlooked (by radio) albums. It’s a simple, direct love song that speaks to small town life and lives. It’s a great song and I’m really happy that Mac sings a verse on the song too. Hopefully he’ll get a big ole’ hit from the partnership. “Ten With A Two” is one of the few songs with any tempo in it and despite the island vibe in the background, it’s one of the most fun songs Chesney has recorded in years. What would’ve made this song even more fun would have been to make the song more of a honky tonk send up, since the lyrics about “Last Night I came in at two with a ten and at ten I woke up with a two” directly speak to the way a partyin’ man will see things through ‘beer goggles’ and might go to bed with someone who he normally wouldn’t go to bed with.
James Slater and Casey Beathard co-wrote a song that seems like it was tailor-made for Chesney. “The Life” is a song that speaks to the human need to work very hard for things only to realize that living life to it’s fullest is the best gift we can give ourselves. We really don’t need that lexus, that big screen TV or all those designer clothes. Really, all we need is to live and enjoy a carefree life. “Nowhere To Go, Nowhere To Be” is a solo Kenny Chesney co-write that finds the songwriter contemplating life and what it means to ‘slide from reality’ from time to time.
The album ends with the pop standard “That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)” and it features Willie Nelson singing in duet form. Like the rest of the album, this is a reflective song meant to be played while sititng on a beach thinking about your life. It’s a concise end to an album that ultimately will be remembered for what it is, a record to play when you would like to be in a relaxed mode. While it’s full of beach-y rhythms and melodies, the album never gets too goofy as many Jimmy Buffett albums do.
(The deluxe version of the album includes four live tracks. They are “Boston,” “Got A Little Crazy,” “Soul of a Sailor” and “Guitars & Tiki Bars.”)
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