The Road and the Radio (CD - 2005)

Personnel: John Jorgenson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, baritone guitar); Mike Johnson (steel guitar); Samuel B. Levine, Samuel B. Levine (tenor saxophone); Jeff Bailey (trumpet); Randy McCormick (piano, Wurlitzer piano, Hammond b-3 organ, Wurlitzer organ, keyboards); John Hobbs (piano, Hammond b-3 organ, keyboards, synthesizer); Larry Paxton, Michael Rhodes (bass instrument); Kenny Greenberg (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); John Willis (acoustic guitar, nylon-string guitar, banjo); B. James Lowry (acoustic guitar); Pat Buchanan, J.T. Corenflos (electric guitar); Dan Dugmore, Steve Hinson (steel guitar); Tim Hensley (banjo, background vocals); Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Jim Horn (baritone saxophone); Steve Patrick (trumpet); Chris Dunn (trombone); Wyatt Beard (piano, background vocals); Steve Nathan (synthesizer); Paul Leim (drums, percussion); Melonie Cannon, Buddy Cannon (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Kevin Beamish.

Liner Note Author: Kenny Chesney.

Recording information: Emerald Entertainment Studios; WEstwood Sound Studios.

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

Although most of the attention Kenny Chesney garnered in 2005 was for his brief marriage to actress Renee Zellweger, he also managed to release two studio albums during that year--the laid-back, island-hopping BE AS YOU ARE and THE ROAD AND THE RADIO, a more straightforward country outing. The latter record revisits his earlier style, spending more time on dusty gravel roads than palm-tree-lined beaches. On "Living in Fast Forward," Chesney ponders his busy life dubbing himself a "hillbilly rock star out of control" amidst ZZ Top-like guitar riffs. The amiable singer also offers up the emotional ballad "You Save Me" and two odes to south-of-the-border drinking--the upbeat "Beer in Mexico" and the melancholy "Tequila Loves Me"--making this a release that's sure to appeal to fans of all phases of Chesney's career. minimize