Kenny Chesney released his nineteenth studio album ‘Here and Now’ on Friday and it was mostly a return to the Chesney we all fell in love with in the 2000s. Personally, I’ve always felt he was a hit or miss kind of artist. His voice doesn’t have a ton of character or the ability to do a great deal of inflections, so it makes it harder to connect at times. This album was no different. Whether he wants the listener to have fun or he’s trying to pack an emotional gut punch, if I don’t think he feels it, I won’t feel it.
Let’s start with the good. There are definitely some radio ready songs on this album that could be huge hits for him. ‘We Do’ is a great leadoff to the album and it’s a nice dedication to his fanbase No Shoes Nation that has stuck by him for almost thirty years. Chesney likes to blend country and rock elements and this song definitely has a hint of Guns N’ Roses influence on it. ‘Wasted’ and ‘Happy Does’ are also up-tempo songs that could give him success at radio. Both deal with happiness and whether the way someone is living is bringing any fulfillment to their lives. A recurring theme on this album was living in the moment vs. hopes for the future. The standout ballad was ‘Someone to Fix,’ which basically served as an apology to an ex for not being as stable in the relationship as she hoped he would be. Any of these songs would have been a better choice for a lead single than ‘Tip of My Tongue.’
There are a few forgettable or dull songs in this collection, as can happen with Chesney. ‘Beautiful World’ tried to get emotionally deep, but ultimately went too broad for anyone to actually care about. ‘Everyone She Knows’ and ‘Knowing You’ got in their own way with repetition that it made me not want to care about the message of the songs. Probably the most perplexing song was the finale ‘Guys Named Captain.’ Typically, I can tell on first listen whether a song can be a fan-favorite or not. I think this song walks a fine line between being an emotional hit like ‘The Boys of Fall’ or a dud like ‘El Cerrito Place.’ I’m almost more interested to hear what other reactions to this song are more than my own because I just can’t decide yet. So take a listen to ‘Here and Now’ here and let us know what you think.
