Kenny Chesney: When the Sun Goes Down

By Erin Wienke

When people say they like every type of music but country, Kenny Chesney is the type they are referring to. The twanging singer releases yet another predictable country album, “When the Sun Goes Down,” full of longing for lost loves, drinking shots of whiskey and missing his dead father.

-He pines away for things he should have said, places he should have gone and girls he should have skinny-dipped with. However, he overlooks the album’s major flaw: making another predictable album.

As if the horrendous album isn’t enough, he includes a booklet complete with cheesy pictures of him covered in sand. It looks as though he just shot the remake of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” video with a bottle of Jack as his leading lady.

The liner notes include Chesney’s personal reflections on the 12 tracks. It’s easy to tell why he only helped co-write two of these songs: Even his descriptions lack true emotion. He attempts to wax philosophical on the bonds between teammates but fails to explain any real meaning behind the music.

Even Bruce Springsteen couldn’t save “One Step Up,” his collaboration with Chesney. He tries to be creative with the lyrics “One step up, two steps back,” but manages to confuse even that easy-to-remember cliche. While the song has a somewhat decent guitar riff, the background female vocals sound as if he was repaying a favor by letting some girl sing on his album.

In “Live Those Songs,” Chesney describes where he will end up in five years if his next album is as predictable as this one: “Working the counter at Walgreens.”