This past month, country superstar Kenny Chesney released his sixteenth studio album, Life on a Rock. The singer and songwriter recorded his new album at locations in London, Nashville, Hawaii, LA and Jamaica, and the finished product is composed of a variety of songs— some of which feature Elan, The Wailers, and Willie Nelson. The album was released a mere ten months after Chesney’s last album, Welcome to the Fishbowl, which had a tropical feel and was extremely popular on the charts.
Life on a Rock is comparable to Chesney’s past album Be As You Are (Songs From an Old Blue Chair), which he released in 2005. Both albums feature some of the country artist’s best original songwriting to date, and have a lazy acoustic feel. Chesney’s most praised track off of Be As You Are is titled “Boston,” in which he sings of a girl from Boston who “wears a Red Sox cap to hide her baby dreads,” has found a new laid-back lifestyle on the island, and is not returning to the hectic daily life of living in the city.
The first single that was released from the album was “Pirate Flag,” which is wildly popular among more modern country music listeners because of the catchy beat.The single is the only song on the album that Chesney took no part in writing— leaving the other nine tracks on the album to be influenced by the Caribbean country cowboy himself. The writers of “Pirate Flag” are Ross Copperman and David Lee Murphy, who have also had a lot of experience writing popular country music in the past. Copperman has written hits for Thompson Square (“Glass”), Dierks Bentley (“Tip it on Back”), and Chris Young (“Save Water Drink Beer”). Murphy also had his fair share of working for elite country artists including Jason Aldean (“Big Green Tractor”) and Thompson Square (“Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not”).
Chesney reaches back to his roots with songs such as “When I See This Bar” and “It’s That Time of Day,” as he becomes nostalgic and sings of his past experiences with soft rhythms that seem to just lethargically float along through the lyrics. In “When I See This Bar,” Chesney sings “Pieces of our past slowly slip away, but time just stands still when I walk in this place,” referring to an old bar that is home to many of his memories with his friends.
The cheery, feel-good songs “Coconut Tree” and “Happy on the Hey Now (A Song for Kristi)” add to the overall beach-y and relaxed feel of the album. Life on a Rock also features a tribute to Bob Marley, with a song properly titled “Marley.” The sooth melody is reminiscent of Marley’s old music, and Chesney sings “Where no one’s around but the silence and the sound of ‘Three Little Birds’ for company,” as he includes a shootout to one of Marley’s most popular songs.
Kenny Chesney will be playing at Gillette Stadium August 23 and 24, 2013 as the conclusion of his No Shoes Nation Tour, where he will be sure to play several songs from Life on a Rock. Chesney has also started “Spread The Love” which sells T-shirts, and the profits go directly to the Boston Relief Charity, to aid those affected by the marathon bombings.
