Hemingways Whiskey
Kenny Chesney continues to play beach-y twang on his fourteenth studio album — the catchy “Coastal” rhymes “love handles” with “Jesus sandals” as he makes a funny (yet valid) case to ditch the rat race and live on the sand. Grace Potter lends honeyed harmonies to the sabbatical serenade “You and Tequila” while twang-rocker “Live a Little” is an uplifting insta-hit that encourages the overworked to stop and smell the sea breeze. Chesney has been inspired by Ernest Hemingway via Guy Clark as evidenced by the Clark-penned title-track and tunes like the opening “The Boys of Fall,” which rings close to Adult Contemporary while retaining Chesney’s poetically nostalgic narratives. Other songs like “Where I Grew Up” and the lilting “Seven Days” touch on Hemingway’s themes of living a full life and owning up to one’s responsibilities. Chesney’s duet with George Jones on Jones’ “Small Y’all” is a good reminder that this is indeed country music.
Good times have sunk into the marrow of Kenny Chesney’s bones, slowing down his metabolism, making him unlikely to kick up his tempos or turn up his amplifiers.