Life on a Rock

Where some of Chesney’s country contemporaries have tried to go reggae, he went the extra mile and *got* reggae. “Spread the Love” features an awesome guest appearance by Bob Marley’s old band The Wailers, which helps make this song sound more legit than anything similarly attempted thus far by Chesney’s peers.

Life on a Rock follows its 2012 predecessor Welcome to the Fishbowl quickly -- very quickly, appearing a mere ten months later. Why did Chesney rush out this record? It could be a tacit acknowledgment that Chesney wasn't entirely engaged on Welcome to the Fishbowl, an album that was thoroughly professional not only in its production but in its construction: Chesney barely wrote a thing on the record, choosing to slide into the role of superstar singer, acting like a rock star and living under a spotlight. It was fine but slight, somewhat lost in its own gleaming reflection, leaving little lasting impression. Life on a Rock is similarly light but it's not overly polished. It's breezy, music made for an afternoon at the beach -- a return to the sun-and-sand anthems that Chesney has had as a sideline for about a decade now.