Kenny Chesney’s ‘Road’ is good but not special
Kenny Chesney
“The Road and the Radio” (BNA) •• 1/2
If you’re looking for clues into that ill-fated union between country superstar Kenny Chesney and Hollywood actress Renee Zellweger, don’t look to “The Road and the Radio” for any answers.
That may come on the next album, Chesney has hinted in interviews. These songs were written before the media frenzy surrounding the annulment of their brief marriage, though it’s safe to assume that future selections about his lifestyle could sound like “Living in Fast Forward” – which, as its title says, speaks to a life lived in the spotlight and the need to slow down and reflect.
Unfortunately, Chesney does too much of that on this ballad-heavy batch of melodically anemic, formulaic tunes pitched to country radio. Though the tropical sound used in his last album is toned down, the themes echo his previous concerns: the need to kick back, pop a brewskie and enjoy summer living. The worst offender, the treacly ballad “You Save Me,” sounds like a Backstreet Boys B-side.
If Chesney would take some of the chances he takes on the concert stage and put some more rocking energy into his CDs, he could be a blast on record. On a few songs here, the electric guitars are higher in the mix than usual, and it’s a welcome change. When he gets behind a tasty country-rocker like David Lee Murphy’s “Living in Fast Forward” or “Beer in Mexico,” which Chesney wrote, he’s quite appealing.
As it stands, “The Road and the Radio” is as good as anything Chesney has released before. Wish it was special.
Howard Cohen, Miami Herald
Soundtrack
“Get Rich or Die Tryin’ ” (Interscope) •••
The soundtrack for the new 50 Cent movie is pretty much a 50 Cent album. He’s on all but a handful of tracks, and his collaborators are the usual crew of G-Unit members and associates.
Lloyd Banks, Young Buck and Tony Yayo get solo turns, but 50 dominates. He sets the tone with the smooth but menacing “Hustlers Ambition,” on which he spells out the lengths he’ll go to get what he wants. “On What If,” he ruminates on how wack he’d be if he tried to imitate other stars; “Window Shopper” shows his disdain for those who envy him.
M.O.P. takes the lead on the rugged “When Death Becomes You,” and Mobb Deep and Nate Dogg join in on the club-banging “Have a Party.”
Steve Jones, USA Today
Trey Anastasio
“Shine” (Columbia) •••
Judging by its title and the guitarist-as-free-man cover art, Trey Anastasio is happy to be out of the Phish-bowl that has defined his career for the past decade.
With this, his first post-Phish solo project, Anastasio has created a radio-friendly pop-rock album that showcases his crisp, formidable guitar playing with a surprising amount of focus (nothing cracks the six-minute mark).
From the love-your-neighbor title track – with its chiming ‘70s AM radio vibe – to the acoustic-laden closer, “Love That Breaks All Lines,” Anastasio sounds revitalized throughout, despite the occasional hippy-dippiness of his lyrics.
While the songs are structured to easily gain complexity on the road, they (unlike much of Phish’s studio work) don’t require a live setting to come alive.
Nicole Pensiero, Philadelphia Inquirer
Floetry
“Flo’Ology” (Geffen) ••• 1/2
Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart return with their unique blend of soul and poetics in the follow-up to their Grammy-nominated 2002 debut, “Floetic.”
“Flo’Ology” finds them navigating a broad spectrum of emotions and affairs of the heart. Their sound is more mature and self-assured this time around, as they flow easily from the sexy (“Lay Down”) to the seething (“Feelings”) to the soothing (“Sometimes U Make Me Smile”).
But whatever their mood, they deliver their songs with passion while still managing to sound cool. No one else comes close to their seamless melding of rhythm and rhyme.
Steve Jones, USA Today
Burt Bacharach
“At This Time” (Columbia) ••• 1/2
What the world needs now, more than ever, is love sweet love. That’s the repeated message of this album, which finds one of pop’s greatest composers also expressing himself as a singer and lyricist.
Dr. Dre, Rufus Wainwright and trumpeter Chris Botti are among the diverse admirers featured on this collection of wistful melodies enhanced by lithe arrangements and words that convey a passionate pacifism.
There’s also a pair of haunted, jazz-inflected instrumental tracks – “In Our Time” and “Danger” – and previous Bacharach collaborator Elvis Costello turns up on “Who Are These People?,” a plaintive highlight.
Elysa Gardner, USA Today