Road & The Radio

After the sort of year that Kenny Chesney has experienced--from a whirlwind courtship through a short-lived marriage--a guy needs some time to chill. Thus it's no surprise that The Road and the Radio finds the party-hearty country hunk in an uncommonly introspective mood. The soul-searching title track establishes the album's intimacy and theme of taking stock, sustained through the bittersweet balladry of "Who You'd Be Today," "In a Small Town," "Freedom," and "Like Me." Though Chesney only wrote one track here, "Beer in Mexico," he invests the rest with personal conviction. Even the comparatively hard-rocking "Living in Fast Forward" has a reflective twist to it, while the Caribbean lilt of "Tequila Loves Me" has more than a measure of melancholy. Whatever the effects of romantic travails on his personal life, his music has gained some emotional depth. --Don McLeese