Greatest Hits

by

Kenny Chesney

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In 1993, Kenny Chesney put out his first album My Wildest Dreams (on Capricorn Records) which sold poorly and generated no radio hits. Each subsequent Chesney release, however, has done better than its predecessor, culminating in 1999's platinum-selling Everywhere We Go. The momentum continued with this, his first hits collection.

For starters, the ten previous hits are truly great. The wedding anthem "Me and You" and the alcoholic saga "That's Why I'm Here" are incredibly moving, whereas the foot stompin' "How Forever Feels," "She's Got It All," and "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" generate loads of excitement. Those latter uptempo tunes are where Chesney really shines, with his twangy vocals at their most distinctive and full of personality.

None of the seven new recordings on Greatest Hits (two of which are remakes) are remotely as rowdy. The Randy Travis duet "Baptism" aims for inspiration, but gets mired in a lumbering melody, while the mid-tempo tales "Don't Happen Twice" and "For The First Time" are thematically and musically repetitive. A live version of "Back Where I Come From" offers a stronger vocal than the original, however, and "I Lost It" is one of his best ballads to date.

Ultimately, the success of "Don't Happen Twice" and "I Lost It" at country radio helped make this set a mega best-seller. Still, Chesney needed to pick up the pace with some high-octane new material next time around. He did just that with the strong followup album No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem and its toetapping leadoff hit "Young."

I am a huge fan of all music, and do not like the idea of greatest hits albums. It takes away from the artists intentions when creating the original albums (i.e. the wall, born to run, ashes to ashes, etc.) So when my girlfriend got me into K.C., i tried to get the albums instead of going for the greatest hits. However, I realized I could have saved a lot of money and hours of sifting thru mostly mediocre music by getting this album right away. Especially if you plan on seeing him in concert, this with his two later albums no shoes..., and .. sun goes down, is "all you need to know." By listening to all the albums, I probably respect K.C. more as an artist, but that being said, it will only prepare you for let down live w/o owning this one.