Kenny Chesney "The Big Revival" Album Review

Prime Cuts: If This Bus Could Talk, The Big Revival,  Don't It

In a genre that is pandering towards the superficial where women are portrayed as two dimensional mannequins whose raison d'etre is to make men swoon and a good time is defined by crushing beer cans by the riverbank, Kenny Chesney's "The Big Revival" is a much welcomed release.  Taking a year of recess in order to craft this record with care and verve, "The Big Revival" is one of Chesney's most ruminative and in-depth album since "Hemmingway's Whiskey."  Sure, there are still songs about tailgating before a football game (i.e., "Flora Bama"), but at the ripe age of 46, Chesney has gone deeper than his 2002 mantra "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem."  Stylistically, Chesney has eschewed the Bud Lime-tinged reggae of his last album "Life on the Rock" and he has gone back to the mother-milk of solid country music of huge stadium guitar riffs and thoughtful ballads.

"The Big Revival" is bookended with two inspirational numbers, both of which chronicles preaching of two very different kinds.  The title cut "The Big Revival," formerly cut by John Anderson and Montgomery Gentry, is one of those perky tunes written by the late Dennis Linde.  Linde who wrote Alan Jackson's "The Talkin' Song Repair Blues" and Elvis Presley's "Burning Love" leaves his fingerprints all over this paean.  Featuring his quirky chord changes, "The Big Revival" is a swampy blues piece that speaks of a tent-revival wowing his congregation with his preaching and his faith-healing capacities aptly summed up in the line: "Praise the Lord and pass me a copperhead."  On the album's other spectrum is "If This Bus Could Talk."  Here, Chesney goes nostalgia as he reflects upon the road he has trodden way back from opening shows as rookie for Patty Loveless in 1993 up till today.  And when Chesney sings, "Twenty summers ago and I hope it never ends," we can't help but say, "Amen" too.

If you think Chesney has gone the bro-country route a la Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line with "Drink It Up," well, he's not exactly talking about alcohol consumption.  Rather, "Drink It Up" speaks of life and making the most of the existence God has given us.  "American Kids," Chesney's current single, is a strong rhythmic piece quip with lots of "heys," hand claps, cajon sounds, and a raw immediacy that make this a definite attention grabber. Grace Potter who has teamed with Chesney on the 2011 smash "Tequila and Me," adds her accompany vocals to "Wild Child," an ode to loving a strong-willed woman.  However, given that Grace Potter is very much an acclaimed artist of her own, why was she assigned on both occasions to just a vocal harmony role?  When will we ever hear a full blown duet between the two?

Not that this album is perfect, it does have its share of duds as well.  "Til It's Gone" has that borrowed EDM echo-y percussion that comes across as a desperate attempt to be hip.  And the aforementioned "Flora Bama" is as thin and trivial as the titular suggests.  Not that Chesney's over two decade career needs any reviving, though "The Big Revival" has its tepid moments, it's still one of country music's better albums.  One that brims with thought provoking songs and one that is combustible enough to ignite one's hopes in the genre again.

 

 

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