Kenny Chesney – Ain’t Back Yet
Almost-All-Country Tuesday continues with a feller we’ve definitely had in here before, but who we’ve still yet to like…
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[4.86]
Matt Cibula: This is maybe my favorite Chesney single ever, as it rocks without apologizing and dude isn’t trying to jimmybuffett me into submission. Lost a point because the bridge lets us off the hook.
[8]
Chuck Eddy: I might excuse this hackwork from a rookie even if I think the horns are corny, but Kenny’s done this kind of nostalgia far better before, scores of times. Give or take “Out Last Night” last year, dude’s been really spinning his wheels lately. But hey, it happened to Seger and Petty and Mellencamp once; was inevitable it’d happen to the Nashvillites who picked up their torch.
[5]
Alfred Soto: He won’t change a thing, not even that pushy horn section. Likable palookas like Chesney need the extra vote of confidence.
[5]
Martin Skidmore: I was pretty negative about McGraw, and this is similar territory, if slightly faster. The vocal is less distinctive, and the music totally anonymous, and the song amounts to nothing. I think of myself as a big country fan, but I don’t mean this kind of thing.
[2]
Anthony Easton: The transformation from a very good sentimental balladeer to a fairly mediocre rock star has now been accomplished. I fear that his best work is now forever behind him.
[5]
Michaelangelo Matos: I find myself pro-Chesney more often than not, though I might feel differently if I were listening to country more. I just get the feeling he really enjoys himself, and it comes across even when the song’s kind of duff. This is a good example: a pretty pro forma see-ya boogie that’s made flesh thanks to a thick arrangement and Kenny being “insinuating” the way Matt Damon would in a movie.
[6]
Ian Mathers: Good god, Kenny Chesney is boring.
[3]