Life on a Rock

Personnel: John Willis (acoustic guitar, gut-string guitar, ukulele); Keith Gattis (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Kenny Greenberg, Mac McAnally, Audley Freed (acoustic guitar); Pat Buchanan (electric guitar); Adam Steffey (mandolin); Larry Paxton (cello); Mickey Raphael (harmonica); Jeffrey Taylor (accordion); John Hobbs (piano, Hammond b-3 organ, Wurlitzer organ, synthesizer); Lonnie Wilson (drums, shaker); Paul Leim (drums); Robert Greenidge (steel drum); Eric Darken, Fred Eltringham (percussion); Gretchen Rhodes, Melonie Cannon, Wyatt Beard (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Justin Niebank.
Liner Note Author: Kenny Chesney.
Recording information: Big Yard Studios, Kingston, Jamaica; Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN; Lion's Den Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Maui Recording, Maui, HI; Ocean Way Nashville Studios, Nashville, TN; Sound Emporium Studios, Nashville, TN; Spyder J Studios, London, UK.
Photographers: Glenn Rose; Shaun Silva; Kevin Burgess; Kenny Chesney; Ben Bourassa; Bob Shinners.
Life on a Rock follows its 2012 predecessor Welcome to the Fishbowl quickly -- very quickly, appearing a mere ten months later. Why did Chesney rush out this record? It could be a tacit acknowledgment that Chesney wasn't entirely engaged on Welcome to the Fishbowl, an album that was thoroughly professional not only in its production but in its construction: Chesney barely wrote a thing on the record, choosing to slide into the role of superstar singer, acting like a rock star and living under a spotlight. It was fine but slight, somewhat lost in its own gleaming reflection, leaving little lasting impression. Life on a Rock is similarly light but it's not overly polished. It's breezy, music made for an afternoon at the beach -- a return to the sun-and-sand anthems that Chesney has had as a sideline for about a decade now. At times, he accentuates his good times in the sun just a bit too heavily, inviting the Wailers in so they can give "Spread the Love" a genuine reggae bounce and also writing an ode to "Marley" somewhat in the vein of Eric Church's "Springsteen," but this is the mildest form of overreaching; he's trying just a little bit too hard to chill out. Apart from that, Life on a Rock flows sweetly and easily, the tunes gently drifting between strummed ballads and shimmering low-key pop, with the opening song (and first single) "Pirate Flag" being the only song here with a hard pulse. Chesney never sounds like he's trying too hard but, the thing of it is, he wrote all but three of the songs here, so this represents a considerable uptick in effort from its predecessor. That effort pays off: this feels fuller, richer than any Chesney album in recent memory, but it's also unhurried and light, an ideal soundtrack for a long, lazy summer. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine