Kenny Chesney, ‘The Big Revival’ — Album of the Month (September 2014)
The Boot's readers have chosen Kenny Chesney's 'The Big Revival' as Album of the Month for September 2014.
Chesney's first album since 2012's 'Life on a Rock' earned 42 percent of the vote, beating out upcoming discs from Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, Big and Rich, Blake Shelton and more.
The singer first announced that he was working on the disc back in April. He'd previously revealed plans to take the year off from touring to focus on new music.
“I love touring more than anyone in the world,” Chesney said at the time. “I love the band, the crew, the whole team — and it’s weird to not be looking at next year’s stage design, but I shouldn’t make albums to service the tour. So I’m going to put the music first, dial it back and do the strangest thing in the world: not hit the road next summer.”
Freeing up his schedule helped Chesney think outside the box for his 15th studio album.
“The whole point of taking the time to get to a really creative place was to have the room to look at not what we’d done, but where we wanted to go,” he says. “After all this time, if I can’t push myself and give the fans something that inspires them, that gets them pumped up, there’s no reason to just make a record to make a record.”
But 'The Big Revival' could have been entirely different.
“I made a whole record and mixed it and threw it away,” Chesney says. “We’ve got a better record now for it.”
The album's first single, 'American Kids,' debuted in June. Written by Rodney Clawson, Luke Laird and Shane McAnally, it celebrates the spirit of the country's youth.
“When I heard it, I knew I was gonna cut it,” Chesney says of the song. “It was unlike anything I’d ever heard -- and I listen to a lot of songs. The rhythms, the images, the way the melody moved … It just grabs you and holds on, but even more importantly, it feels really good.”
'American Kids' debuted at No. 27 on Billboard and No. 31 on iTunes, then soared to the top of the iTunes Country Songs chart two days later.
“People feel just like I do about this song. They love how it makes them feel, where it takes them in their life," Chesney says. "You don’t need a big party to have fun, it’s right where you are and how you take it.”
Co-produced by Chesney and Buddy Cannon, 'The Big Revival' also includes songs with Grace Potter and Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski. The album is due out on Sept. 23 and is available for pre-order now. Chesney says he plans to tour in support of the album next year.
Kenny Chesney, ‘The Big Revival’ Track Listing:
1. ‘The Big Revival’
2. ‘Drink It Up’
3. ‘Til It’s Gone’
4. ‘American Kids’
5. ‘Wild Child’ (feat. Grace Potter)
6. ‘Beer Can Chicken’
7. ‘Rock Bottom’
8. ‘Don’t It’ (feat. Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski)
9. ‘Save It for a Rainy Day’
10. ‘Flora-Bama’
11. ‘If This Bus Could Talk’