Everywhere We Go

About

<i>Everywhere We Go</i> captured Kenny Chesney in a state of flux. For his first three album, Chesney mostly brought the New Traditionalist vibe of Alan Jackson and George Strait into a mid-’90s context, making his presence felt on the country charts in the proce. But when he started expanding his sound in a more pop-friendly direction on 1997’s <i>I Will Stand</i>, he experienced an uptick in popularity. <i>Everywhere We Go</i> embraces that shift with both arms while simultaneously setting the scene for Chesney to explore his alternative identity as the Jimmy Buffett of country with his next release. Presaging that burgeoning identity, Chesney gets into summer-getaway imagery over an easygoing groove on “How Forever Feels” and even name-drops the king of trop-rock: “Now I know how Jimmy Buffett feel.” The beach-bum escapism is less overt but undeniably present on the laidback title track, which finds him and his <i>objet d’amour</i> by turns stretched out on a beach blanket in Mexico and together on a deserted island. It all provides plenty of precedent for the hit title track of 2002’s <i>No Shoe, No Shirt, No Problems</i>. And when he gets into an upbeat party tune like the smash “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” Chesney takes his hand off the honky-tonk throttle in favor of a more country-rock feel. .

via Apple Music

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