It is easy to latch onto the good things that Kenny Chesney is doing with his music. All of the proceeds from this album go to the "Love for Love City" Foundation to help benefit the rebuilding process of the islands after two hurricanes devastated them over a year ago. However, Chesney isn't just giving away proceeds from a scratch album - this could be his best piece of art to date.
Song for the Saints - The titular track, one Chesney wrote the day after Hurricane Irma hit, is a triumphant call to the islands and all of its inhabitants. "This brokenness will heal, this weakness will be strong, let's lift our voice together as saints go marching on," really summarizes the song's purpose. It perfectly kicks off the album, as it sets the tone that this is not a project full of stadium rockers (like Cosmic Hallelujah), but is an album that is Chesney's heart and soul at its purest form.
Every Heart - This song just makes you feel better. It puts things into perspective. As a North Carolina native, I kept playing this song during this year's hurricane Florence. I tried to let the song remind myself that our hearts, our souls were the most important thing - and we needed to work together and look out for each other to make sure that we were all okay. "Cars and boats are just on loan, a house is just sticks and stones, but every heart is an island, and no one's alone."
Get Along - Chesney's 30th number one hit is a musical outlier on this project, but it fits because of the message of finding the common ground. In a time of crisis, people often put down their different views and lend helping hands to each other. That's what this song is all about, and that's why it fits perfectly with the rest of the acoustic-driven album.
Pirate Song - This song made me want to be on the water the first time I heard it. It's longing for freedom is something that we all long for at whatever capacity that might be. "I wish I was a pirate out there under my own flag, running for no reason and no reason to turn back." That's freedom at its finest. No one to answer to but yourself, and no scheduled destination.
Love for Love City ft. Ziggy Marley - This is my least favorite track on the album, but I get it. It is a love letter to the islands where Chesney has spent so much of his life. I was concerned about the way the two's voices would mesh together, but Marley's vocals greatly boost the stock of this reggae infused ballad.
Ends of the Earth - I don't understand why critics are not salivating at this. Chesney pulls off a different, unique sound here on this Lord Huron cover like we are not used to hearing. Had Dierks Bentley cut this song, it would have been all the rave. Chesney sings it so efficiently and owns it so well though, that I guess it just didn't quite stand out as much to others. As a longtime Chesney fanatic - this song is a smash. It is an indie-rock song with bellowing choruses. The lyric is haunting at its core, but one cannot help but want to see the world with the one they love when listening to this track.
Gulf Moon - This is another song that is hardly getting any love from music critics. However, I believe that it is the highlight of the album. This song is so well-written (written by John Baumann), that anyone could sing it and it would be a great song. Have one of the best country vocalists ever to sing it, and you have a classic on your hands. The song describes a character's night from a waterfront dive. The lyrics are so vivid that the listener is instantly there living out this night 'neath a gulf moon.
Island Rain - This is the highlight of the album part two. Chesney wrote this song with singer-songwriter Mac McAnally, and the two found a new way to sing about escapism. The lyrics speak of letting whatever life throws at you make you better, and to make the best out of every situation. "Close your eyes and see what matters, wash away your worry and pain. There's holy water in an island rain."
Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season ft Jimmy Buffett - When I saw this on the track-list, I flipped. It has been one of my favorite Buffett songs for years, and has stood the test of time. Twenty years before I was born, Buffett wrote this song (1974). It is still pertinent today. Chesney and Buffett mesh well on the classic, poetic ode to preparing for a hurricane and wishing it away.
We're All Here - This song pertains to so many things. No Shoes Nation, a community, a family. Lyrically, it reminds us of American Kids, as the hook sings, "Maybe we're all here, cause we ain't all there."
Better Boat ft. Mindy Smith - Mindy Smith lends her haunting harmonies to a song about rebuilding one's self. Recently released to country radio, this has to be a front-runner for song of the year. It is about realizing that you do not have control of everything, and accepting that.
As a whole, Chesney's 16th studio album uses little production to find his vocals as the main instrument on the album. With a voice like Kenny's, that's a good thing. Not because he's long been my favorite since I was six, but because this is just really, really good, I give this album 4.5 out of 5 stars.
