Next in the firing line on our 2016 round-up is Kenny Chesney's Cosmic Hallelujah. As a long time Kenny Chesney fan, I couldn't wait to hear a new album from him. However, Cosmic Hallelujah would fall slightly short of my high expectations.
The album was supposed to be released in July with the title 'Some Town Somewhere'. As July drew closer, some game-changing announcements were made; The album would now feature a duet with P!nk, the title of the album would be Cosmic Hallelujah and the release date was pushed to Autumn. From there, it only went downhill.
Noise, the first single from this pretentiously named project hinted all the more that for this album would go against the grain of what we would usually expect from Kenny- as if news of a collaboration with a Punk rocker wasn't enough.
The production of Noise was taking a different direction, crossing over into pop music. Lyrically the song discuses the digital age and the negative impact technology has had on society. The lyrics came across a little generic and didn't quite have the power intended but I respected Kenny's decision to try to highlight a social issue in a genre that usually "plays it safe". For me what let the song down was the over produced arrangement, particularly the un-natural effects on his voice.
Next came the collaboration with P!nk, the gamechanger of the album. I tried to be open minded about this song. After all, I had been pleasantly surprised by Blake Shelton's duet with Gwen Stefani earlier in the year. For the first verse and chorus of Setting The World On Fire, the two voices work very well together. However, as it progresses, P!nk's voice comes through more and more and whilst I don't dislike her voice, her Punk-Rock ways become jarring against the Country lyrics and arrangement of the song.
The rest of the album is very similar to what we have come to expect from Kenny Chesney. Songs like Trip Around The Sun and Winnebago play on the usual Kenny Chesney theme of drinking and living in the moment. Meanwhile, other songs on the album strike me as recycled versions of songs from previous albums. The final song on the album, Coach, bears a striking resemblance to The Boy's Of Fall from his Hemingway's Whiskey album (my all time favourite album from him).
There are however, some very strong assets to the album. One of my favourites being Bucket, a retro-Country sounding anthem. Again this plays on the "carpe-diem" atmosphere of the album. This is done far more effectively than with other songs on the album, perhaps due to writing credits from Brett James and Craig Wiseman alongside the more traditional Kenny Chesney sound - this song sounds like it could easily have featured on his Everywhere We Go album.
Another highlight for me from the album is All The Pretty Girls, a fun, upbeat song about small town boys longing after small town girls. Simple yet believable and nostalgic.
Perhaps the biggest drawback for this album was the direction (or lack of). Noise and Setting The World On Fire implied that Cosmic Hallelujah would be something new and interesting for the Country genre. However, this simply wasn't the case.
The album is very safe and plays on what has worked well on previous Kenny Chesney albums. Whilst I am a big fan of Kenny Chesney and the music he's released over his long career, these songs simply aren't up to the usual standards. I can't help but wonder if I'd have preferred the album if it had gone without the P!nk duet and remained 'Some Town Somewhere".
Best songs: Bucket; All The Pretty Girls
Worst Songs: Setting The World On Fire; Noise
Rating: 2/5
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