Album Review – Kenny Chesney’s “Silver Sands Marina”

Contemporary Pop Country (#530) and Gulf & Western (#568) on the Country DDS.

It’s no longer just Kenny Chesney. It’s Country Music Hall of Famer Kenny Chesney. And no matter if you feel it was fair, or if you feel it was an indictment on the institution’s standing to elect Chesney, the deed is done, the bronze is cast, and it’s hanging on the rotunda wall. Now Chesney has to prove or disprove the wisdom of this decision. His new album Silver Sands Marina is a good place to start.

Chesney both predates country music’s strong popification heading into the ’00s, and he also played a big role in it. It was Chesney who deposed Alan Jackson as the CMA Entertainer of the Year in 2004, and then won it again 2006 thru 2008 before Taylor Swift dethroned him. It was Chesney who established beach songs as one of the bedrock themes of contemporary country for better or worse. It was Chesney who was selling out stadiums thanks to songs like “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.”

But when he started out, Chesney was not too dissimilar to a traditionalist. If you listen to his first #1 single “She’s Got It All” (1997), there’s twang in the vocal you don’t hear from Chesney these days, and plenty of fiddle and steel guitar from the band. Maybe in this moment where country is more country than in recent memory, Chesney could return to these roots. After all, even Shania Twain shocked us all by trying this with her recent album, even if it was to very mixed results.

But Silver Sands Marina is very much a Kenny Chensey record. There’s the beach, water, and boat themes. There’s the mostly contemporary production that forgoes twang in both the vocal performances and the music. There’s one really bad song that makes you wonder what the hell Kenny Chesney was even thinking. But there are also some pretty good songs since Chesney doesn’t insist on co-writing everything, and instead leans on some pretty quality songwriters to deliver the sentiments he wants to convey.

First and foremost, lets deal with what is likely the worst song of Chesney’s entire career, with all due respect to “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.” At least some can claim that song is supposed to be sarcastic. “Talkin’ Dirt” is some sort of weird, post Bro-Country “Word to your mother!” outdated, outmoded, and utterly embarrassing White boy tractor rap with banjo that does itself even one worse by leaning into the whole tired “small town gossip” trope.

How in God’s creation this song ever got cut is beyond quizzical, and borderline criminal in regards to Chesney’s career. Kenny is so incredibly awkward delivering the lines, it’s ironically probably the Whitest thing he’s ever done. And this “song” will never be released on country radio, so why even record it? It doesn’t fit with the rest of the record, or with Kenny Chesney’s career. You want a reason to criticize Kenny as a pick for the Hall of Fame? Well here you go.

It’s just one song though, and luckily, a sore thumb outlier. The other weaker, or disappointing moments are some of the 808 drum programming in the production of the song “Remember Me That Way,” and the ultra-weird and awkward duet with Colbie Caillat on “What We Got Going On.” The latter sounds like one of those remote studio duets where the two parties likely didn’t even meet before recording. The way Colbie comes in mid chorus with her lifeless delivery just makes you wonder why they even bothered.

But most every mainstream album is usually good for a few songs, and Kenny Chesney’s have been historically good for a few more than normal. It’s a very Kenny Chesney song for sure, but the sentiment behind the opening song “Burn My Boat” is very appealing, and the writing by Casey and Tucker Beathard is clever enough. The title track starts to grow on you in that sort of nostalgic, “Boys of Summer” by Don Henley sort of way, and this time in the calendar is the perfect opportunity to reflect back on summer love.

They really tried to sell us on the song “Goldfish” as one of the album’s early release tracks, perhaps trying to be the antidote to “Talkin’ Dirt” that it comes right after. And sure, you appreciate Chesney including a more traditional-sounding country song on the album. But the writing feels a little thin, and the cussing is counter to the sonic appeal. “Sad Casino” written by Matraca Berg and the late Brett James (who wrote numerous hits for Chesney in the past) might be the standout track even if it’s more contemporary than traditional country.

Kenny Chesney knows his demographic, and it’s not throwback hipsters in East Nashville, or even the 20-something neotraditional crowd. This album is 50 and 60-something divorcee country at it’s finest, and Chesney underscores this with the songs “It Just Got Weird” and “Remember Me That Way.” Also, give some credit to the song “Shot a Car into Space.” You sort of hate this song coming from Chesney since it doesn’t really fit him. But the song itself is super solid, and was written by a couple of cool independent country artists in Adam Chaffins and Brit Taylor with Adam Wright.

If nothing else, Kenny Chesney comes from a time when you put out an All Points Bulletin for the best songs instead of slopping out whatever you co-wrote with six others trying to capitalize off of current trends and demo it with Suno. There are some misses on Silver Sands Marina for sure. But there are also some solid cuts.

Nonetheless, you listen through an album like this, and then you listen to an album from Dwight Yoakam or Clint Black, and you’re left wondering how and why Chesney got into the Hall of Fame first, or at all? Not a single one of these songs was written by Chesney where he’s usually good for about 1/3rd of the co-writes. Of course he’s been commercially successful. But is it quality? What truly is Kenny Chesney’s legacy and contribution to country, and is it more applicable to credit that to Jimmy Buffett?

Silver Sands Marina, just like so much of Kenny Chesney’s output, is just fine. But is “just fine” Hall of Fame worthy? The point might be moot now. But it would be heartening to see Chesney try to be somewhat of a leader, or a country music Statesman, or to go back to his roots in a twangier time. Silver Sands Marina is not that moment. But it’s also not that bad, with one big exception.

6.7/10

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The Good:

The Very Bad:

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