Disco de Kenny Chesney: “Greatest Hits”

The title of this album seems pretty obvious: a collection of Kenny Chesney's greatest hits. Interestingly, most of his

biggest hits came after this album. So what gives? Well, Chesney was a fixture in the country world for the better part of the 90s, an artist who made a presence at radio but not so much outside of that world. That's not to say this album

doesn't represent great work, because it does: even before Kenny began his ascent, he still picked good material. This

disc contains seventeen songs, a few more than the standard hits package in country. And like most modern hits collections, it contains new material, here in the form of four songs which are all pretty darn good. The first two new songs, "I Lost It" and "Don't Happen Twice", open the album. They were also the album's big hits, with the latter hitting #1. Both songs exemplify Chesney's style of telling stories in song, whether about love-against-the-odds or young love (a common theme of his). This is followed by "The Tin Man", which is actually a re-recording of a song Chesney recorded on his first (and second) album. There's an underated quality about this song, which is essential Kenny. It alludes to "The Wizard of Oz", and how Chesney wishes he were the Tin Man, since "I wouldn't have a heart, and I wouldn't miss you". Great stuff. The older songs occur after this in mostly-chronological order. "Fall in Love" (a remix?), and "All I Need to Know", are memorable hits from his first BNA album "All I Need to Know". They are followed by "For the First Time", another new track that remembers young love. Next up is "Me and You", a sweet song that was Kenny's first #1. A surprise pops up amongst all of these tracks: a live verson of "Back Where I Come From", which wasn't a single but pays tribute to Kenny's roots. It's fun to hear the crowd scream, and the quality of the recording is great (at the beginning of the song he says "Okay Dallas...", but the album says it says recorded in Tennessee; maybe it's some bizarre hybrid). The next few songs continued his run of hits: "When I Close My Eyes" and "She's Got It All" helped Kenny hone his

craft, while "That's Why I'm Here", a song about alcoholsim, is probably the heaviest song Kenny has released as a single. Kenny's 1999 release, "Everywhere We Go", saw his career kick into high gear; subsequently, it is represented here with no less than 5 tracks. The first single,"How Forever Feels", became Kenny's biggest hit upon it release, and is a radio staple today. The next single, "You Had Me From Hello", is a beautiful love song that become another #1 for Chesney. The song also took on unintentional hilarity when its inspiration briefly became his wife. "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" is a fun, sexy novelty that quickly became a fan favorite. The last two selections are pretty amazing in their own right. "Whar I Need To Do" is a classic song of lost love and inaction, and "Baptism" (a duet with the great Randy Travis) adds some religious flavor to Kenny's catalog. The album closes with the last new track "Because of Your Love", which is pretty great too-shame it wasn't a single.

So there you have it: a seventeen-song guide to Kenny before he was one of the most bankable concert draws around. Of course, his career REALLY hit the stratosphere his with first album after this one, "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems". But that's a story for another day. Looking at the back cover of this album, we see Kenny on the beach, looking out to the future; these photos have become an album staple, and with the success of this album, it's easy to see why. The future looks bright for Kenny; can Greatest Hits, Volume 2 be far behind?

Kenny Chesney has done something not many artists do these days, put together a "Greatest Hits" package. Nowadays, artists tend to pick out their favorites of their songs, leaving off some of their true hits, and put them on what is incorrectly named a "Greatest Hits" album. Kenny Chesney does just the opposite. He has loaded this album with all, and I do mean ALL of his greatest hits. Kenny even included some songs that, although great songs, did not even reach the level of greatness. For instance, "The Tin Man" was one of his first singles and failed miserably. Yet, he included it. "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" did not even make Billboard's Top 10; however, it's no doubt a fan-pleaser, so it was included. Along with some excellent new material including his top 5 hit "I Lost It" and what I believe will be his next #1 song, "Don't Happen Twice," Kenny Chesney has also included his 6 week #1 song, "How Forever Feels," and some of his beautiful ballads like "You Had Me From Hello" and "Me and You". This CD no doubt ranks as one of the best of 2000. I have a feeling he's made a pretty good mark and may be offering us "Greatest Hits Volume 2" in the near future. We can only hope it's as great as his first one!

I love the old Kenny Chesney, but no so much the new stuff. I think he's gone downhill since No Shoes, No Shirt. For an old fan or a new fan, this is a must have CD. It has all of the songs that really highlight his voice and the types of songs that he sings well. It is also just catchy enough that fans of his new stuff will like it, too.

Kenny Chesney's GREATEST HITS is a generous offering for the fans. 12 hits, and 5 new songs (including one remake of a past hit). While it may seem absurd to have a GH after only 4 albums, there is enough material to constitute a GH album. You get all the good songs, on one CD. "The Tin Man", "Fall In Love", "All I Need To Know", from his 1995 album ALL I NEED TO KNOW, "Me And You", "Back Where I Come From", and "When I Close My Eyes" from his 1996 album ME AND YOU, "She's Got It All" and "That's Why I'm Here" from his 1997 album I WILL STAND, and "How Forever Feels", "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy", "You Had Me From Hello", "What I Need To Do" and the duet with Randy Travis "Baptism", from his 1999 album EVERYWHERE WE GO. The only hits missing are "A Chance", and a few others, but its not too much of a difference to make you miss them, the new songs more than make up for the missing ones. The new songs include the ballad "I Lost It", the summer time anthem "Don't Happen Twice", as well as "For The First Time" and "Because of Your Love", as well as a reworked version of "The Tin Man". Overall this is an excellent collection for the hardcore KC fan, or a new fan just trying to get into his work.

Kenny is arguably the biggest country music star out there today and what is scare is he only got big after this greatest hits collection. With a plethora of Kenny favorites on this disc, he has brought many more to us since then. There are surely many more Great Hits from this young rising talent.