Hemingway's Whiskey
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''Hemingway's Whiskey'' is the thirteenth studio album by American
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
artist
Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...
. It was released on September 28, 2010 on
BNA Records BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, was a label group that shared ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashville, ...
, and is his final release for the label. This album received generally positive reviews from music critics. It debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling approximately 183,000 copies during its first week. It has also been certified 2× platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA). The album produced five singles on the US ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
chart between 2010 and 2011. Four of those singles "
The Boys of Fall "The Boys of Fall" is a song written by Casey Beathard and Dave Turnbull, and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Chesney. It was released in July 2010 as the first single from Chesney's album '' Hemingway's Whiskey''. Content The lyr ...
", "
Somewhere with You "Somewhere with You" is a song written by Shane McAnally and J. T. Harding and recorded by American country music singer Kenny Chesney. It was released in November 2010 as the second single from Chesney's 2010 album '' Hemingway's Whiskey''. The s ...
", " Live a Little", and "
Reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...
" all reached number one, while " You and Tequila" went to number three.


Background

In an interview with ''The Boot'', Chesney explained the reasoning behind the title of his new release, citing the influence of
Guy Clark Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff ...
, saying "I was sitting in my truck and a friend had given me Guy's album, which had just come out. It's a song that talks about living life to its fullest, being a man about your responsibilities and not compromising. As soon as I heard it, I knew I had to cut it -- and call the album that -- because it says everything about the way you live your life, and what life can be if you refuse to buy into limits, which, as someone who's read all his books, is everything Hemingway's novels revolved around." In a '' CMT'' blog, Chesney also commented saying that he wanted the album to be "something more " than its predecessor, '' Lucky Old Sun'': "I came to town to write songs, to make records, to create something that spoke about how I lived, and the people who I knew who were just like me and my friends lived." "Small Y'all", a duet with
George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...
, was originally recorded by
Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country and gospel music singer and songwriter, as well as a film and television actor. Active since 1979, he has recorded over 20 studio albums and ...
on his 1994 album ''
This Is Me This Is Me may refer to: Albums * This Is Me (Heather Peace album), ''This Is Me'' (Heather Peace album), 2010 * This Is Me (Jully Black album), ''This Is Me'' (Jully Black album), or the title song, 2005 * This Is Me (Kierra Sheard album), '' ...
'' and then by Jones on his 1998 album '' It Don't Get Any Better Than This''.


Critical reception

Upon its release, ''Hemingway’s Whiskey'' received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a
normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an
average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
score of 67, based on 6 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Jon Caramanica with ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called the album "darker than his previous work", saying that "on ''Hemingway's Whiskey'', though, his voice sounds smoother and deeper than usual, and he's using it to more potent effect". He also preferred Chesney's version of the title track over Guy Clark's, saying that " s version of the title track is of course far cleaner than Guy Clark’s, whose original take on it was practically withering on the microphone, but Mr. Chesney sounds studious and earnest." Matt Bjorke with ''Roughstock'' gave it a four-star rating and called the album " a record that finds Kenny Chesney feeling recharged," and one "that runs the gamut of human emotion and paints stories the way Hemingway’s novels did."
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
with
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
called the album "burnished and classy" and admired the amount of 'slow' material on the album. ''
American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...
'' critic Rick Moore gave it a four star rating. Describing it as "a solid effort", he commented on the songwriting of the album, saying it "pays homage to Nashville’s songwriting community". At ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'',
Jody Rosen Jody Rosen (born June 21, 1969 in New York City) is an American journalist and author. He is a contributing writer for ''The New York Times Magazine''. Career Journalism Rosen served as critic-at-large for '' T: The New York Times Style Magaz ...
found that "Chesney serves up the usual ''carpe diem'' anthems", however he noted that "when the mood turns serious, he slips: He can't muster the gravitas to pull off the title track, a maudlin tribute to Ernest Hemingway." In addition, Rosen concluded with "as long as the weather's sunny and the blender's whirring, Chesney's fine company." Robert Silva of
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called the album a "solid effort". At ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'',
Brian Mansfield Brian Mansfield (born September 24, 1963) is an American writer and journalist. Early life and education Mansfield grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from David Lipscomb High School. In 1984, Mansfield received a bachelor's degre ...
proclaimed the effort to be "finely aged country". Bill Friskics-Warren with ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' called it "his most stylistically wide-ranging lbumto date" and recommended the title track and "Small Y'all" as the best on the album. Blake Boldt with ''Engine 145'' gave it a 3½ out of 5 star rating, calling Chesney "the hillbilly king of the Caribbean." He said "with he albumhe maintains that image and proves that he can still let loose occasionally." Mario Tarradell with ''
The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
'' called ''Hemingway's Whiskey'' his "first exceptionally good CD since 2002's '' No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems''. Greg Victor with ''Parcbench'' called the CD his "first extraordinary album since ''No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems''" He called the tracks "a little more grown-up than usual", and gave the album a 3½ out of 5 star rating. Stuart Munro with ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' called it "another well-wrought articulation of Chesney’s musical world" but also noted that "it isn’t all that far from where he’s been since 2002’s ''No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems''." Jessica Phillips with ''
Country Weekly ''Country Weekly'' (known as ''Nash Country Weekly'' from 2015–16) was an American magazine about country music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site Nash Country Daily. O ...
'' gave it 3½ out of 5 stars, and noted that his decision to take the past year of touring off "paid off with a more cohesive collection of songs that are at once universal yet obviously personal." She also called his take on the track "Small Y’all" "easily the most traditionally country tune Kenny has recorded during the past few years."


Commercial performance

''Hemingway's Whiskey'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 183,000 copies in its first week. This was Chesney's sixth album to reach number one, thus ranking him second among country artists with the most number one albums, only behind
Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...
. In its second week, the album dropped to number two on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling an additional 65,000 copies. In its third week, it fell to number six on the chart with 40,000 copies sold. In its fourth week, the album plummeted to number thirteen upon selling 26,126 copies. As of July 2, 2011, the album has sold 850,706 copies in the United States. On November 18, 2022, the album was certified 2× platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
for sales of over two million copies in the United States.


Track listing


Personnel

;Additional musicians * Wyatt Beard – background Vocals * Mark Beckett – drums *
Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan ( ; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative author, political commentator, and politician. He was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He ...
– acoustic guitar, electric guitar *
Buddy Cannon Buddy Cannon (born April 20, 1947 in Lexington, Tennessee) is an American country music songwriter and record producer active since the 1970s best known for his work with Kenny Chesney and Willie Nelson. Career Cannon began working in Nashvill ...
– background vocals *
Melonie Cannon Melonie Cannon is an American singer, blending country and bluegrass on her solo albums and session work. Willie Nelson said, "Melonie Cannon is one of the best singers I know." Biography Early years Cannon was born in Jackson, Tennessee, but he ...
– background vocals *
Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...
– lead vocals *
Eric Darken Eric A. Darken is an American percussionist, composer, and programmer. Biography Drawing inspiration from his grandfather, a band leader. Darken began playing drums at age 12, and played timpani and mallets in high school. Darken attended ...
– percussion *
Scotty Emerick Walter Scott Emerick (born July 11, 1973, in Hollywood, Florida) is an American country music artist, known primarily for his work with Toby Keith. In addition to penning several of Keith's singles, Emerick has also written for Sawyer Brown, Geo ...
– background cocals * Larry Franklin – fiddle * Sonny Garrish –
steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...
*
Kenny Greenberg Kenneth S. Greenberg is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer, and session musician. He is known for bringing a rock-and-roll sensibility to Nashville recording sessions. Biography Greenberg was born in Cleveland, Ohio but attended junio ...
– acoustic guitar, electric Guitar * Rob Hajacos – fiddle * John Hobbs – keyboards, piano *
George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...
– duet vocals on "Small Y'all" *
Paul Leim Paul William Leim (born December 29, 1950) is an American drummer and recording session musician based in Nashville. Biography Leim was born in Port Huron, Michigan and raised in Troup, Texas. He was inspired to take up drumming as a child a ...
– drums, percussion * Randy McCormick – keyboards *
Paul Overstreet Paul Lester Overstreet (born March 17, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He began his singing career in 1982 with a self-titled album on RCA Records Nashville. From 1986 to 1987, he was a vocalist in the trio S-K-O (Schuy ...
– background Vocals * Larry Paxton – bass guitar, tic tac bass *
Grace Potter Grace Evelyn Potter (born June 20, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has released five solo albums: ''Red Shoe Rebel'' (2002), ''Original Soul'' (2004), ''Midnight'' (2015), ''Daylight'' (2019), and '' Mother Road'' (2023) ...
– background vocals on "You and Tequila" *
Mickey Raphael Michael Siegfried Raphael (born November 7, 1951) is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor likely best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973. He has performed or record ...
– harmonica *
John Wesley Ryles John Wesley Ryles (born December 2, 1950) is an American country music artist. Ryles recorded a string of hit country songs, beginning in 1968 when he was still a teenager, and continuing through the 1980s. He no longer records as a headline art ...
– background Vocals * Jeff Taylor –
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
*
Neil Thrasher Joe Neil Thrasher Jr. (born July 13, 1965) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1995 and 1997, he and Kelly Shiver comprised the duo Thrasher Shiver, which recorded a studio album for Asylum Records in 1996 and charted ...
– background Vocals * John Willis – acoustic guitar,
gut string guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the modern steel-string a ...
,
mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
;Production * Natthaphol Abhigantaphand – mastering assistant * Shelley Anderson – mastering assistant * Daniel Bacigalupi – mastering assistant * Steve Blackmon – mixing assistant * Drew Bollman – mixing assistant *
Tim Brennan Tim Brennan is an American musician who is a lead guitarist, vocalist and one of the primary songwriters of the Boston Celtic punk group Dropkick Murphys. Early life and career Born in West Hartford, Connecticut, Brennan played drums for n ...
– assistant engineer * Buddy Cannon – producer * Butch Carr – engineer * Tony Castle – engineer * Kenny Chesney – producer * Tammie Harris Cleek – imaging, photo production * Renée Bell – A&R * Kyle Ford – assistant engineer * Judy Forde-Blair – creative producer, liner notes * Gordon Hammond – assistant engineer * Greg Lawrence – assistant E engineer *
Scott McDaniel Scott McDaniel (born 1965) is an American comics artist whose comic book work includes Marvel Comics' "Fall from Grace" storyline for the '' Daredevil'' series. Artwork for DC Comics includes a run on ''Batman'' as regular penciller, ''Nightwing' ...
– art direction, design * Andrew Mendelson – mastering * Seth Morton – assistant engineer * John Netti – assistant engineer * Justin Niebank – mixing * Lowell Reynolds – assistant engineer * Glen Rose – photography * Shannon Scott – production coordination


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Singles


Certifications


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemingways Whiskey 2010 albums Albums produced by Buddy Cannon BNA Records albums Kenny Chesney albums