Review: Outlaw country star gets the respect she deserves in ‘The Return of Tanya Tucker’
Kenny Chesney has had a turbulent, eventful journey since first finding his way on the country music scene in the ’90s. The father-of-three and songwriter has experienced a string of near-fatal accidents while playing, including the tragic death of his wife in 2012. But things are looking up for the country star, especially now that his new album “The Return of Tanya Tucker” is ready for release.
The new album, Chesney’s first since his return from an extended solo tour in July, has the hallmarks of a country album, with a blend of electric guitars, banjo, pedal steel, fiddle and mandolin.
But the album’s real standout track is “Your Love is My Life,” a sweet and soft love song from first single “When You Say” that will make you swoon.
Chesney spoke to Country Weekly at his Nashville home yesterday, where he was in the middle of his own recording sessions. Here are some of his thoughts on the new album, his new tour (which has now been canceled due to the tragic loss of his wife, Ashley) and his plans for the future.
On the new album:It’s the strongest sounding recording I’ve ever made. It is heavy on the electric guitars and bass, but also has some amazing bluegrass tracks on it. I wanted to make something that represented where I was at in life and where I was going. I have a lot of my friends on there and I wanted to put a message out there to them and that’s what the ‘Your Love is My Life’ is about. There’s so many songs on the album that I don’t know where to start with. There’s some things I wish I had time to play with a band and do things different that I don’t have the time for now. I am working on things I want to record that I can’t get to.
On plans for the future:I’m looking at all different things. I don’t want to be a ‘one hit wonder’ anymore. I want to be known for a long, long time. I want other artists to come and get to know me. To play and have their fans feel like they’re playing with Kenny. I want to be that kind of artist and