Hemingway's Whiskey

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Hemingway's Whiskey
Studio album by
Kenny Chesney
ReleasedSeptember 28, 2010 (2010-09-28)
Recorded2010
GenreCountry
Length43:58
LabelBNA
Producer
Kenny Chesney chronology
Greatest Hits II
(2009) 		Hemingway's Whiskey
(2010) 		Welcome to the Fishbowl
(2012)
Singles from Hemingway's Whiskey
  1. "The Boys of Fall"
    Released: July 12, 2010
  2. "Somewhere with You"
    Released: November 8, 2010
  3. "Live a Little"
    Released: March 14, 2011
  4. "You and Tequila"
    Released: May 31, 2011
  5. "Reality"
    Released: October 3, 2011

Hemingway's Whiskey is the thirteenth studio album by American country music artist Kenny Chesney. It was released on September 28, 2010, as his last studio album for BNA Records. This is Kenny Chesney's last studio album since signing contracts with BNA Records in 1995, with the release of All I Need to Know. 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 platinum by the RIAA. The album produced five singles on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart between 2010 and 2011. Four of those singles "The Boys of Fall", "Somewhere with You", "Live a Little", and "Reality" all reached number one, while "You and Tequila" went to number three.

Background[edit]

In an interview with The Boot, Chesney explained the reasoning behind the title of his new release, citing the influence of Guy Clark, 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."[1]

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."[2]

"Small Y'all", a duet with George Jones, was originally recorded by Randy Travis on his 1994 album This Is Me and then by Jones on his 1998 album It Don't Get Any Better Than This.

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Engine 145[3]
About.com[4]
AllMusic[5]
American Songwriter[6]
Chicago Tribune[7]
The Dallas Morning NewsB+[8]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Roughstock[11]
USA Today[12]

Upon its release, Hemingway’s Whiskey received generally positive reviews from most music critics.[13] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67, based on 6 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[13] Jon Caramanica with The New York Times 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".[14] He also preferred Chesney's version of the title track over Guy Clark's, saying that "[h]is 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."[14] 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."[11] Stephen Thomas Erlewine with AllMusic called the album "burnished and classy" and admired the amount of 'slow' material on the album.[5] American Songwriter 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".[6] At Rolling Stone, Jody Rosen 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."[10] In addition, Rosen concluded with "as long as the weather's sunny and the blender's whirring, Chesney's fine company."[10] Robert Silva of About.com called the album a "solid effort".[4] At USA Today, Brian Mansfield proclaimed the effort to be "finely aged country".[12]

Bill Friskics-Warren with The Washington Post called it "his most stylistically wide-ranging [album] to date" and recommended the title track and "Small Y'all" as the best on the album.[15] 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 [the album] he maintains that image and proves that he can still let loose occasionally."[3] Mario Tarradell with The Dallas Morning News called Hemingway's Whiskey his "first exceptionally good CD since 2002's No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems.[8] 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.[16] Stuart Munro with The Boston Globe 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."[17] Jessica Phillips with Country Weekly 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."[18] 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."[18]

Commercial performance[edit]

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.[19] In its second week, the album dropped to number two on the Billboard 200, selling an additional 65,000 copies.[20] In its third week, it fell to number six on the chart with 40,000 copies sold.[21] In its fourth week, the album plummeted to number thirteen upon selling 26,126 copies.[22] As of July 2, 2011, the album has sold 850,706 copies in the United States.[23] On August 25, 2011, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over a million copies in the United States.[24]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Boys of Fall"
6:32
2."Live a Little"
3:39
3."Coastal"
2:40
4."You and Tequila" (featuring Grace Potter)
4:03
5."Seven Days"
4:20
6."Small Y'all" (featuring George Jones)Bobby Braddock2:54
7."Where I Grew Up"
3:39
8."Reality"
3:31
9."Round and Round"
5:05
10."Somewhere with You"
4:04
11."Hemingway's Whiskey"
3:28
Total length:43:58
Deluxe Edition[25]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Ain't Ever Going Back Again"
  • Chesney
  • James
2:57
13."I Didn't Get Here Alone"
  • Chesney
  • Michael Dulaney
  • Thrasher
4:29

Personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[45] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Betts, Stephen L. (June 22, 2010). "Kenny Chesney Takes a Shot of 'Hemingway's Whiskey' - The Boot". The Boot. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  2. ^ Bonaguro, Alison (June 24, 2010). "Kenny Chesney Inspired by Guy Clark, Hemingway". CMT. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Boldt, Blake (September 28, 2010). "Album Review: Kenny Chesney – Hemingway's Whiskey". Engine 145. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Silva, Robert (September 10, 2010). "Kenny Chesney - 'Hemingway's Whiskey' Album Review". About.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Hemingway's Whiskey - Kenny Chesney - Allmusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  6. ^ a b Moore, Rick (November 5, 2010), Kenny Chesney: Hemingway's Whiskey, American Songwriter, retrieved November 9, 2010
  7. ^ Kot, Greg (September 26, 2010). "Turn It Up: Album review: Kenny Chesney, 'Hemingway's Whiskey'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  8. ^ a b Tarradell, Mario (September 27, 2010). "CD review: Kenny Chesney delivers on 'Hemingway's Whiskey'". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  9. ^ Pastorek, Whitney (September 22, 2010). "Hemingway's Whiskey Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  10. ^ a b c Rosen, Jody (May 6, 2013). "Hemingway's Whiskey". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  11. ^ a b Bjorke, Matt (September 23, 2010). "Kenny Chesney - Hemingway's Whiskey". Roughstock. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  12. ^ a b Mansfield, Brian (September 28, 2010). "Listen Up: Kenny Chesney is wiser on 'Whiskey'". USA Today. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Hemingway's Whiskey Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  14. ^ a b Caramanica, Jon (September 26, 2010). "Critics' Choice - New CDs From Kenny Chesney, Jane Monheit, Jason Adasiewicz - Review - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  15. ^ Friskics-Warren, Bill (September 28, 2010). "Click Track - Album review: Kenny Chesney, "Hemingway's Whiskey"". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  16. ^ Victor, Greg (September 29, 2010). "Kenny Chesney – "Hemingway's Whiskey" (Music Review)". Parcbench. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  17. ^ Munro, Stuart (September 27, 2010). "Kenny Chesney, 'Hemingway's Whiskey' - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  18. ^ a b Phillips, Jessica (September 24, 2010). "Hemingway's Whiskey : Kenny Chesney - Reviews - Country Weekly Magazine". Country Weekly. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  19. ^ Caulfield, Keith (October 16, 2010). "Kenny Chesney Claims Sixth No. 1 Album with 'Hemingway's Whiskey'". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  20. ^ Caulfield, Keith (October 13, 2010). "Toby Keith's 'Gun' Fires at No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
  21. ^ Caulfield, Keith (October 20, 2010). "Lil Wayne's 'Human Being' Leaps 16-1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
  22. ^ Bjorke, Matt (October 27, 2010). "The Incredible Machine Tops The Albums Sales Charts This Week". Roughstock. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  23. ^ "Father's Day Brings Strong Sales For Country Aritsts". Roughstock. June 22, 2011. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  24. ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  25. ^ "CMT : News : Kenny Chesney Plans Deluxe CD/DVD Edition of Hemingway's Whiskey". CMT. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  26. ^ a b "Chartifacts - Week Commencing: 11th October 2010". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 11, 2010. Archived from the original on October 25, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  27. ^ "Kenny Chesney Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  28. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Kenny Chesney – Hemingway's Whiskey". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  29. ^ "Kenny Chesney Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  30. ^ "Kenny Chesney Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  31. ^ "Kenny Chesney Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  32. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  33. ^ "Best of 2010 - Top Country Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
  34. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  35. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  36. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  37. ^ "Kenny Chesney Chart History – Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  38. ^ "Kenny Chesney Chart History – Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  39. ^ "Somewhere with You – Kenny Chesney". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  40. ^ "Kenny Chesney Chart History – Canada Country". Billboard. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  41. ^ "Kenny Chesney Chart History: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  42. ^ "American single certifications – Kenny Chesney – The Boys of Fall". Recording Industry Association of America.
  43. ^ "American single certifications – Kenny Chesney – Somewhere with You". Recording Industry Association of America.
  44. ^ "American single certifications – Kenny Chesney – You and Tequila". Recording Industry Association of America.
  45. ^ "American album certifications – Kenny Chesney – Hemingway's Whiskey". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
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