Cosmic Hallelujah

by Kenny Chesney

Overview

Kenny Chesney initially planned his 17th studio album to be a set with the Mellencamp-esque title Some Town Somewhere, but as the album drew closer to its scheduled summer 2016 release, the singer/songwriter decided to revise the record, turning it into Cosmic Hallelujah. Some of the earlier album survives -- "Some Town Somewhere" opens up the second side -- but Cosmic Hallelujah is a decidedly different album than its predecessor, the 2014 set The Big Revival. Much of Cosmic Hallelujah pivots off of the big singalong "American Kids" -- the Shane McAnally co-write that was added to the album at the last minute -- and Chesney also uses the P!nk duet "Setting the World on Fire" as his lodestar, choosing to fill the album with rhythmically savvy country songs that could easily slide onto adult contemporary airwaves. More than that, Chesney chooses to load this album up with songs about the modern condition: "Noise" explicitly tackles the digital overload of the 21st century, while "Trip Around the Sun" opens up the album with a nod to climate change, and "Rich and Miserable" claims that "too much is never too much," an admission that materialism is a dead end. Perhaps Chesney is searching for meaning in his middle age, perhaps he's simply attempting to tap into the shifting zeitgeist -- certainly Cosmic Hallelujah takes the percolating country R&B of Sam Hunt into full account -- but the remarkable thing about the album is that it feels simultaneously restless and faithful, with music that stays true to his buoyant hits as it taps into the melancholy undercurrents that flow through his quiet albums. Cosmic Hallelujah veers toward happy but the subtext can be sad: Chesney recognizes the world is changing, so he does his best to hang on to the things that matter to him, while allowing himself to embrace over-saturated modernity. It seems like it'd be a tricky balance, but the nifty thing about Cosmic Hallelujah is that it plays as if it's a passion project: Chesney is determined to connect with his times without abandoning himself, and the result is one of his best records. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	10/28/2016
Label:	Blue Chair Records / Columbia / Sony Music
UPC:	0888751803725

Tracks

1. Trip Around the Sun
2. All the Pretty Girls
3. Setting the World on Fire
4. Noise
5. Bucket
6. Bar at the End of the World
7. Some Town Somewhere
8. Rich and Miserable
9. Jesus and Elvis
10. Winnebago
11. Coach
12. I Want to Know What Love Is

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kenny Chesney   Primary Artist,Vocals
Shane McAnally   Vocals (Background)
Michael Rojas   Organ,Piano,Accordion,Keyboards,Wurlitzer,Synthesizer,Organ (Hammond)
David Huff   Percussion
David Lee Murphy   Vocals (Background)
Greg Morrow   Drums,Cowbell
Chad Cromwell   Drums
J.T. Corenflos   Guitar (Electric)
Jimmie Lee Sloas   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Matt Rollings   Piano
Caitlyn Smith   Vocals (Background)
Mike Rojas   Organ
Glenn Worf   Guitar (Bass)
Dan Dugmore   Guitar (Steel)
Alison Krauss   Vocals (Background)
Allison Moorer   Vocals (Background)
Kenny Greenberg   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Rob McNelley   Guitar (Electric)
Wyatt Beard   Piano,Vocals (Background)
Michael Rhodes   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Brett James   Vocals (Background)
Josh Osborne   Vocals (Background)
Derek Wells   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
P!nk   Vocals,Featured Artist
Heather Morgan   Vocals (Background)
Ross Copperman   Vocals (Background)
Jesse Frasure   Vocals (Background)
Jon Nite   Vocals (Background)
Danny Rader   Lute,Tres,Banjo,Bouzouki,Guitar (Acoustic)
F. Reid Shippen   Keyboards,Wurlitzer
Pat Buchanan   Guitar (Electric)

Technical Credits

David Huff   Programming
David Lee Murphy   Composer
Eric Legg   Engineer
John X. Volaitis   Vocal Engineer
Roy Hendrickson   Engineer
Danny Clinch   Photography
Matraca Berg   Composer
Tommy Lee James   Composer
Buddy Cannon   Producer
Hayes Carll   Composer
Aimee Mayo   Composer
Hillary Lindsey   Composer
Andrew Mendelson   Mastering
Tony Castle   Engineer
Allison Moorer   Composer
Brett James   Composer
Josh Osborne   Composer
Seth Morton   Assistant
David Covell   Assistant
Matt Jenkins   Composer
Daniel Bacigalupi   Mixing Assistant
Shannon Finnegan   Production Coordination
Jake Burns   Assistant
Heather Morgan   Composer
Ross Copperman   Composer
Jesse Frasure   Composer
Scott McDaniel   Creative Director
Tom Freitag   Assistant
Jon Nite   Composer
John Thomas "J. T." Harding   Composer
Kam Luchterhand   Assistant
Adam Grover   Mastering Assistant
Sean R. Badum   Assistant
Nicolle Galyon   Composer
Nate Odden   Assistant
Bryce Roberts   Assistant
Sam Franey   Assistant
Gabe Millman   Mastering Assistant
Taylor Lindsey   A&R
Theresa Ferrin   Design,Package Layout
Mike Rupe   Assistant
Alena Morgan   Mixing Assistant
Andrew Danby   Mastering Assistant
Jason Domnach   Engineer
Kenny Chesney   Composer,Producer,Creative Director
Nick Brophy   Composer
Craig Wiseman   Composer
F. Reid Shippen   Mixing,Programming
Casey Beathard   Composer
Shane McAnally   Composer