Be as You Are

• Artist: Kenny Chesney
• Rating:
• Release Date: January 25, 2005
• Type: Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: Country

Review

Conventional wisdom dictates that the Caribbean Islands are where you go to relax, not work, but not for Kenny Chesney. The Tennessee native found his muse on the islands, and it changed his life and work. He started his career as a good, if unremarkable, neo-traditionalist singer, but he slowly built his own identity as a singer and songwriter, largely due to the time he spent in the islands, a love that he celebrated in his music and interviews. Not since Jimmy Buffett has a musician been so thoroughly identified with the life of a beach bum, but there is a big difference between the two. Buffett happily creates a soundtrack to a never-ending party, coasting a combination of good times and easy grooves and while Chesney certainly does indulge in this ingratiatingly lazy vibe, he also finds the islands as a place for introspection, and nowhere is that more evident than on his eighth album, 2005's Be as You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair). This is the companion piece to the breezy, bright modern country of 2004's When the Sun Goes Down, a relaxed, low-key collection of ballads and easy-rolling pop tunes that strikes precisely the right contemplative note, as if it were designed to be played during a picturesque ocean sunset. Which isn't to say that Be as You Are is a confessional album, or even a collection of overly introspective songs. There are autobiographical details threaded throughout the record, particularly on the opener, "Old Blue Chair," but the songs are open-ended, so listeners can identify with the narrator, or they're nice, mellow party tunes like "Key Lime Pie" or slow dance numbers like "Magic." It's a quiet record, but hardly an album that features Chesney alone with his guitar. Be as You Are is as polished and professional as When the Sun Goes Down, yet it's designed for quiet afternoons, not parties on the weekend. To Chesney's credit, he's as appealing on this set of relaxed tunes as he was on its gleaming, ultramodern predecessor, and taken together, they are strong proof that he's one of best singers and songwriters working in contemporary country music in the mid-2000s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Old Blue Chair (Lyrics)	Kenny Chesney	Kenny Chesney	(3:24)
Be as You Are (Lyrics)	Dean Dillon, Kenny Chesney	Kenny Chesney	(4:19)
Guitars and Tiki Bars	Kenny Chesney, Dean Dillon, Mark Tamburino	Kenny Chesney	(4:36)
Island Boy (Lyrics)	Kenny Chesney, Mark Tamburino, Phil Vassar	Kenny Chesney	(3:56)
Somewhere in the Sun (Lyrics)	Dan Tucker, Tim Holt, Kenny Chesney	Kenny Chesney	(4:45)
Boston (Lyrics)	Mark Tamburino, Phil Vassar, Kenny Chesney	Kenny Chesney	(4:16)
Something Sexy About the Rain (Lyrics)	Skip Ewing, Kenny Chesney	Kenny Chesney	(5:24)
French Kissing Life (Lyrics)	Kenny Chesney	Kenny Chesney	(4:02)
Key Lime Pie (Lyrics)	Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney	Kenny Chesney	(4:40)
Sherry's Living in Paradise (Lyrics)	Kenny Chesney, Clayton Mitchell	Kenny Chesney	(3:20)
Magic (Lyrics)	Kenny Chesney	Kenny Chesney	(4:40)
Soul of a Sailor (Lyrics)	Scotty Emerick, Kenny Chesney, Dean Dillon	Kenny Chesney	(4:14)
Old Blue Chair [Ocean Mix][*]	Kenny Chesney	Kenny Chesney	(3:31)

Credits

Larry Paxton (Bass), B. James Lowry (Guitar (Steel)), Greg Lawrence (Assistant Engineer), Scott Kidd (Assistant), John Baldwin (Digital Editing), B. James Lowry (Guitar (Nylon String)), Greg Lawrence (Assistant), John Willis (Guitar (Electric)), Kenny Chesney (Audio Production), Tim Hensley (Vocals (Background)), Paul Leim (Shaker), J.T. Corenflos (Guitar (Nylon String)), B. James Lowry (Guitar (Acoustic)), Jim Hoke (Penny Whistle), David Briggs (Piano), John Hobbs (Hammond B3), Eric Darken (Percussion), Jesse Benfield (Assistant), John Hobbs (Piano), Allen Ditto (Assistant Engineer), Derek Bason (Engineer), Tom Roady (Tambourine), Randy McCormick (Piano), John Willis (Guitar (Nylon String)), Paul Leim (Drums), J.T. Corenflos (Gut String Guitar), Billy Sherrill (Engineer), Randy McCormick (Keyboards), Buddy Cannon (Producer), Kenny Chesney (Producer), Mel Eubanks (Assistant Engineer), Buddy Cannon (Audio Production), Chad Cromwell (Drums), J.R. Rodriguez (Assistant Engineer), Steve Herman (Trumpet), David Briggs (Keyboards), Andrew Mendelson (Mastering), Kevin Beamish (Mixing), Tommy White (Dobro), Katherine Stratton (Art Direction), Mat Britain (Drums (Steel)), David Briggs (Organ (Hammond)), Kenny Chesney (Guitar (Acoustic)), Amy Jo Stelzer (Introduction), Larry Paxton (Bass (Electric)), John Hobbs (Organ (Hammond)), Robert Greenidge (Drums (Steel)), Mark Tamburino (Introduction), Dale Morris (Management), Liana Manis (Vocals (Background)), Larry Paxton (Vocals (Background)), Randy McCormick (Organ (Hammond)), Pat Buchanan (Guitar (Electric)), B. James Lowry (Guitar (Electric)), John Jorgenson (Guitar (Electric)), Quentin Ware (Trumpet), Buddy Cannon (Vocals (Background)), Clint Higham (Management), John Hobbs (Keyboards), J.R. Rodriguez (Assistant), Kenny Chesney (Vocals), John Willis (Gut String Guitar), John Willis (Guitar (Acoustic)), Tommy Figlio (Engineer), Glen Rose (Photography), Randy McCormick (Hammond B3), Scott Kidd (Assistant Engineer), Larry Paxton (Guitar (Bass)), Jim Horn (Sax (Tenor)), Murray Cannon (Vocals (Background)), Larry Paxton (Fretless Bass), Randy McCormick (Wurlitzer), Mel Eubanks (Assistant), Shannon Finnegan Scott (Production Coordination), Wyatt Beard (Vocals (Background)), Pat Buchanan (Harmonica), Tony Castle (Engineer), Kenny Chesney (Liner Notes), Tom Roady (Percussion), Holly Gleason (Publicity), Jim Hoke (Sax (Tenor)), Jesse Benfield (Mixing Assistant), J.T. Corenflos (Guitar (Electric)), Paul Leim (Percussion), Amy Jo Stelzer (Vocals), Allen Ditto (Assistant)

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