Mark Chesnutt – Heard It In A Love Song
Getting dropped by the Nashville majors may be the best thing that ever happened to Mark Chesnutt’s music. After a promising start as an early-’90s neo-traditionalist on MCA, Chesnutt steered toward the middle of the road, and a one-off for Columbia in 2002 followed suit. But 2004’s independently released Savin’ The Honky Tonk revived Chesnutt’s love of roadhouse country, as does this terrific follow-up.
Cherry-picking from the catalogues of his musical heroes, Chesnutt cannily resurrects personal favorites and album tracks ripe for refreshment without the need for radical reinvention. The arrangements provide a fresh shot of Saturday-night fiddle and guitar, and Chesnutt sings with great warmth and passion.
The title track sets the tone, with pedal steel replacing the Marshall Tucker Band’s original flute intro. Charley Pride’s countrypolitan take on “A Shoulder To Cry On” is shorn of its backing vocals and sung with the double-barreled anguish originally envisioned by Merle Haggard. The vocals are intimate on George Jones’ “A Day In The Life Of A Fool” and Tammy Wynette’s “Apartment #9”, and turn broadly confessional for the role reversal of Hank Jr.’s “Can’t Find Many Kissers”.
Chesnutt obviously has sung these songs in a honky-tonk or two, and his familiarity with their human impact makes this one of the best country records you’re likely to hear from a recent Nashville star.