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Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates

by Kenny Chesney

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For his huge, rabid, and largely female fan base, the country hunk can do no wrong, and this release will satisfy the faithful. Though the title makes no sense--Chesney wrote none of the material on Just Who I Am, and it’s unlikely he thinks of himself as plural poets and pirates--the material, performances, and support rank from solid to state-of-the-art. He waxes philosophic on the hit "Don’t Blink." He teams with George Strait for the Caribbean-flavored "Shiftwork," a song that will doubtlessly inspire double-entendre barroom sing-alongs. He channels of the soul of a stripper who’s just trying to support her family on "Dancin’ for the Groceries." And he does a convincing Dwight Yoakam sound-alike on the honky-tonker’s "Wild Ride," with Eagles’ Joe Walsh riding shotgun on lead guitar (and "Rocky Mountain Way" voice box). When you’re as hot as Chesney, you get your pick of material and musicians, including Vince Gill on guitar and Mickey Raphael on harmonica. Chesney may be more of a brand than an artist, but he remains a remarkably successful one. --Don McLeese