Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates
| Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Kenny Chesney | ||||
| Released | September 11, 2007 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 48:43 | |||
| Label | BNA | |||
| Producer |
Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney (all tracks) Joe Walsh ("Wild Ride" only) | |||
| Kenny Chesney chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates | ||||
|
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (70/100)[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| The A.V. Club | B−[3] |
| Billboard | (favorable)[4] |
| Blender | [1] |
| The Boston Globe | (favorable)[5] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[6] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [1][7] |
| The New York Times | (favorable)[8] |
| PopMatters | [9] |
| Rolling Stone | [10] |
Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates is the eleventh studio album by country music artist Kenny Chesney, released in the United States on September 11, 2007. The CD was leaked on the Internet on September 5, 2007. It produced four singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart between 2007 and 2008, three of which reached number one. The album includes duets with George Strait and Joe Walsh.
Content
The album's first two singles are "Never Wanted Nothing More" and "Don't Blink", which were officially released to country radio in June and September 2007. Both singles reached number one the Hot Country Songs charts in late 2007, as did "Better as a Memory" (the fourth and final single) in June 2008. "Shiftwork" is a duet with George Strait. It was released as the album's third single in December 2007. It peaked at number 2 in early 2008. Also included is "Wild Ride", a Joe Walsh duet which is a cover of a song by Dwight Yoakam from his 1992 album This Time.
Reception
Commercial Performance
The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. In its first week, the album had the best weekly sales of any country album since the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way in May 2006[11] and the album has sold 1.4 million copies in the U.S. up to August 2008.[12]
Critical Response
The album represented a move by Chesney to a more gulf and western sound with a number of "breezy, steel-drum island songs."[2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Never Wanted Nothing More" | Ronnie Bowman, Chris Stapleton | 3:29 |
| 2. | "Don't Blink" | Casey Beathard, Chris Wallin | 4:46 |
| 3. | "Shiftwork" (duet with George Strait) | Troy Jones | 4:29 |
| 4. | "Just Not Today" | David Lee Murphy | 4:05 |
| 5. | "Wife and Kids" | Jim Collins, Brett James | 4:23 |
| 6. | "Got a Little Crazy" | Craig Monday, Wallin | 4:03 |
| 7. | "Better as a Memory" | Scooter Carusoe, Lady Goodman | 4:12 |
| 8. | "Dancin' for the Groceries" | James, Don Schlitz | 5:11 |
| 9. | "Wild Ride" (duet with Joe Walsh) | Dwight Yoakam | 4:20 |
| 10. | "Scare Me" | Wendell Mobley, Joe Don Rooney, Neil Thrasher | 4:14 |
| 11. | "Demons" | Bill Anderson, Jon Randall | 5:31 |
Total length: |
48:43 | ||
Personnel
As listed in liner notes.[13]
- Wyatt Beard – background vocals
- William F. Bowman – acoustic guitar
- Bekka Bramlett – background vocals
- Mat Britain – steel drums
- Pat Buchanan – electric guitar
- Buddy Cannon – background vocals
- Melonie Cannon – background vocals
- Kenny Chesney – lead vocals
- Jeff Coffin – tenor saxophone
- Eric Darken – percussion
- Dan Dugmore – steel guitar
- Chris Dunn – trombone
- Sonny Garrish – steel guitar, Dobro
- Vince Gill – electric guitar
- Kenny Greenberg – electric guitar
- Rob Hajacos – fiddle
- Tim Hensley – background vocals
- Steve Herman – trumpet
- John Hobbs – piano, keyboards
- Jim Horn – baritone saxophone
- Paul Leim – drums, percussion
- Randy McCormick – Hammond B-3 organ, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, Wurlitzer
- Jonell Mosser – background vocals
- Larry Paxton – bass guitar, upright bass
- Gary Prim – Hammond B-3 organ, piano, keyboards
- Jon Randall – background vocals
- Mickey Raphael – harmonica
- Chris Stapleton – acoustic guitar
- George Strait – duet vocals on "Shiftwork"
- Scott Vestal – banjo
- Joe Walsh – electric guitar on "Wild Ride"
- Quentin Ware, Jr. – trumpet
- John Willis – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, talk box guitar, gut string guitar
- Andrea Zonn – background vocals
Chart and sales performance
Album
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 3 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 7 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | US Pop |
CAN | |||
| 2007 | "Never Wanted Nothing More" | 1 | 22 | 34 | 49 | * US: Gold[14] |
| "Don't Blink" | 1 | 29 | 47 | 45 | * US: Platinum[15] | |
| "Shiftwork" (featuring George Strait) | 2 | 47 | — | 61 | ||
| 2008 | "Better as a Memory" | 1 | 46 | 100 | 61 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[16] | Platinum |
References
- 1 2 3 "Critic Reviews for Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates". Metacritic. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
- 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates - Kenny Chesney". Allmusic. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
- ↑ Battaglia, Andy (October 9, 2007). "Kenny Chesney: Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
- ↑ Tucker, Ken. "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 22, 2007. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
- ↑ Rodman, Sarah (September 11, 2007). "The many hats of Kenny Chesney". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
- ↑ Pastorek, Whitney (August 31, 2007). "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
- ↑ Lewis, Randy (September 22, 2007). "Chesney reveals 'Who I Am' in the words of others". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
- ↑ Sanneh, Kelefa (September 11, 2007). "The King of Country Casual, Back Again". The New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
- ↑ Timmermann, Josh (September 12, 2007). "Kenny Chesney: Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates". PopMatters. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
- ↑ Sheffield, Rob (September 5, 2007). "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
- ↑ Katie Hasty, "Album Sales Down 9% Despite Huge Kanye, 50 Tallies", Billboard.com, September 19, 2007.
- ↑ Cohen, Jonathan. "Kenny Chesney's 'Sun' To Shine This Fall". Billboard. August 21, 2008.
- ↑ Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates (Media notes). Kenny Chesney. BNA Records. 2007. 88697-11457-2.
- ↑ "American single certifications – Kenny Chesney – Never Wanted Nothing More". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
- ↑ "American single certifications – Kenny Chesney – Don%27t Blink". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
- ↑ "American album certifications – Kenny Chesney – Just Who I Am". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
External links
| Preceded by Taylor Swift by Taylor Swift |
Top Country Albums number-one album September 29, 2007 |
Succeeded by Reba: Duets by Reba McEntire |
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