When the Sun Goes Down

Tennessee-born country star Kenny Chesney moved more than 3 million copies of his previous album, 2002's No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems, becoming the Nashville hat of choice for down-home groovers who might leave for the beach at a moment's notice (see his late-2003 holiday offering, All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan, for more evidence). When the Sun Goes Down, Chesney's eighth album, finds him singing as the no-sweat superstar he's become. Chesney's tenor has an aeronautic top end, which he uses to good effect on fine love songs such as "Anything but Mine" and when he's talking through a rocking contemplation called "When I Think About Leaving." On the title song, he hangs out at the shore, duetting with Uncle Kracker. As "Being Drunk's a Lot Like Loving You" richly indicates, Chesney knows honky-tonk. But he doesn't fret over the tradition. He's too real for that.