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Bottom Line:

Live Those Songs Again is a wonderful collection of songs. While not every hit is represented here, the album showcases why Kenny Chesney has become one of the most successful artists recording music these days. If you've always wanted to see a Kenny show but haven?t, you'll wanna go after listening to this record. It's that good.

Kenny's First Live Release

After slowly building his career to the point that he released a Greatest Hits CD in the year 2000, Kenny Chesney has since become one country music's hottest superstars.

6 years after that release, Kenny has chosen to release his first live disc. Live Those Songs Again takes 14 songs from various concerts performed over the last five years and gives fans a comprehensive overview of what a Kenny Chesney concert feels like. Having not seen one since 1999, I was eager to hear how he sounds when performing in an arena setting.

What A Live Album Should Be

The first song on this album is the title song, "Live Those Songs," and it sets the tone for the rest of the album. The always fun "Young" comes up next and in the live setting we get to hear the fans sing along with Kenny. It's one of many 'audience participation' to be recorded during his career. "Never Gonna Feel Like That Again" is a banjo-laced album track from Kenny's No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems album. It features some good instrumentation and Kenny is in fine vocal form. "Beer In Mexico" is a self-penned song from his The Road And The Radio album and it works really well being placed back-to-back with a song about college life, the hit "Keg In The Closet."

"What I Need To Do" is a song from 1999's Everywhere We Go album and it is, in my opinion, one of Kenny's best songs. A soft ballad, it serves as a great time to introduce Kenny's band. "I Go Back" is a fun soundtrack of your life kind of song while Uncle Kracker (and the crowd) joins Kenny on the entertaining tropical smash hit "When The Sun Goes Down."

"On The Coast Of Somewhere Beautiful" is a song that Kenny doesn't often do in concert but it's a song that suits the island-loving spirit which shines through on almost every album he does. On "Anything But Mine," Kenny seems to get surprised by the fans singing with him because it's not really the kind of song that usually screams out for audience participation since it is an emotional ballad.

A Kenny Chesney concert wouldn't be complete without "Back Where I Come From," and this fine Mac McAnally penned song still sounds as good today as it did in 1996 when Kenny released it on the Me And You album. "Don't Happen Twice" is a fun little song that is one of many No. 1 hits for Kenny. A single from his Greatest Hits album, this is another of those fun up-tempo songs that Kenny does so well.

The last two tracks on this live CD are from the early part of his career. Both No. 1 hits, "How Forever Feels" and "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" are two of the songs that helped to transform Kenny from successful country singer to superstar so it's only fitting that he ends most of his concerts and this fine live album with them.

Kenny Chesney is an entertaining artist and it is that reason why the multi-award winning singer is one of the most successful touring musicians in popular music today. Live albums like Live Those Songs Again do a great service to show fans just why many people have left the rock and pop genres for country music. Quite frankly, artists like Kenny Chesney can sing their songs as good in person as they do on the record and therefore don't need the help of recorded tapes or dancing to mask their vocals. This is as strong as any of Kenny's studio albums and reminds me that I need to find my way to Kenny's show the next time he's in my area; he's too good not to see.