Mark Chesnutt Brings the 90's Back to Life

Holy fiddle and steel, 80's and 90's country has life again! Mark Chesnutt may not have been the first name fans thought of in his heyday, but by god did he release some great music. Songs like "Too Cold at Home," "I'll Think of Something," and "Bubba Shot the Jukebox" come to mind very quickly when Chesnutt's name is mentioned. About the only mistake he made was allow label pressure to convince him to record a cover of Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," a decision he supposedly regrets to this day.

Fast forward to 2016, a year in which his name is all but forgotten, and Chesnutt releases a very good traditional country album. Tradition Lives is spearheaded by the excellent single "Oughta Miss Me by Now." The album excels in both its lyrical content and the staples of traditional 90's country--fiddle, steel guitar, and more prominent acoustic guitar as opposed to today's leanings toward distorted electric guitar. Not only will the lyrics drag listeners through the valleys of heartache, but the instrumental arrangements will bring back memories of a better time in mainstream country.

Tradition Lives is without a doubt a darker album, with most of the songs dealing firsthand with relationship issues. Some songs are slower, but even the faster paced songs, one of which is the lead single, pack an emotional punch that'll strike listeners as both tangible and oddly therapeutic. The slower songs are almost hard to listen to in that you believe every word that comes out of Chesnutt's mouth, and hope to never experience something so difficult as what the song's narrator is going through. Standout song "So You Can't Hurt Me Anymore" is dark and dreary from the beginning, with an excellent acoustic intro that could lead into any sad song in any genre.

Chesnutt tackles difficult topics on other songs, as well, particularly on the faster-paced but very dreary "Neither Did I," which discusses a man who's destroyed a good relationship with bad habits and ignorance in regard to how he was treating his partner. "Losing You All Over Again" is another standout that will have listeners in its grip while Chesnutt sings about running into an ex and how difficult it can be for some people.

What I liked most about the album is the way it took the country sound of the late 80's and early 90's and made it sound better than it ever has due to the recording quality made possible by today's equipment. Every instrument sounds incredible.

The album only has only one real misstep, as far as I'm concerned. "Hot" is boring and pointless in regard to the rest of Tradition Lives and seems an almost arbitrary inclusion. Thankfully, it's buried near the end of the album and isn't in a place where it interrupts flow early on.

It was hard to know what to expect when I heard that Chesnutt was releasing a new album. Some older artists have made a comeback in recent years only to release sub-par material, like Garth Brooks and Clay Walker, but Tradition Lives does not fall into that category. It's definitely a good album, and is something traditionalists should love. 7/10

Standout songs:
"Is it Still Cheating"
"Oughta Miss Me by Now"
"So You Can't Hurt Me Anymore"
"Losing You All Over Again"
"What I Heard"

Up next: Undercurrent by Sarah Jarosz