For starters, the ten previous hits are truly great. The wedding anthem "Me and You" and the alcoholic saga "That's Why I'm Here" are incredibly moving, whereas the foot stompin' "How Forever Feels," "She's Got It All," and "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" generate loads of excitement. Those latter uptempo tunes are where Chesney really shines, with his twangy vocals at their most distinctive and full of personality.

None of the seven new recordings on Greatest Hits (two of which are remakes) are remotely as rowdy. The Randy Travis duet "Baptism" aims for inspiration, but gets mired in a lumbering melody, while the mid-tempo tales "Don't Happen Twice" and "For The First Time" are thematically and musically repetitive. A live version of "Back Where I Come From" offers a stronger vocal than the original, however, and "I Lost It" is one of his best ballads to date.

Ultimately, the success of "Don't Happen Twice" and "I Lost It" at country radio helped make this set a mega best-seller. Still, Chesney needed to pick up the pace with some high-octane new material next time around. He did just that with the strong followup album No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem and its toetapping leadoff hit "Young."


"All You Need to Know" About Early Kenny...   July 11, 2006
tomdewcon (Kentucky)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

The title of this album seems pretty obvious: a collection of Kenny Chesney's greatest hits. Interestingly, most of his
biggest hits came after this album. So what gives? Well, Chesney was a fixture in the country world for the better part of the 90s, an artist who made a presence at radio but not so much outside of that world. That's not to say this album
doesn't represent great work, because it does: even before Kenny began his ascent, he still picked good material. This
disc contains seventeen songs, a few more than the standard hits package in country. And like most modern hits collections, it contains new material, here in the form of four songs which are all pretty darn good. The first two new songs, "I Lost It" and "Don't Happen Twice", open the album. They were also the album's big hits, with the latter hitting #1. Both songs exemplify Chesney's style of telling stories in song, whether about love-against-the-odds or young love (a common theme of his). This is followed by "The Tin Man", which is actually a re-recording of a song Chesney recorded on his first (and second) album. There's an underated quality about this song, which is essential Kenny. It alludes to "The Wizard of Oz", and how Chesney wishes he were the Tin Man, since "I wouldn't have a heart, and I wouldn't miss you". Great stuff. The older songs occur after this in mostly-chronological order. "Fall in Love" (a remix?), and "All I Need to Know", are memorable hits from his first BNA album "All I Need to Know". They are followed by "For the First Time", another new track that remembers young love. Next up is "Me and You", a sweet song that was Kenny's first #1. A surprise pops up amongst all of these tracks: a live verson of "Back Where I Come From", which wasn't a single but pays tribute to Kenny's roots. It's fun to hear the crowd scream, and the quality of the recording is great (at the beginning of the song he says "Okay Dallas...", but the album says it says recorded in Tennessee; maybe it's some bizarre hybrid). The next few songs continued his run of hits: "When I Close My Eyes" and "She's Got It All" helped Kenny hone his
craft, while "That's Why I'm Here", a song about alcoholsim, is probably the heaviest song Kenny has released as a single. Kenny's 1999 release, "Everywhere We Go", saw his career kick into high gear; subsequently, it is represented here with no less than 5 tracks. The first single,"How Forever Feels", became Kenny's biggest hit upon it release, and is a radio staple today. The next single, "You Had Me From Hello", is a beautiful love song that become another #1 for Chesney. The song also took on unintentional hilarity when its inspiration briefly became his wife. "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" is a fun, sexy novelty that quickly became a fan favorite. The last two selections are pretty amazing in their own right. "Whar I Need To Do" is a classic song of lost love and inaction, and "Baptism" (a duet with the great Randy Travis) adds some religious flavor to Kenny's catalog. The album closes with the last new track "Because of Your Love", which is pretty great too-shame it wasn't a single.
So there you have it: a seventeen-song guide to Kenny before he was one of the most bankable concert draws around. Of course, his career REALLY hit the stratosphere his with first album after this one, "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems". But that's a story for another day. Looking at the back cover of this album, we see Kenny on the beach, looking out to the future; these photos have become an album staple, and with the success of this album, it's easy to see why. The future looks bright for Kenny; can Greatest Hits, Volume 2 be far behind?


Now THIS is a true "Greatest Hits" package!   January 14, 2001
Keith Gearlds (Louisville, Kentucky United States)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful

Kenny Chesney has done something not many artists do these days, put together a "Greatest Hits" package. Nowadays, artists tend to pick out their favorites of their songs, leaving off some of their true hits, and put them on what is incorrectly named a "Greatest Hits" album. Kenny Chesney does just the opposite. He has loaded this album with all, and I do mean ALL of his greatest hits. Kenny even included some songs that, although great songs, did not even reach the level of greatness. For instance, "The Tin Man" was one of his first singles and failed miserably. Yet, he included it. "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" did not even make Billboard's Top 10; however, it's no doubt a fan-pleaser, so it was included. Along with some excellent new material including his top 5 hit "I Lost It" and what I believe will be his next #1 song, "Don't Happen Twice," Kenny Chesney has also included his 6 week #1 song, "How Forever Feels," and some of his beautiful ballads like "You Had Me From Hello" and "Me and You". This CD no doubt ranks as one of the best of 2000. I have a feeling he's made a pretty good mark and may be offering us "Greatest Hits Volume 2" in the near future. We can only hope it's as great as his first one!


A country singer who sneaked up on me   June 28, 2002
Neal C. Reynolds (Indianapolis, Indiana)
13 out of 16 found this review helpful

I'll admit that I didn't much notice Kenny Chesney at first. I was listening to an Oklahoma City country station and noticed the name many times, but it wasn't until I looked over this Greatest Hits package that I realized he was responsible for many of my favorites.

For instance, "That's Why I'm Here". This is one that has to be considered one of the most meaningful country songs ever. I was a bit scornful the first few times I heard "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy", and even made fun of it in conversations with friends. However, I'll admit that it grew on me in time.

I get the feeling that my experience of feeling that he kinda sneaked up on me is common. A number of country fans have suddenly realized that hey, he's here and he's good. I've heard the comment, "I didn't realize Kenny Chesney sang that" a lot more than once.

This is a good and satisfying set. It's not the most pretentious country CD around. It's a kinda quiet one that sits around and suddenly you notice it and decide you want it.