Title - 'Heard It in a Love Song'
Artist - Mark Chesnutt
According to all sources, Mark Chesnutt was set on a mission to "save the honky tonks" - as per the title of his last CD! Now, I don't know if he actually fully achieved such a grand thing, but with this new effort, Heard It in a Love Song the Texan sure makes no detours or concessions from that prior musical theory. Recording an album of mostly country covers; songs associated with such same genre acts as Tammy Wynette, Hank Williams Jr., Merle Haggard and George Jones, sure they are what could easily be termed within the business as sleeper hits (lesser known songs from these above-noted greats), but that just ensures a diverson away from the same old same old. And no I don't know all the songs myself, but from the ones that I do I can say that Chesnutt hasn't wandered all that far from the originals, although he does leave his familiar mark on most all. Singing as if he owns them, Chesnutt captures the romantic pathos of a sweet ballad one minute, enjoying a delightful jovial romp the next on such a song as Hank Williams Jr's composition "You Can't Find Any Kissers." But, please be aware as despite being touted as new, this CD is more or less a patchwork of sorts. Of the 10 cuts, only a mere 6 tracks are newly recorded, some already having appeared on compilation albums before. So, yes, the savior of the honky tonks has indeed come, and he comes to us today with a great album, full of great tracks, and a great will to remain here with us for a long time.
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