Kenny Chesney debated about creating a vinyl pressing of BORN. Given its length – 15 songs – there was no way it could fit on one disc, and he didn’t want to choose which songs to leave off. He also knows the people who love listening to actual records are a very special breed of music lover, who cherish the old school needle-on-vinyl experience.
“I’m lucky,” says the songwriter/superstar from East Tennessee. “I have fans who still believe in the actual listening experience, starting an album at the beginning and taking the journey the songs are creating. Experiencing and asking ‘how does this music define a moment or a state of life? How does it color or reflect my mind?’
“So much of my own life’s been defined by what I was listening to over the years, and still is. That’s a whole different way of consuming music than just a hit. Knowing that, I decided to go ahead and do vinyl. It’s a limited run, but it’s there for all the people who put on albums and make that kind of listening a destination. For anyone who sinks into the songs, this is for you.”
Having delivered the No. 1 selling album in America in any genre on release – a distinction missed by many in a world where streaming has become the dominant point of consumption – and a Top 5 Country album across all consumption metrics, it speaks to No Shoes Nation’s desire to own Chesney’s complete albums.
BORN, one of Esquire’s Most Anticipated Releases of 2024, inspired deeper consideration. Men’s Journal assessed it “a pretty wide look at what life is made of – tricky stuff in relationships, chasing memories, kicking back, losing friends.” Holler raved, “quintessential Kenny Chesney...a masterpiece,” deeming it “an examination of a life well lived – of the bliss, the heartbreak, the silver linings, the healing... These stirring portrayals of grief and healing add new depth to the live-in-the-moment anthems Kenny has become synonymous with.”
Whether the grab-the-moment rush of “Just To Say We Did,” sweeping drama of “One Lonely Island,” or naughty no-strings rhythms of “Guilty Pleasure,” plus chilled philosophizing of “This Too Shall Pass,” BORN honors No Shoes Nation’s unquenchable desire to live life to its absolute peak. But as reviewers note, Chesney also draws on the contemplative with the philosophical “The Way I Love You Now,” the pensive female freedom of “Top Down” and closing toast to those who’ve passed away “Wherever You Are Tonight,” which esteemed critic and historian Robert K. Oermann called an “anthem that will endure” in Music Row.
“It’s a lot of music, and a lot of life,” Chesney acknowledges. “I realized all that can be taken in in different ways. While we’re only doing a limited pressing, which will be available at select retail stores and through the website, I wanted this music to be in whatever form No Shoes Nation wants to experience it through...”
Fans can pre-order here beginning April 18 at 11 p.m. CT to reserve their copy. With the Sun Goes Down 2024 Tour kicking off this weekend at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on Saturday April 20, BORN in double-disc vinyl marks a tangible way to take the music home for the summer.
