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The boy from East Tennessee's transformation into the new Jimmy Buffett is complete. It sounds good on him.

In the past, the sand and salty air have wafted momentarily through Chesney's work. "Be As You Are" is soaked in Caribbean water from beginning to end, and it sounds like what he was meant to do.

BNA Records (ENLARGE)
Country star Kenny Chesney has gone Caribbean.
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COUNTRY • Kenny Chesney "Be As You Are." BNA Records. 13 tracks. Grade: B+

Chesney was country's puppy dog for years: He was cute, earnest, eager to please. And, frankly, a bit of the sentimental goo he sang could get annoying. But this album sounds like Chesney doing just what the title suggests — being himself. He sounds more relaxed and real than ever.

Opening track "Old Blue Chair" is a gentle breeze of a tune (and the wave-drenched acoustic version is even sweeter), as comfy as its subject. Songs and stories about giving up the rat race for the Caribbean sun are nothing new, but Chesney makes the sagas of the girl in "She's From Boston" and the "Island Boy" (which seems more than a little autobiographical) as absorbing as these oft-told tales can be. The joyous "French Kissin' Life" and "Guitars and Tiki Bars" are as frothy and intoxicating as one of those rum-laden cocktails they call Painkillers.

"Be As You Are" is a Caribbean tourist agency's dream. Maybe it's our January weather, but just hearing him intone words like St. Croix, Cinnamon Bay, mangoes and Marley are enough to get your flight-booking finger twitching.

— Shane Harrison