COUNTRY

Kenny Chesney / "The Road and the Radio." BNA/Sony/BMG. 11 tracks.

Melanie Dunea (ENLARGE)
Kenny Chesney's ill-fated marriage to Renée Zellweger hasn't ruined his country formula on 'The Road and the Radio.'
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Grade: B

Kenny Chesney could probably make hit records in his sleep. He's got the formula down.

That's not a criticism, because he's good at it. He's also one of the most prolific superstars in any genre — "The Road and the Radio" is his second album this year.

A good time can be had by all on any given Chesney album. He can take you from crying in your favorite beverage ("Tequila Loves Me") to just crying ("Who You'd Be Today") to taking a little time to stop and smell your favorite beverage ("Beer in Mexico"). He celebrates both rural living ("In a Small Town") and fast living ("Living in Fast Forward").

While he's eased up a bit on the island flavors that informed "When the Sun Goes Down" and "Be As You Are," he still gives us hints of the tropics in several songs.

Listening to "The Road and the Radio," you'd think that things haven't changed much in the land of Chesney. There's not even a whiff of his ill-fated marriage to Renée Zellweger in these songs, but that won't stop folks from looking for clues. He may be tabloid fodder now, but the songs remain the same.

—Shane Harrison

Also out today: "Flo' Ology," soulful spoken word and songs from Floetry; "7 Days in Memphis" from actor Peter Gallagher; "The Body Acoustic" a stripped-down career retrospective from '80s bad girl Cyndi Lauper; "T.I.P." from Young Buck and the soundtrack for 50 Cent's new movie, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'."