Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates

Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates
Studio album by Kenny Chesney
Released September 11, 2007 (2007-09-11)
Genre Country
Length 48:43
Label BNA
Producer Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney (all tracks)
Joe Walsh ("Wild Ride" only)
Kenny Chesney chronology
Live: Live Those Songs Again
(2006)
Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates
(2007)
Super Hits
(2008)
Singles from Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates
  1. "Never Wanted Nothing More"
    Released: June 12, 2007
  2. "Don't Blink"
    Released: September 10, 2007
  3. "Shiftwork"
    Released: December 10, 2007
  4. "Better as a Memory"
    Released: March 31, 2008
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(70/100)[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
The A.V. ClubB−[3]
Billboard(favorable)[4]
Blender[1]
The Boston Globe(favorable)[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB[6]
Los Angeles Times[1][7]
The New York Times(favorable)[8]
PopMatters[9]
Rolling Stone[10]

Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates is the eleventh studio album by country music artist Kenny Chesney, released in the United States on September 11, 2007. The CD was leaked on the Internet on September 5, 2007. It produced four singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart between 2007 and 2008, three of which reached number one. The album includes duets with George Strait and Joe Walsh.

Content

The album's first two singles are "Never Wanted Nothing More" and "Don't Blink", which were officially released to country radio in June and September 2007. Both singles reached number one the Hot Country Songs charts in late 2007, as did "Better as a Memory" (the fourth and final single) in June 2008. "Shiftwork" is a duet with George Strait. It was released as the album's third single in December 2007. It peaked at number 2 in early 2008. Also included is "Wild Ride", a Joe Walsh duet which is a cover of a song by Dwight Yoakam from his 1992 album This Time.

Reception

Commercial Performance

The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. In its first week, the album had the best weekly sales of any country album since the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way in May 2006[11] and the album has sold 1.4 million copies in the U.S. up to August 2008.[12]

Critical Response

The album represented a move by Chesney to a more gulf and western sound with a number of "breezy, steel-drum island songs."[2]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Never Wanted Nothing More"  Ronnie Bowman, Chris Stapleton 3:29
2. "Don't Blink"  Casey Beathard, Chris Wallin 4:46
3. "Shiftwork" (duet with George Strait)Troy Jones 4:29
4. "Just Not Today"  David Lee Murphy 4:05
5. "Wife and Kids"  Jim Collins, Brett James 4:23
6. "Got a Little Crazy"  Craig Monday, Wallin 4:03
7. "Better as a Memory"  Scooter Carusoe, Lady Goodman 4:12
8. "Dancin' for the Groceries"  James, Don Schlitz 5:11
9. "Wild Ride" (duet with Joe Walsh)Dwight Yoakam 4:20
10. "Scare Me"  Wendell Mobley, Joe Don Rooney, Neil Thrasher 4:14
11. "Demons"  Bill Anderson, Jon Randall 5:31
Total length:
48:43

Personnel

As listed in liner notes.[13]

Chart and sales performance

Album

Chart (2007) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 1
U.S. Billboard 200 3
Canadian Albums Chart 7

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
US Country US US
Pop
CAN
2007 "Never Wanted Nothing More" 1 22 34 49 * US: Gold[14]
"Don't Blink" 1 29 47 45 * US: Platinum[15]
"Shiftwork" (featuring George Strait) 2 47 61
2008 "Better as a Memory" 1 46 100 61
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Certifications

Region Certification
United States (RIAA)[16] Platinum

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Critic Reviews for Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates". Metacritic. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates - Kenny Chesney". Allmusic. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  3. Battaglia, Andy (October 9, 2007). "Kenny Chesney: Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  4. Tucker, Ken. "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 22, 2007. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  5. Rodman, Sarah (September 11, 2007). "The many hats of Kenny Chesney". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  6. Pastorek, Whitney (August 31, 2007). "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  7. Lewis, Randy (September 22, 2007). "Chesney reveals 'Who I Am' in the words of others". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  8. Sanneh, Kelefa (September 11, 2007). "The King of Country Casual, Back Again". The New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  9. Timmermann, Josh (September 12, 2007). "Kenny Chesney: Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates". PopMatters. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  10. Sheffield, Rob (September 5, 2007). "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  11. Katie Hasty, "Album Sales Down 9% Despite Huge Kanye, 50 Tallies", Billboard.com, September 19, 2007.
  12. Cohen, Jonathan. "Kenny Chesney's 'Sun' To Shine This Fall". Billboard. August 21, 2008.
  13. Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates (Media notes). Kenny Chesney. BNA Records. 2007. 88697-11457-2.
  14. "American single certifications – Kenny Chesney – Never Wanted Nothing More". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  15. "American single certifications – Kenny Chesney – Don%27t Blink". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  16. "American album certifications – Kenny Chesney – Just Who I Am". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

Preceded by
Taylor Swift by Taylor Swift
Top Country Albums number-one album
September 29, 2007
Succeeded by
Reba: Duets by Reba McEntire
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