Life on a Rock

Songs

Country Weekly's Jon Freeman thought that "Lindy" and "Happy on the Hey Now" were "poignant sketches of people he's encountered over the years", and that some of the songs showed "the motivations behind his relentless career building". He criticized "Marley" and "It's That Time of Day" for "meander[ing] aimlessly", and thought that "Pirate Flag" did not fit thematically with the album.

Kenny Chesney stated that the last song "Happy on the Hey Now (A Song for Kristi)" was written in memoriam about Kristi Lynn Hansen (March 16, 1976 Stanford, Maine–March 6, 2012 Chapel Hill, North Carolina), She was a long-time resident and local of the island of Saint John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Chesney had a residence, and frequently lived on the island and in the city of Cruz Bay. Hansen was an employee of Woody's and La Tapa restaurants. Hey Now was the name of a boat that Hansen and Chesney used to have a jovial time during their stays on the island.

Critical reception

Life on a Rock has received generally positive reviews from the critics. At Metacritic, a website which assigns a weighted average score to mainstream critics ratings and reviews, the album received a metascore of 67, based on six reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic noted how Chesney's "effort pays off", due to the fact that "this feels fuller, richer than any Chesney album in recent memory, but it's also unhurried and light, an ideal soundtrack for a long, lazy summer." Freeman of Country Weekly called the album "a mixed bag" that the "most exciting moments come when Kenny pushes his limits on something unusual", and found that Chesney "sounds genuinely exhausted, making his need for respite in the islands all the more understandable." Got Country Online's Phyllis Hunter rated the album a perfect five-stars, and affirmed that the album is "Chesney’s most personal, most confident journey yet, and oh yes, confidence is indeed a heady aphrodisiac."

At The Oakland Press, Gary Graff told that the release "makes sober pondering sound like a wholly engaging pursuit." Chuck Yarborough of The Plain Dealer graded the album a B+, which he called it "eight of the 10 cuts on this intensely personal", and noted that "perhaps his best album." Matt Bjorke of Roughstock stated that "if you truly take in the album for what it is, a strong, well-written and well-made album meant to take you out of whatever is chaotic in life, you'll be in for one of the best albums of Kenny Chesney's career." David Burger of The Salt Lake Tribune called the release "breezy", which he stated that "while the collection doesn’t break any new ground, and isn’t well-suited to blasting on a car stereo, it shows off Chesney’s always-comforting voice and song-writing talents that too rarely emerge." At the USA Today, Brian Mansfield evoked that "Chesney's always been able to live in the moment; now, he sounds like he's appreciating them more than ever." The Boston Globe's Sarah Rodman praised the album because she told that Chesney "hits a high-water mark."

At Calgary Herald, Mike Bell affirmed that "it's hard to imagine a more predictable collection of songs than the superstar’s 10-track cabana Life On A Rock." Taste of Country's Billy Dukes alluded to "perhaps the songwriting is clunky at times — and a few songs rely too heavily on his vocal talents instead of a captivating melody or story — but it’s difficult to criticize a project that’s so honest, and at times, vulnerable." At Newday, Glenn Gamboa found that the release "finds Chesney stretching into unfamiliar territory that he hasn't quite mastered yet", but according to Gamboa Chesney "should remember, though, that trying something new requires a little more effort." The New York Times's Jon Caramanica told that "Mr. Chesney is a superstar, the idea goes, and therefore can do what he wants", but "except when he can't, of course." At Los Angeles Times, Mikael Wood found that "Chesney's tone-deafness here seems especially egregious because it's surrounded by better, smarter material."

Chart performance

The album has sold 392,000 copies in the US as of December 2013.