Mark Chesnutt is not flashy. His offstage personality is pretty much reflected in his music - devoid of fluff and woven with a fabric of quality and substance. And so it is with his latest release I Don't Want To Miss A Thing on Decca Records.
   I Don't Want To Miss A Thing attempts to broaden the scope of Mark's talent, with the inclusion of a ballad, the wonderful cover of the title cut which Mark latched onto after having seen the Aerosmith video of the same song from the Armageddon soundtrack. "I listened to it," he relates, "and I kept thinking, That's a pretty song for Aerosmith to be doing...that's a great song!" While Mark uses this album to flex his vocal skills it is also a continuation of his legacy as the premier traditional country artist of this decade that was begun with his 1990 hit "Too Cold At Home."
   "That's The Way You Make An Ex" is toe-tapping good Texas-swing-style music while the Skip Ewing, Paul Davis, Paul Overstreet co-penned "Jolie" goes off on a Cajun flavored stomp (as does "I'm Gone") to further expand the boundaries of this album. The two-steppin' beat of "What Was You Thinking" makes that song a sure fire hit on the dance floor.
   If you like your country flavored with twang and you don't have to be a sociologist to understand the lyrics, then Mark Chesnutt is one of the best games in town and I Don't Want To Miss A Thing is Grade A Prime Choice Cut All-American Country.

-Charlton Wiggins