Silver Lake (album)

Recorded over two weeks in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, the album was produced by Mark Howard.[5][6][7] It was a more musically expansive album; Chesnutt, perhaps ironically, had initially intended to make "a big giant record, a ponderous, overproduced monstrosity."[8] Chesnutt did not know his backing band before entering the studio.[9] He claimed that the album contains references and secret messages to Victoria Williams.[10]

"In My Way, Yes" expresses gratitude for Chesnutt's achievements.[11] "Styrofoam" is about the interior life of a Styrofoam cooler.[12] "Sultan, So Mighty" is about a harem eunuch.[13] "Second Floor" is based on a Chinese poem from the fifth century.[14] "I'm Through" describes a breakup.[15]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Detroit Free Press	[16]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[17]
Knoxville News Sentinel	A[18]

The Knoxville News Sentinel wrote that "the sometimes lush production adds drama the Chesnutt's sweet, quirky vocals."[18] The Arizona Republic deemed "Band Camp" "entertaining, uplifting, with an underlying hint of sadness and despair."[19] The Boston Globe called the album "adventurous and compelling music" and "the most diverse and deeply textured work of his career."[20] The New York Times noted that "Chesnutt has the scratchy voice of a young codger, an ear for modestly inspirational tunes and an eye for the homely, off-kilter detail."[21]

The Washington Post opined that "Chesnutt's straight talk can be merely bratty and stereotypical, and his songs tend to meander aimlessly."[22] The New Yorker labeled Silver Lake "one of his rootsiest—it sounds like a pine forest at dusk—and strongest efforts"; the magazine named it one of the best albums of 2003.[12][23] The Globe and Mail considered "In My Way, Yes" "possibly his loveliest to date, where intensity and uncertainty join hands."[24]