In an interview with The Boot, Currington talked about the album, and how if reflects who he is as a person. “It’s a great mix, it reflects who I am. I’m definitely not just one thing. I’m the beach guy, I’m the country guy, I love my dirt roads and fishin’, but I love New York City and L.A. and Miami, too.[1] "It's been a process for this particular project for like five years when I go back through my songs. I've been stashing all these songs that I get pitched every year in this one little spot on my computer – it's probably been more like 10 years of songs now – and so I feel like I'm so stashed up with songs that I didn't need to write or look for them."[1]
Recording
Currington explained the recording behind Enjoy Yourself, saying "This record was about recording songwriter’s songs, I could have gone back and recorded a bunch of mine that I’ve written, but there were a lot of writers I wanted to record, like Shawn and Troy. I had to put their songs on this album.”[1]
Reception
Commercial
The album debuted at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart after selling 45,000 copies, becoming his first Top 10 album on that chart.[2] It also peaked at number two on the U.S. BillboardTop Country Albums chart.[3] As of the chart dated June 25, 2011, the album has sold over 329,489 copies in the United States.[4]
Upon its release, Enjoy Yourself received generally positive reviews from most music critics.[15] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on 4 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[15]
Matt Bjorke with Roughstock gave it a three and a half out of five star rating, saying that Currington "has perfected his formula; Enjoy Yourself is a mostly jovial affair that really feels like a tight collection of escapist, feel-good music.[12]Stephen Thomas Erlewine with Allmusic also gave it a three and a half out of five star rating, saying "Everything rolls just a little bit too easily [...] its mellow vibes and occasional soft romantic touch feel true to Currington."[5] Greg Victor with Parcbench gave it a 3½ rating, commenting "This album is full of music makes you want to dance and laugh and sing along; this album is the one I put on for my own enjoyment."[10]
The Associated Press' Michael McCall said that "[on] Enjoy Yourself he zeroes in on an easy-going soul vibe, a sound that brings out a likable quality in Currington's Georgia-raised tenor."[6] Bill Friskics-Warren with The Washington Post gave it a mixed review, saying that "[Currington] can pride himself on having made a record with the sort of warmth and intimacy that gives the work of neo-traditionalist elders such as George Strait and Alan Jackson such staying power."[13] He also called the track "Like My Dog" "The only real misstep".[13]
Jessica Phillips with Country Weekly gave it three stars, commented saying that it is "a perfect sleepy and summery soundtrack; this collection largely falls headlong into leisurely tales of drinking and fishing rather than the more spirited or smouldering fare that spurred earlier hits."[8] Blake Boldt with Engine 145 gave it two and a half stars out of five, calling it a "pretty bland modern country album" and said that Currington "is a little too spic-and-span. None of these ten songs is even remotely suspenseful; conflicts and concerns are neatly wrapped up within four minutes."[14] Dave Heaton with PopMatters gave it five out of ten stars, and criticized the songwriting on the album, saying " on a songwriting level, Currington has dropped any real storytelling emphasis or attention to specific details.[11]
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