[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.

[15] The Knoxville News Sentinel wrote that "the sometimes lush production adds drama the Chesnutt's sweet, quirky vocals.

"[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.

"[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.