Brad Paisley is one of the most widely known and most respected Country musicians alive today. He has built up a great reputation as a skilful musician, guitarist and songwriter. He also with Fender created both a Custom Shop Fender Telecaster, followed by a unique production take on a Fender Esquire which, although recently released, was a major breakthrough in guitar design for having an extra neck pickup underneath the pickguard of the Fender Esquire to give the bridge pickup more sustain. This was a stroke of genius and was typical of Brad Paisley’s innovative and essential musical presence. His guitar chops are also unique, and many have dubbed him the Eddie Van Halen of Country Music. This album is his third release as a solo musician and is one of his most loved releases to date. It has spawned several hit singles for Brad Paisley and gained him more fans along the way. Let’s take a listen to this album, and we shall deem if it is a worthy listen.

Mud On The Tires begins with some excellent acoustic guitar, and pedal steel guitar and launches into a piece led with a banjo. Brad Paisley sings well with passion and joy about taking a four-wheel drive out in the country. Typical cowboy stuff, but this is a well-structured, played and performed tune throughout. It is also very emotional sounding. Some fiddle enters the scene after the chorus, and this does sound very sweet. Fender Telecaster licks galore are present here, and this is very moving. This is a brilliant listening experience throughout and is well-produced and mixed. A fantastic listening experience, this is a real gem of a song. This is fantastic for folks in Southern USA to play in their pickup truck as they drive around town. A really excellent Fender Telecaster guitar solo is present that sounds nicely played and is very good to listen to. This song ends around three and a half minutes into it, a fantastic listen throughout.

Celebrity begins with some 12-string acoustic guitar, fiddle and some sampled crowd cheers, before launching into another fine and fantastic song about making it as a person in the limelight, with plenty of awesome Fender Telecaster licks and playing to maintain interest. Of course, everyone has their 15 minutes of fame these days. A hilarious lyric set is present here: “Can’t wait to date a supermodel, can’t wait to sue my Dad, can’t wait to wreck a Ferrari, on my way to rehab.” Nonetheless, this is another consistent and interesting listen that really sounds top-notch. It has much irony and humour about it, which is unusual for Country Music, which is usually much more serious than this. This album has some of the best Fender Telecaster playing that you will ever, and this song paints an interesting picture of the fame and fortune that being noticed is about. A very great and 21st-century-based listen that is absolutely awesome throughout, with some really cool guitar work. This music also has some wider appeal than just Country Music lovers, it can appeal to a much wider audience of other music lovers as well. A real gem of a tune, and this sounds top-notch. Another great tune to listen to.

Ain’t Nothin’ Like begins with some more acoustic guitar playing and quickly launches into another upbeat and excellent listening experience about chilling at home, Brad Paisley style. A cool listening experience, Brad Paisley is a musical genius, period. He delivers a joyous, upbeat set of songs that paint the picture of life in rural USA. Excellent, sweet and brilliant, there are more fantastic Fender Telecaster guitar solos that sound classy. Not only Brad Paisley writes great lyrics, but he can also create an excellent sonic landscape about starting a family with a lovely woman of one’s desire. This has some chanting by children, but nothing like Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall Part II at all, it is a gentle reminder of life’s pleasantries. A really awesome listen with a brief pause, before this ends with some super sweet acoustic guitar. Genius, it ends with some whistling and a fade out.

Little Moments begins by launching straight into vocals and acoustic guitar. This song is about little things that couples appreciate at times, and growing older with a lover. It is a super sweet listening experience with slide guitars, piano and fine singing by Brad Paisley. This is really romantic music to hear, and it is pure Country Music that sounds fresh and interesting, to this day. If you ever need a song of musical reassurance in a rural USA manner, this is it. It should make you smile upon listening to it, it just sounds amazingly wonderful. Another great Fender Telecaster guitar solo is present here, and Brad Paisley neither plays too slow (like the anti-shredders) nor way too fast with too many notes (like some ultra-shredders), he just plays what is needed. A really fine offering and this proves that, yes, Country Music can be relevant even in the early part of the 21st century. A sweet offering and a great tune to listen to, Brad Paisley is a really great musician. Excellent song.

That’s Love begins with some excellent Tele country licks, and fiddle galore and launches into a dirty electric guitar-driven piece of music that sounds awesome. This is a really cool listening experience about treating a woman right, which not all men know how to do. Let Brad Paisley be your guide on the subject matter if you are a straight bloke, and you’ll be fine. The guitar playing is the centrepiece of this song, and this has some fantastic Fender Telecaster playing that barely any guitarist has come close to, before or since. It sounds totally awesome and enjoyable, with some excellent lyrics that are clever, interesting and witty. Country Music is not as popular as other genres of music today, but Brad Paisley makes the music sound totally accessible and enjoyable regardless. A really sweet and entertaining listening experience, this blows Kid Rock’s wannabe Country Music away and shows who is really the boss here. Brad Paisley wraps this up with some killer guitar solos. Another truly awesome and entertaining listening experience. Worth it from start to finish. It ends with some chuckling. Brilliant.

Somebody Knows You Now begins with a keyboard sound, moody electric guitar and some nicely plucked instrumentation galore. Acoustic guitars enter (both regular and slide acoustic guitar) and this tune gets underway. This is a very emotional listening experience by Brad Paisley, and he sounds like he is really putting his heart on his sleeve on this song. This is another great love song that sounds intensely powerful and is really deep and meaningful. A great, great listen that is driven by some neat slide guitar work throughout, this music is clever, sweet and lovely throughout. If you need Country Music to melt hearts in a romance-based manner, then this is the song for you. Very deep and moving, Brad Paisley delivers a fantastic musical statement from start to finish. Very, very awesome. Worth your ears from start to finish.

Famous People begins with some loose hi-hats and a count-in, launching into a different-sounding Country Music tune with slide guitar, banjo and interesting lyrics that are fantastic to hear. A really cool listening experience about meeting people who are famous and in hiding, at least initially. A very exciting and different listening experience that sounds really fine, this has some excellent and precise musicianship. The guitar work is more subdued on this song, but it still sounds amazing and excellent throughout. This is a cool tune about people that one can look up to in life, in comparison to regular others. Brad Paisley realistically depicts meeting actors and other people from California who are well-known in the Hollywood scene and such. It is a cool listen with typical Brad Paisley wit throughout. Super cool and sweet to hear, this is a killer tune. It ends with some spoken word dialogue over the top of the song to fade out. Great work.

Hold Me In Your Arms (And Let Me Fall) begins with some pedal steel slide work, pounding drums and fiddle galore. Brad Paisley promptly launches into a Country-fried romance-based song, and he delivers a more stereotypical Country Music tune that depicts pleasant love in a song form. A great and interesting listening experience with some cool guitar licks throughout, Brad Paisley keeps us entertained, even on the lesser tracks on this album. A lovely listening experience, this has a pedal steel guitar solo throughout, just to make this stomping tune a bit different. It is promptly followed by fiddle and just sounds super cool. Fender Telecaster guitar solos are next, and Brad Paisley sounds really great, whether singing or playing guitar. The music present is really cool and classy, and Brad Paisley makes a strong statement about falling in love and being with a lady of one’s dreams. A really fantastic tune, this sounds amazing. Good to listen to, it ends with more pedal steel guitar and fiddles. Nice.

Whiskey Lullaby (feat. Alison Krauss) begins with some melancholy acoustic guitar with some pedal steel thrown into the mix. Some image-evoking lyrics are present about typical sort of Country Music heartbreak. This is a sad tune about a man who becomes a full-blown alcoholic after losing the love of his life and who suffers emotional pain as a result. It is very close to the bone, and all human beings go through this sort of distress at least once in their life. This is not a happy song at all. Alison Krauss’s backing vocals add some good texture to an otherwise miserable song. Eventually, our guest gets singing about the terrible scenario at hand, and it is really a horrible set of events present. A good piece of music, although it does have lyrics about people who commit suicide whilst drunk. Not a happy listening experience this tune. The point is that many of us suffer in life unnecessarily, and this song articulates that fact. A good listen, but not a comforting listen at that. It ends after four minutes in length with some duet harmonies. A sad song, not for the faint-hearted.

The Best Thing I Had Goin’ is a much brighter piece, with duel-tracked banjos and an upbeat set of melodies throughout. Brad Paisley sings about getting promoted at work and feeling great about that. This quickly launches into a guitar-led jam with some fantastic twanging Tele tones to it. Nonetheless, this is a very unusual topic about reaching prosperity, but missing the point about life with a woman at hand. Some fantastic guitar soloing is present here, and it sure does sound nimble, dexterous and excellent in that respect. A really great tune that is a moral statement, this is a good listen with various instrumentation that works nicely. Good to hear variety in these songs, Brad Paisley is a great musician. Period. The guitar solos present are absolutely spot-on and magical. A great four-minute long listen with some interesting slide guitar and banjo work, this is top-notch. Decent tune.

The Cigar Song is a more traditional-sounding Country Music tune with fiddles, electric guitars and other straightforward sounds. Brad Paisley sings deeply and differently here, and he articulates very well an interesting story about cigars, allegedly based on an urban myth. This is a really tremendous listening experience with some sweet sounds throughout. This is a really legendary story that sounds cool, quirky and above all, deeply rooted in the traditions of Country and Western Music. Indeed, those who love smoking cigars or any tobacco-based products will understand exactly what this tune is about. Some sweet acoustic guitar playing is here, and the story is an interesting and twisted listen lyrically here of this song. A really cool tune, this sounds quirky and is full of Brad Paisley wit. An excellent listen.

Make A Mistake sounds like an instrumental that is played with a non-Fender Telecaster. It is a short piece with only guitars and vocals. This is a super short piece about accepting human error with a lover and sounds deep and personal throughout. A short piece that is basically Brad Paisley with vocals and guitars. A nice intermission sort of piece that is cool to hear. It leads into the next track.

Make A Mistake With Me – Instrumental is a quirky and different-sounding instrumental with no vocals and is an extension of the track before it. It has a Fender Telecaster, acoustic guitars and other interesting musical sounds throughout. A cool and quirky listening experience, Brad Paisley plays an excellent Tele guitar solo on this tune, and he plays in a fluid and precise way. This is followed by a fiddle solo, which is classy and excellent. This is a really joyous and upbeat tune, with various solos from guitar to the piano present here. A cool and different listen, this showcases the imagination and musicianship behind Brad Paisley. This ends with the band playing together as a whole. It ends with some false endings, with some interruptions, before finishing.

Is It Raining At Your House begins with some melodic piano and acoustic guitar playing, launching into a fine and sweet tune about comparisons between oneself and a lady in different scenarios. A very sad and moody listening experience, this is the sort of tune one could listen to if they have lost a lover. Soon enough, drums enter and this piece goes into a dramatic chorus that leaves a vivid impression upon the listener. A piano solo enters after the chorus, and this sounds super cool, alongside pedal steel guitar. This is very much a soul-touching listening experience, with some fiddle accompaniment to boot. The music throughout is very sweet, and although it is in a Country Music fashion, the music here sounds mindblowing and amazing. Brad Paisley cements his legend on songs such as these, and he delivers where he can. Few artists can match his precision, and this song is a good listen, all the way through to the piano-led finish. Nice work dude.

Spaghetti Western Swing (feat. Redd Volkaert) is a reference to the old cowboy movies that Hollywood used to pump out decades ago. It begins with a vocal-led intro, Fender Telecaster guitars and a makeshift story about past experiences that one from a Country Music background could understand. This quickly launches soon enough into a real Hillbilly sort of instrumental tune with moody Fender Telecasters and pedal steel guitar to match. Some frenetic guitar work is here, and to be fair, this track is not really an essential listen from this album. It does have some really decent guitar work, but that is about it. It just feels rather awkward to listen to here. Still, the musicianship of Brad Paisley is very good here, and his Fender Telecaster work saves the day. The soloing is very amazing to listen to, and he is rightfully crowned a pioneer in his own way here. Some bass guitar soloing and drum soloing are in the second half of this song before this speeds up right towards the end. Very, very weird, even for Country Music. Not exactly necessary, but good to listen to in a weird sort of way, if that is your thing musically.

Farther Along launches back to Planet Earth after the previous really weird tune. Brad Paisley sings wonderfully and deeply a song about love and life present. This is another genuinely good song by the man in charge and he delivers a sweet, awesome and strong musical sentiment throughout. This is pleasant listening for those who dig Country Music, and this is something that lovers can bond over. This album does continue to hold some impressive magic throughout most of the songs, and this is no different here. A great listening experience throughout, this music is a real gem and is very valuable, even today. A searing and sweet set of solo sections is present in this song, alongside some great piano and fiddle work. Musically great. Brad Paisley sings about the second coming of Jesus, which is another fairly regular Country Music topic to sing about before a key change kicks in. The chorus kicks in again, with a load of dual-tracked vocals and is a really cool tune to enjoy. If you are a Christian, this is a good tune to enjoy. Sweet.

Kung Pao – Hidden Track is a montage of weird studio discussions. It is very weird and unusual, and is a continuation of the Spaghetti Western Swing before it, with lame humour attached to it. It is really unnecessary here and is not worth hearing, to be honest. Also, it has a slight whiff of racism here. The album ends after this track.

Brad Paisley is a very gifted musician, songwriter, singer and guitarist. His dedication and skills in Country Music are fantastic. In fact, he is (quite possibly) the standout 21st-century Country Musician to pay attention to. In particular, Brad Paisley’s work on the Fender Telecaster is an A-grade example of playing and tone. This is a very, very good album to listen to. The only real flaw with this album is that towards the end, it seemingly runs out of steam due to length and some of the poorer material put onto it. Still, this is easily forgivable and overlooked as the rest of the album is worth it. Should you listen to this album? Go for it if you dig Country Music, but other music fans may wish to look elsewhere.

Good Country Music with fantastic guitar playing.

8/10