Brad Paisley Play Review

[Macawmoses]

Millions of people around the world listen to country music. Australia, Canada, and the United States have the biggest pockets of fans, and they obviously generate a lot of income, as the likes of Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Shania Twain, and now Brad Paisley are walking down the roads of wealth and fame. Paisleys' latest endeavor, simply titled Play, hopes to cash in on that market. But is it worth the investment, or will it make you want to press stop?

Unlike other albums available on the market, in any genre or by any artist, Play seeks out its own niche - by offering only 5 vocal tracks out of 16, each of those being duets. It is largely an instrumental work, and it does well at that. Guitar legend Les Paul is tributed in Les is More an interesting take on country coupled with jazz. Then you have Turf's Up which simply is a day on the beach for sufin' fun, very reminiscent of 60's Rock. Country lovers will get a kick out of Huckleberry Jam, a twangy masterpiece that fits right in with Brad's works while Kim is a soulful ballad that offers a nice deviation.

Unfortunately, not all of the tracks are worth your time. I found Departure and Kentucky Jelly were more filler than anything, which takes a bite out of the value. Playing With Fire isn't bad at all, but it's not memorable in the least, an issue I also found to be true with What A Friend We Have In Jesus. The worst part of the album is Pre-Cluster Cluster Pluck Prequel, a terrible waste of disc space clocking in at near a minute and a half, simply introducing Guitar Legends, or at least well knowns, James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, John Jorgenson, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner to Cluster Pluck. By the way, Cluster Pluck features the lot of them with Paisley, in what I'd brand a firey masterpiece.

While the instrumentals certainly prove Paisley loves his job, and passes his passion on to the consumer, the duets are all decent at worst. Cashing in on the success of Waitin' On A Woman, Paisley brings it back, this time with Andy Griffith, adding a certain amount of depth to an already great song. And then Paisley chooses to Let the Good Times Roll on in a duet with B.B. King that brings jazz into the scene once more. And no, Paisley can't match King. The biggest buy, though, is Start A Band, a duet with fellow countrymen Keith Urban. The song is more about a good friendship and love of music than anything, and the two definitely bond. This is what makes for a great single, and it's clear that the few vocal tracks were meant to be just as intense as the instrumentals.

While a few songs are indeed filler, and completely unncessary, Paisley has gone to the roots of music. He took Play a step further than any album available this past holiday season, and proved that a good song just needs a few buddies sitting around with guitars. The intensity, the soul, the variety, and the originality put Play well ahead of any album out there now, and Brad Paisley should be commended. Sadly, there are songs that just don't belong on such a great album, but the heart and soul of the rest more than make up for it. If you're out for good ol' country music, easy listening, or a new experience, don't be afraid to press Play.



Property of moi, btw. Anyways, for those of you that aren't all that Country, I suggest grabbing some singles. :)

[Smashin]

Brad Paisley really does have some good hits. I'm pretty sure the song Online would make all of you squirm.

[Macawmoses]

Brad Paisley really does have some good hits. I'm pretty sure the song Online would make all of you squirm.

It's a hilarious song, and oh so true.