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When Brad Paisley sings, as he does on the lead single "Celebrity," "No matter what you do, people think you're cool just 'cuz you're on TV," he ratifies his status as a formidable voice in modern yet accessible and traditional country music. "That's Love" and "Is It Raining at Your House" offer romance freed of hazy metaphor or greeting-card slogans. There's a miniature morality play, "The Cigar Song," and the obligatory closing gospel chestnut ("Farther Along"). The guest shots--by contemporary stars
Alison Krauss and
Vince Gill, and veterans
Bill Anderson,
George Jones, and
Little Jimmy Dickens--are pleasant but hardly necessary, since Paisley's good musical sense abounds. He also revives a long-vanished tradition: the featured sideman. As
Chet Atkins once played for the Carter Sisters and
Don Rich picked behind
Buck Owens, Paisley spotlights the amazing guitarist,
Merle Haggard alumnus
Redd Volkaert, letting him loose on "Spaghetti Western Swing." Paisley himself flies free on the extended country-jazz jam in the middle of "Make a Mistake with Me." With wit, heart, and unyielding devotion to the earthy, Paisley follows his 2001 gem,
Part II, with an even more compelling album that
should set a new standard.
--Rich Kienzle