It's easy to glance at Brad Paisley and assume that he's another in a long line of contemporary country artists that get by on their good looks instead of their talent, but his debut album Who Needs Pictures suggests otherwise. Paisley follows the pattern set by such neo-traditionalists as George Strait, Randy Travis, and Alan Jackson, yet he adds a bit of a pop sheen -- never as much as John Michael Montgomery, but similar to Tim McGraw. Although it boasts a shiny, clean production...   [ read more ]

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Like many sophomore efforts called Part II, Brad Paisley's second album is indeed a continuation of the debut, but the singer/songwriter and guitarist hardly sounds like he's repeating himself the second time around. Instead, it sounds as if he's digging in deeper as both a writer and performer, which for the most part means that he's digging deeper into classic country, specifically the Bakersfield and honky tonk of the '60s and '70s. Ironically, one of the exceptions to the rule is the tit...   [ read more ]

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Ever since 1999, Brad Paisley has been touted by some critics and fans as new traditionalist country's great hope. Blessed with good looks, good taste, and a nice twang in his voice, Paisley could have gone pure country-pop but decided to stick fairly close to his roots and play a nice amalgam of honky tonk, Western swing, and pop. It was straight out of the George Strait handbook, but it was nicely done on his first two records, particularly compared to a crop of new artists who...   [ read more ]

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