Superbly crafted contemporary country album

Strengths: NA

Weaknesses: NA

Summary: Paisley and his producer Frank Rogers (who's also produced Josh Turner, Darryl Worley, Phil Vassar, Pat Green and others) take a page from the book of Dwight Yoakam & Pete Anderson by cannily stretching the singer-guitarist-songwriter's country roots into unusual, compelling new directions. There's no mistaking that this is a Nashville production, with professionally tight-but-casual playing (except for the nitro-fueled swing-jazz romp "Time Warp," which is tight-as-a-drum) and a lengthy credit list of Nashville A-listers supplementing the core band, but like the best Music City releases, it takes on the tone of its star rather than its players or producer. Paisley's songwriting, guitar playing and warm vocals winningly envelop the entire disc. ¶ The album's centerpiece and leadoff single, "Alcohol," is a canny piece of first-person narrative, sung from the bottle's perspective in a voice that's trying hard to be celebratory while it recounts the destruction it's wrought. In contrast, Paisley shows himself to be content as a married man, celebrating his spouse in the bouncy opener "The World" and the ballad "She's Everything," reveling in the give-and-take of relationships in Don Simpson and Wynn Varble's sentimental "Waitin' on a Woman," and just sitting back to marvel in "Love is Never-Ending." Luckily, he's not averse to a lost-love ballad like "Rainin' You" or a potent kiss-off tune like the galloping hyperbole of "I'll Take You Back." ¶ The lyrics regularly hinge on clever turns of phrase, such as the begging make-up "Flowers" and celebration of fame "Easy Money," and though the wordplay occasionally feels overused, Paisley delivers it with an engaging smile and enough craft, emotional depth and grit to place him as this generation's George Strait or Alan Jackson (the latter of whom duets on "Out in the Parking Lot"). The album keeps the country basics – fiddle, steel and twangy guitar – out front, even as the sound is crafted for today's country radio. This is Paisley's richest album to date, and its fifteen musical tracks provide nearly a full hour of entertainment – a real value in these days of 12-track 35-minute CDs. 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2005 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com]

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