Disco de Brad Paisley: “Play”

Descripción (en inglés) :

Personnel: Brad Paisley (electric guitar, baritone guitar, mandolin, bass guitar); Manny Rogers, Snoop Dogg (vocals); Robert Arthur (acoustic guitar); Gary Hooker (electric guitar, electric 12-string guitar); James Burton, John Jorgensen, Keith Urban, Steve Wariner, Vince Gill, Albert Lee (electric guitar); Randel Currie (steel guitar); Kendal Marcy (banjo, keyboard); Aubrey Haynie, Justin Williamson (fiddle); Frank Rogers, Bernie Herms, Gordon Mote (piano); Jim "Moose" Brown (Farfisa, Hammond b-3 organ, Wurlitzer organ); Kevin "Swine" Grantt (upright bass, bass guitar); Ben Sesar, Brian David Willis (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Wes Hightower, Kenny Lewis (background vocals); Chris O'Donnell, Nick Michaud, Drew Bollmann, John Harvey, Justin Niebank, Steve Short, Greg Lawrence. <p>Recording information: Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN. <p>In an unusual move for an established country singer, Brad Paisley's PLAY is a primarily instrumental album that puts its focus entirely on Paisley's underrated guitar work. Far from being a traditional country album, or even a contemporary country-pop album, PLAY works in a wide variety of genres, including Les Paul-style jazz, ripping surf rock, old-fashioned electric Chicago blues, and metal-tinged rock & roll. <p>Paisley also assembles quite a list of guest stars: a re-recording of an early hit features a guest appearance by the actor Andy Griffith, while the Bakersfield country rocker "Come On In" features the late Buck Owens and a bluesy take on "Let the Good Times Roll" welcomes B.B. King. Two vocal tracks, "Start A Band" and "More Than Just This Song," feature Keith Urban and Steve Warriner, respectively, while the epic "Cluster Pluck" is a tongue-in-cheek high-speed dash through the history of country guitar showcasing James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, and four other guitarists besides. PLAY is a detour, but a worthwhile one.

I don't listen to much country music; what little I do listen to is generally considered "alt-country". I had only ever heard a song or two by Brad Paisley before, but picked up this album based on recommendations from other guitar players. (I "Play", though not on par with Brad!) I love instrumental rock, especially instrumental guitar pieces, and think this is a great album. That said, it is pretty all over the place, and I can see staunch country-music fans might not like it. A couple of the songs have a very rockabilly Brian Setzer vibe, and "Turf's Up" is pure homage to Dick Dale. "Cliffs of Rock City" I've heard is a nod to Eric Johnson's "Cliffs of Dover" (another great instrumental rock piece). "Les is More" is a jazzy little number giving respect to Les Paul. The guitar playing is fantastic throughout, and the songs are creative and melodic, and honour those mentioned above without being derivative. My least favourite songs on this album are actually the songs with lyrics. If you're a dedicated country music fan, this might be a skip for you. If you enjoy great guitar playing and various styles of music, I'd say give this a shot, even if you never listen to country music.

Any guitar player must listen to this, doesn't matter if you think country is for losers, pick it up. The cleverness of Paisley's lyrical and melodic songwriting translates right over to his guitar-playing and is even better. This is not just some wanker album, but totally the opposite it is obviously thoughtful as every track is unique and deserves more than 5 stars, and there ARE vocal tracks as well.

This is a great album. Great music for driving, too. I like how the songs with lyrics are interspersed throughout the album. Every track is different, and the 16 tracks go by really fast, as in, I want more!

I don't see how anybody could be disappointed - anybody who is even slightly paying attention should know that Brad put out this instrumental tribute to his pal, the guitar.

What a great price, too! Buy it and enjoy.

Hopefully, this will convince Keith Urban to put out a guitar album, too!