Brad Paisley - 5th Gear (2007)
5th Gear by Brad Paisley
Career Overview
West Virginia country singer/songwriter Brad Paisley gained renown almost immediately with his 1999 debut album WHO NEEDS PICTURES. He was differentiated from many of his peers by his expert guitar technique (his second and third albums included Western Swing-influenced instrumentals that earned him Grammy nominations) and a sly sense of humor deeply embedded in his songwriting. Paisley’s profile was raised even higher when he wed actress Kimberly Williams, but his was already a career that required no boosting.
Biography
b. 28 October 1972, Glen Dale, West Virginia, USA. Singer-songwriter Paisley is widely acknowledged by the US country scene as one of his generation’s leading new traditionalists. His talent was apparent from an early age. Before becoming a teenager Paisley was singing in his local church, and playing alongside his guitar teacher Clarence “Hank” Goddard in the four-piece Brad Paisley And The C-Notes. He regularly appeared on the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree radio programme as a teenager, and also performed alongside country stars at the show’s outdoor festivals.
Paisley attended West Liberty College in West Virginia before transferring to Belmont University in Nashville, where he majored in Music Business. He also made valuable connections during his college internship at the performing rights association, ASCAP. Shortly after he graduated Paisley signed a songwriting deal with EMI Music Publishing, and a recording contract with Arista Records was not long in following.
His 1999 debut Who Needs Pictures included the country chart-toppers “He Didn’t Have To Be” and “We Danced” (both also reached the mainstream Top 30), alongside “Me Neither“, a slyly humorous tale of bar room rejection which demonstrated Paisley’s lyrical abilities. The album was also distinguished from other Nashville products by the singer’s adept guitar work.
During the same year Paisley made his Grand Ole Opry debut.
Paisley returned in 2001 with a strong follow-up album and maintained his commercial ascendancy with the crossover hits “Two People Fell In Love“, “Wrapped Around“, “I Wish You’d Stay” and the country chart-topper “I’m Gonna Miss Her“. The slick Mud On The Tires provided Paisley with his first chart-topping album and even reached the mainstream Top 10. The title track, meanwhile, returned the artist to the top of the country charts in 2004. Paisley’s fourth album, Time Well Wasted, was premiered by the Top 5 country hit “Alcohol“.
Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 2005
Letter To Me
About the Album “5th Gear”
Brad Paisley continues to build on his past successes. Humor has been a part of every Paisley album, and that hasn’t changed with 5th Gear. The disc’s first single “Ticks,” a fuel-injected cut with squawking electric guitars, is a clever little ditty. A guy promises his date that if she lets him take her out in the moonlit country to park, the only thing he’ll let crawl all over her is himself. Paisley punctuates the humorous lyrics with his expert guitar work.
Paisley squeezes licks from his Fender Telecaster, slicing and dicing his way through the fiddle and steel scored “Online,” another tummy tickler. The singer pokes fun at people who live a fake life on the Internet. “I’m so much cooler online,” he sings. The hysterics continue on “I’m Still A Guy.” Every man who hears this track will crack up, while his girl just nods her head in agreement with the song’s sentiment. No matter how much you try to sissify your man, ladies, he’s still going to act like a dude from time to time.
“All I Wanted Was A Car” cranks like the motor in a 1969 Boss 302. Paisley shifts his voice into a smooth falsetto as a guy recounting his teenage dream of owning a car. While his friends and classmates had goals and hopes of changing the world, this cat just wanted some wheels. “Better Than This” pops and struts like Toby Keith on the red carpet at an awards show. A simple bass line and a straight four-four drum beat anchor Paisley’s honky tonk riffs.
Few artists can sell funny like Paisley, and few can do sad like him either. “With You, Without You” aches with the severity of a busted knuckle. Plaintive steel guitar and stinging fiddle add a sorrowful coat of lacquer to Paisley’s somber vocals. The other side of love, the cheerful side, is uncovered for the slow burning “It Did.” Producers Frank Rogers and Chris Dubois tame Paisley’s wild guitar playing (save for a smoking solo) on this standout ballad that will probably end up being a single.
Five albums in, and Paisley continues to reinvent himself while staying rooted in the old-school country sound that brought him to the big show.
5th Gear album tracklists are:
01
All I Wanted Was A Car
02
Ticks
03
Online
04
Letter To Me
05
I’m Still A Guy
06
Some Mistakes
07
It Did
08
Mr. Policeman
09
If Love Was A Plane
10
Oh Love Featuring Carrie Underwood
11
Better Than This
12
With You, Without You
13
Previously
14
Bigger Fish To Fry
15
When We All Get To Heaven
16
Throttleneck
17
Hidden Track 1
18
Hidden Track 2
Buy the CD album 5th Gear
