CD Reviews

Brad Paisley

5th Gear | Broken Bow

By WERNER TRIESCHMANN | June 27, 2007

3.5 Stars

Paisley’s winsome 5th Gear is about as light as Miranda Lambert’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is dark — in a good way. And both figure to be among the best albums Nashville produces this year. Paisley has the sharpest sense of humor in country music; his 2005 album, Time Well Wasted, included the drinking-song-to-end-all-drinking songs, “Alcohol,” and this one has “Ticks,” likely the sexiest song ever written about searching for blood-sucking bugs. What’s more, none of Paisley’s peers can match the exuberance he shows on “All I Wanted Was a Car,” a tune about the teenage gift that equals freedom, or even the unalloyed optimism on display in the soaring “It Did.” His bluegrass-flavored duet with Carrie Underwood, “Oh Love,” is a heartbreaker, and his guitar work throughout is top-notch. Maybe his skits with the Kung Pao Buckaroos are corny, but if you haven’t heard these jokes before, you’ll likely be sharing the one about Viagra with all your friends.

Topics: CD Reviews , Entertainment, Music, Country Music, More

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