Tag Archives: Brad Paisley

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Song of the Day #1,115: ‘I’ll Take You Back’ – Brad Paisley

For a guy who is so good at writing earnest love songs, Brad Paisley sure has fun taking things in the other direction.

After I discovered Paisley through his 2009 album American Saturday Night, I started buying up his previous albums. Time Well Wasted was either the first or second record I picked up, and ‘I’ll Take You Back’ was an instant favorite.

I don’t care if you don’t like the simple constructs of a typical country song (like some of my frequent commenters!) — I defy you to listen to this track and not have a ball. Apart from the funny lyrics (the “waa waa waa” chorus is my favorite), just listen to his guitar playing, and that instrumental jam that makes up the last minute-plus.

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Song of the Day #1,114: ‘Time Well Wasted’ – Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley’s fourth album, Time Well Wasted was released in 2005 and marks the point where he really hit the stratosphere.

Starting with his second single release from this album (‘When I Get Where I’m Going,’ a duet with Dolly Parton), he sent a record 10 straight singles to the #1 spot on Billboard’s country chart. That streak ended with a #2 single, and he released three more #1’s and two more #2’s after that. And in the past eight years he’s put out six #1 albums.

Now that’s a lot of numbers to crunch, but the point is Brad Paisley is the Will Smith of country music (minus a misstep like Seven Pounds).

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Song of the Day #1,108: ‘Celebrity’ – Brad Paisley

As Brad Paisley became more successful, his silly videos became more star-studded. William Shatner and Jason Alexander, in particular, would become staples of Paisley’s videos in the years to come.

Paisley was still just a minor star, however, when he wrote ‘Celebrity,’ a clever song lampooning the Hollywood culture. His focus is on the ridiculously privileged lives of the famous, and the reality show-fueled obsession ordinary people have with joining those ranks. He gets off some great lines in a supremely catchy song.

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Song of the Day #1,107: ‘Mud On the Tires’ – Brad Paisley

Two years after Part II, Brad Paisley released his third album, 2003’s Mud On the Tires. This one is a sentimental favorite of mine… I’d number it among his 2-3 best records.

This album is when critics and fans alike really started to stand up and take notice of Paisley’s talent. He’d had modest hits on his first two records, and they were well-received, but Mud On the Tires took things to a whole new level.

The album’s title is taken from today’s SOTD, in which it’s meant quite literally, but it’s also a metaphor for Paisley’s career. He felt that at this point he’d been around the block a few times — had a little mud on his tires — and could start stretching his wings a bit.

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Song of the Day #1,101: ‘I’m Gonna Miss Her’ – Brad Paisley

So Brad Paisley wrote almost a whole album of breakup songs, inspired by his failed relationship with a woman he took to see Father of the Bride.

And when it came time to shoot the video for one of those songs — the tongue-in-cheek ‘I’m Gonna Miss Her,’ in which he is forced to choose between his girlfriend and fishing — he thought about that movie again.

The actress playing the titular bride, Kimberly Williams, seemed like a lovely young woman — why not invite her to appear in his video?

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