MY VIEW
Music: 'Mud on the Tires' by Brad Paisley

Editor's note: Brad Paisley is the Sunday headliner at the annual McKenna Motors BayFest 2005 at Marine Corps base Hawai'i (other headliners are Papa Roach today, Montgomery Gentry Saturday and Lynyrd Skynyrd Monday). Here's a look at Paisley's latest release.

By Jeremy Castillo
Special to The Advertiser

The Verdict: THE RATINGS 5 — Outstanding: Add it to your collection now. A must-have. 4 — Great: Buy it or rent it — definitely listen to it. 3 — Good: Worth listening to despite some flaws. 2 — Fair: Unless you're a fan of the group or singer, don't bother. 1 — Poor: Save your money (and your ears).

Release: July 22, 2003

Style: Country

My take: "Mud on the Tires" was Brad Paisley's third album since his 1999 debut, "Who Needs Pictures."

Like many new-generation stars of the genre, including Kenny Chesney and Gretchen Wilson, Paisley doesn't stick with old-hat country style. Instead he goes for a more pop-laced, guitar-based sound to back his natural twang. But Paisley remains loyal to the roots of his music, adding servings and garnishes of humor here and there. So while you won't be getting a recorded spectacle a la a Garth Brooks album, this still ain't your granddad's country music.

Lead single "Celebrity" is one example of Paisley's aforementioned humor and cleverness, as he lampoons TV and movie stars whose faces are plastered across tabloids in supermarket checkout lines, yet complain about how "hard" life is in the public eye. A snippet from the song goes, "I can fall in and out of love/Have marriages that barely last a month/When they go down the drain/I'll blame it on the fame/And say it's just so tough/Being a celebrity."

Another track in this vein is "Famous People," a story about a burger-joint employee who serves a movie star his food, and compares starring in a movie to his own accomplishments: catching the record smallmouth bass for Kentucky lake bass and leading his high school football team to a state championship.

However, "Mud on the Tires" is not all about humorous, irreverent songs meant for a chuckle. "Ain't Nothing Like" is a song about life's simple pleasures such as finding $20 in a pair of blue jeans and channel surfing; "Little Moments" is a song about how Paisley's wife's imperfection makes her perfect in his eyes.

The album takes a serious turn with "Whiskey Lullaby," a duet with Allison Krauss about the perils of love gone wrong and alcohol abuse; and "Farther Along," a song Paisley wrote in memory of his manager's wife, who died from cancer before the album was released.

Country music has had a stigma of being bad music recorded by slack-jawed, backwater hicks like in the movie "Deliverance." In reality, the genre is more modernized now than it's ever been, fusing lots of pop and rock into the trademark country sound. Brad Paisley is a prime example of this. He delivers fun, enjoyable music but fails to fulfill his potential as a songwriter, as he has only a few songs of substance. Maybe his next album, scheduled for release in August, will be up to snuff.

Jeremy Castillo is a student at Windward Community College.

Have a game or CD you want to review? Reach TGIF editor Debra Yuen at dyuen@honoluluadvertiser.com.