Brad Paisley - American Saturday Night Review

You may or may not know Brad Paisley holds the record for most consecutive number 1 singles in the Soundscan Era (since Nielson started counting record sales electronically, in 1991).  The streak is current and stands at 10 with the recent ascent to the chart throne by his latest single, Then from his new disc, American Saturday Night.  And I'm here to tell you, there's a fair chance that streak ain't over.  There's no way to know for sure where a song is gonna peak on the charts, but American Satruday Night  promises to cough up several more singles with a chance to reach the top.

 In fact, I'm not sure Paisley is able to put out a bad album.  He's released 8 so far, and exactly 8 of them have been keepers.  If, when looking back 15 years from now, Brad Paisley hasn't had a career mirroring the likes of George Strait and Alan Jackson, I'll be a monkey's uncle. Well, I do have that one nephew, Ralphie, but we don't claim it, er, him.

American Saturday Night, in spite of the raucous opening number, is more of a mature, laid back effort from Mr. Paisley.  That's not to imply it's the least bit boring, because it's not.  His word play and depth make for a highly listenable, relatable album.

On past collections, Paisley has almost always included a gospel song and some little comedy bit with some of his country music heroes.  People like George Jones and Little Jimmy Dickens.  That and his ability to tackle serious subject matter interjected with a little tongue-in-cheek humor served to make those records more of a party than a philosophy session.  And I loved that.   But great artists grow and Brad as grown up some on his latest.  I love that, too.  The humor is still there, just not in as heaping doses, teaspoons instead of tablespoons.

For example, the lead single Then is one of Paisley's best and reflects on a love that gets better as the years roll by.  If this gorgeous romantic tune isn't featured at 25th anniversary parties every where, well, I'll be a monkey's...oh, wait....

The title track is rollicking good time (and an almost certain number 1 single) that demonstrates Mr Paisley's knack for observing the little things about American pop culture, like how much of it comes from somewhere else.  French kisses, Italian ice, The Beatles, Coronas,  Brazilian leather boots, "everywhere has something they're known for although usually it washes up on our shores".

Everybody's Here will be familiar to anyone who has ever been dumped by someone they thought could be "the one".  Ever remember going out with friends be really being somewhere else, lost in the still present numbness?

Driven by his guitar interlaced with a little electronica for effect, Welcome to the Future reflects on the beloved past while wondering how far we've really come as human beings despite a wealth of new technological marvels, "wake up Martin Luther, welcome to the future".

Musing on fatherhood in Anything Like Me, Paisley, who has two sons, figures if they inherited any of his traits, he'll get his payback, but gladly.

"Somebody's gotta scratch your back, the places you can't reach/Say something that'll make you laugh, that's exactly what you need,And I hope that's me, I hope that's me" is exactly the kind of lyrically astute observation we are used to from Mr Paisley.  It's why we can identify with songs like I Hope That's Me

But don't think he's lost any of his playfulness or humor.  Catch All the Fish finds him out on the lake doing what, based on songs from past albums, he loves most, fishing, hanging with buddies and drinking beer.

He turns male chauvinistic misogyny on it's ear with The Pants, showing he understands who truly controls most relationships "You wear the pants. Buddy good for you. I'm so impressed, yeah, whoopty-doo.  You need to know that ain't how it works.  It's not who wears the pants, it's who wears the skirt".

THE BOTTOM LINE

If Brad Paisley's eighth studio album doesn't quite have the party atmosphere of the previous seven, American Saturday Night more than makes up for it in depth.  Stylistically, these 14 tracks covers all the bases, from the blues-tinged roadhouse She's Her Own Woman to the straight up country of No and a little of everything in-between.

He still plays a mean guitar, too, and showcases that nicely on more than one track.  Brad Paisley's real gift though, is his ability to turn a phrase with an everyman sensibility, whether he's describing the myriad ways he loves water or lamenting the fact he can't quite get a grip on the fact she's left him.  For all his notoriety, Brad is one of us and even though stuff from everywhere seems to wash up our shores, he was already here and ours. Take THAT, rest of the world.  GRADE: A