Mud On the Tires

iTunes Review

Rather than sell out to mainstream expectations, Brad Paisley tilts Nashville his way on his third album, Mud On the Tires. It’s not that Paisley is an arch traditionalist who shuns pop success. On the contrary, “That’s Love,” “Celebrity,” and “Ain’t Nothin’ Like” are the kind of lighthearted singalongs that country fans love, but Paisley delivers them in his own low-key, unassuming way. Also, his reverence for old styles keeps him anchored in traditions that reach beyond the latest Nashville trends. The golden thread of bluegrass runs through “Mud On the Tires” and “The Best Thing That I Had Goin’,” while the swinging “Hold Me In Your Arms (and Let Me Fall)” keeps the spirit of Buck Owens alive. Paisley closes his album with a version of the gospel classic “Farther Along” that puts him in line with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Gram Parsons. Most essential of all is “Whiskey Lullaby,” a carefully crafted duet with Alison Krauss. It says a lot about Paisley’s charm that he managed to take a song about double suicide all the way into the Top Five.