Entertainment Weekly (6/01/01, p.91) - "...Full of old-time Nashville hallmarks...this stylish effort harkens to the best of Alan Jackson, George Strait, and the freewheeling '60s honky-tonkers..." - Rating: B+
Personnel: Brad Paisley (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, 6-string tic-tac); Bill Anderson, George Jones, Buck Owens (vocals); Eddie Stubbs, Little Jimmy Dickens (spoken vocals); Gary Hooker (electric guitar); Mike Johnson (steel guitar); Darrell Scott (banjo, dobro, mandolin); Ron Block (banjo); Jim "Daddy" Heffernan (dobro); Justin "P-Bop" Williamson, Glen Duncan (fiddle); Carl Grodetsky & The Nashville String Machine (strings); Bernie Herms (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards); Kevin "Swine" Grantt (upright & electric basses); Eddie Bayers, Ben Sesar (drums); Glen Duncan, Mitch McMitchen, Brian David Willis (percussion); Wes Hightower, Chely Wright, Swine, Kenny Lewis, Chely Wright, Sonja Isaacs (background vocals).
Principally recorded at The Castle, Franklin, Tennessee.
"Munster Rag" was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance.
"I'm Gonna Miss Her" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.
Here's a story you've heard a thousand times; an artist makes headway in the world of contemporary country pop while maintaining an intrinsic quirkiness and a commitment to real country roots. The difference here is that in Brad Paisley's case it's actually the truth, not just a marketing ploy. While there's a modicum of pop appeal and everyman sensibility to which Paisley's success can be attributed, he's no "hat act." His sense of humor (displayed not only in his lyrics, but in his inclusion of the self-explanatory instrumental "Munster Rag") and his ability to pen quirky, surprising tunes while remaining respectful of the honky-tonk verities make him a kind of blue-collar Lyle Lovett. While he's not as arch and post-modern as ol' LL, Paisley's got more going on upstairs than 99 percent of the cardboard cowboys cluttering up the country charts.
