Brad Paisley Play: The Guitar Album Review

It may seem disingenuous to fans of Brad Paisley that he describes this as his 'guitar album'. Anyone who knows the work of the West Virginian knows he's a veritable demon on the six strings. Every one of his five albums has featured at least two blistering instrumentals that combine James Burton twang with Chet Atkins sophistication.

And the former indeed makes an appearance on Play, Paisley's nearly instrumental addition to his catalogue. We say 'nearly' as there are a couple of songs on here; the first single with Keith Urban, Start A Band as well as More Than Just This Song (with Steve Wariner) and, most affecting, the jolly Come On In recorded with the late Buck Owens just before his death in 2006.

But really, the Telecaster is king here. Play allows Brad to really do what he loves: just show off while keeping that grin on his face. And boy, can he play. All styles get served from surf (Turf's Up) to jazz (Les Is More) while of course you get a heaping helping of nifty picking, often leaving the dazed listener feeling like they've stumbled into a chase scene in Hazzard County.

And James Burton? Well, he pops up on the painfully titled Cluster Pluck, along with Vince Gill, Albert Lee and other legends. In the UK Brad's a word of mouth deal. In the States he's huge. Chances are here in the UK we'll never see him. We've been robbed.