Best Reviewed CD of the Country Music Year....Paisley

American Saturday Night

…what the press is saying about Brad and his new album

“… a collection that constitutes an important step forward for him, and for country music itself.”

- Los Angeles Times, Randy Lewis – 6/28/09

“Using a superlative – for example, the most important act in mainstream country music – requires supporting evidence. It’s easy to make that claim for Brad Paisley.”

- Chicago Sun-Times, Bobby Reed – 7/5/09 (3 out of 4 star album review)

“The great pleasure in his songs is hearing them the first time: the titles tell you what the assignments are, and you’re not quite sure how he’s going to pull them off.”

- The New York Times, Ben Ratliff – 6/28/09

“Paisley discs usually include instrumentals, comedy sketches, and gospel. Here, he drops that lovable detritus, going for constant home runs.”

- Entertainment Weekly, Chris Willman – 7/10/09 (grade: A-)

“As versatile an artist as Nashville has produced in years, the honey-drawling singer is equally adept at humorous, twangy rave-ups (‘Catch All the Fish’) and honky-tonk putdowns (‘The Pants’) as he is with sentimental storytelling (‘No,’ ‘Anything Like Me’).”

- Washington Post, Joe Heim – 6/30/09

“Welcome to the future … of country music.”

- The Boston Globe, James Reed – 7/5/09

“Paisley still offers plenty of fretboard-shredding guitar solos and chuckle-inducing lyrics (‘Gonna catch all the fish, gonna drink all the beer,’ he promises in an irresistible number), but he also exhibits new maturity as a songwriter.”

- USA Today, Brian Mansfield – 6/30/09 (3 1/2 out of 4 star album review)

“His last three albums have gotten progressively more lyric- and story-driven. The ax shredding is still there, but it’s actually stronger because it’s less dominant. It’s an accent now, the jalapeno kick in a musical salsa … all 14 tracks on this new CD are Paisley at his best.”

- The Plain Dealer (Cleveland), Chuck Yarborough – 7/8/09

“American Saturday Night blends everything that’s great about Paisley …”

- Dallas Morning News – 6/29/09 (grade: A-)

“It’s another solid album from the immensely popular Paisley … a well-crafted collection of songs that effortlessly mash up the traditional with the modern.”

- Las Vegas Weekly, Josh Bell – 7/2/09

“American Saturday Night – the proper follow-up to 2007’s platinum 5th Gear, after last fall’s mostly instrumental Play – keeps the hot streak going. … Best is ‘Welcome to the Future,’ on which Paisley sings about ‘so many things I never thought I’d see happening right in front of me.’”

- People, Chuck Arnold – 6/29/09 (3 out of 4 star album review)

“Paisley’s probably too enlightened to think of himself as competing with his country peers. Nevertheless, by striving to top himself he’s created an album so high-spirited, sweeping and superbly realized that probably few can match it.”

- The Advocate, John Wirt – 7/3/09

“This is his best album ever. No doubt. Hands down … this CD will instantly become both an essential and a classic for every country fan.”

- CMT.com, Alison Bonaguro – 6/29/09

“Welcome to the Future”

“‘Welcome to the Future,’ no doubt the boldest song on the album, defies stereotypes about country musicians and their politics. It marvels at the social change afoot since the election of Barack Obama (sample line: ‘Hey, wake up, Martin Luther/Welcome to the future’), and it’s sonically interesting, too, with subtle washes of gurgling synthesizers amid the fiddles and electric guitar.”

- The Boston Globe, James Reed – 7/5/09

“Don’t miss … ‘Welcome to the Future,’ which evokes Obama in assessing these as the days of miracle and wonder.”

- Entertainment Weekly, Chris Willman – 7/10/09

“… a progressive anthem in stark contrast to country’s typical conservatism. It’s that song’s version of Paisley – open-minded, vocally confident, musically adventurous yet respectful of the past – that deserves the spotlight.”

- Las Vegas Weekly, Josh Bell – 7/2/09

“… explosive …”

- Dallas Morning News, Mario Tarradell – 6/29/09

“… the first country anthem of the Obama era …”

- All Music Guide, Stephen Thomas Erlewine

“Oh Yeah, You’re Gone”

“The soulful ‘Oh Yeah, You’re Gone,’ which features blues rocker (and co-writer) Robben Ford, is the album’s pearl and shows a side of Paisley he’s rarely revealed.”

- Billboard, Ken Tucker – 7/11/09

“… Paisley’s mournful reading is devastating and the song’s heart-on-the-sleeve sentiment is pure country … his delivery is honest and true, free of mawkishness, full of feeling and fine-tuned to its emotional core.”

- Washington Post, Joe Heim – 6/30/09

“… a fantastic, bluesy scorcher …”

- Dallas Morning News, Mario Tarradell – 6/29/09

“Everybody’s Here”

“… a deceptively slow-burn ballad that’s really a lonesome dirge in disguise …”

- Dallas Morning News, Mario Tarradell – 6/29/09

“Then”

“… a sweetheart of a ballad that is likely the loveliest song a husband has ever written for a wife …”

- Washington Post, Joe Heim – 6/30/09

“American Saturday Night”

“… riveting …”

- Dallas Morning News, Mario Tarradell – 6/29/09

“‘American Saturday Night’ leads off the collection with the feel of an instant concert centerpiece, an upbeat singalong outlining the myriad threads in the fabric of the nation.”

- Los Angeles Times, Randy Lewis – 6/28/09