	
If ever an artist has earned the right to title an album This Is Country Music, it’s Brad Paisley. It’s not because he’s the Country Music Association’s reigning Entertainer of the Year or because his H2O Tour was 2010’s top country trek in attendance or because he’s sold more than 12 million albums and scored 18 #1 hits at country radio.

It’s not because he’s been performing professionally since he was 13 as a regular on Wheeling, West Virginia’s famed Jamboree USA, becoming the youngest person ever inducted into the Jamboree Hall of Fame. It’s not because he’s won 14 CMA Awards, including Male Vocalist of the Year three times or because of the record-setting five consecutive Academy of Country Music Male Vocalist honors that count among his 14 ACM wins.

Paisley’s ninth studio album is titled This Is Country Music because this is the singer/songwriter/guitar virtuoso’s heartfelt homage to the music he’s loved since childhood. It’s a multi-faceted tribute to all the elements that embody country music from the young artist who single-handedly made Grand Ole Opry legend Little Jimmy Dickens cool to a new generation of country fans and who collaborated with the late Buck Owens, providing him with his only CMA Award win. Paisley’s well-documented march toward stardom has been an inclusive journey that has taken many of his heroes with him along the way.

He continues to do that on This Is Country Music. The title track and lead single name checks some of the format’s legendary hits such as George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” and Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line.” “The first song written for this album was ‘This Is Country Music,’” he says. “If you are going to call an album ‘This Is Country Music,’ the last thing I want to do is have somebody listen to it and have them say to themselves, ‘No, it’s not.’ So in many ways, this is the ‘countriest’ album I’ve done. The heart of it is totally country. I even threw a song out on this project that I loved, that could land on a future project, because it didn’t say ‘this is country music’ to me.

The album’s second hit single, “Old Alabama,” finds Paisley not only sampling Alabama’s classic hit “Mountain Music,” but reuniting Randy Owen, Jeff Cook and Teddy Gentry to perform on the track. “It’s really a combination of what they do and what I do, which is not hard because I’ve ripped them off so many times over the years,” Paisley says with a smile. “They’ve been a major inspiration to me. I saw them play live many, many times. I remember going to the Civic Arena in Wheeling when they played and their opening acts were Clint Black and Lorrie Morgan. They were one of the first arena acts in country music. They were the first to really bring semi-tractor trailers down the road and have a big production.”

Alabama is an obvious influence for a country musician who came of age in the ‘80s, but on This Is Country Music, the three-time GRAMMY® winner paints a more expansive, textured portrait of the genre he loves. “I’m trying to do something brand new utilizing the influences that made me who I am,” Paisley says. “Some of them are not necessarily right within country music, but they are more important to modern country than you might think. There are influences that come into play like Eric Clapton. When I try to play or harness anything that has some soul to it, I’m usually channeling him . . . Don Henley and the stuff that The Eagles did in the ‘70s, they are responsible for what you hear on country radio now.” Paisley wrote or co-wrote 12 of the album’s 15 tracks, recruiting an eclectic cadre of special guests, including Henley, Clint Eastwood, Sheryl Crow, Marty Stuart, Carl Jackson, Carrie Underwood and Blake Shelton. Henley lends his distinctive vocals to “Love Her Like She’s Leavin’.” “It’s a real romantic song, and it feels like something that either he would have written or his band, The Eagles, would have done,” says Paisley. “So I thought he would be the perfect voice on the song.”

Paisley first met Eastwood at the White House during a Kennedy Center Honors reception. The legendary actor and his wife, Dina, then enlisted Brad to perform for one of their charity events in California. “When I was working on this record, and we wrote this instrumental, I had Eastwood in mind,” Paisley says of the tune he co-wrote with Robert Arthur and Kendal Marcy. “We started writing what felt like a western, and I thought we could call this ‘Eastwood.’”

In addition to always including an instrumental on every album, Paisley is also known for recording a gospel song on every album since his 1999 Arista Nashville debut, Who Needs Pictures. This time around he revives the classic “Life’s Railway to Heaven,” the first song he ever sang in church when he was nine years old. “I had Marty Stuart, Sheryl Crow and Carl Jackson all singing harmonies on that,” says Paisley, for whom 2011 marked his 10th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. “It turned out great. Wait until you hear their harmonies.”

On This Is Country Music, Paisley once again works with longtime producer Frank Rogers and co-writes with such frequent collaborators as Lee Thomas Miller, Ashley Gorley, Tim Owens, Kelley Lovelace and Chris DuBois. He and DuBois wrote the title track and penned more verses than would fit into a radio single, so Paisley opted to use some of the extra verses as intros for other songs throughout the record. The result is a wonderful narrative thread that gives the album an even more cohesive feel, like a great movie reeling with a vibrant cast of characters such as the girl who is “Working on a Tan,” an energetic ode to summer that finds Paisley channeling surf guitar legend Dick Dale.

“A Man Don’t Have to Die” is a sobering tale that many people will find easily relatable about living in difficult times. “One of Those Lives” is a poignant song about a childhood cancer. “New Favorite Memory” is a sexy number about falling in love with someone all over again during an unexpected moment.

This Is Country Music also includes duets with two of Paisley’s fellow country hitmakers, Carrie Underwood and Blake Shelton. “It’s a fun song about getting somebody off your mind,” Paisley says of “Don’t Drink the Water,” a duet with Shelton, who will be joining him this summer on his H2O II: Wetter & Wilder World Tour. He and Underwood join forces on the incredible ballad “Remind Me,” about a couple looking to rekindle the spark in a relationship. “It’s a song about the conversation a couple would have. It could be seven months into the relationship or it could be seven years, but everybody’s been there,” Paisley says. “I love the honesty about that song.”

Paisley and Underwood had previously teamed on “Oh Love,” a track from his 2007 album, 5th Gear, and the two friends have hosted the last three CMA Awards telecasts. “There is no limit to how high she can sing. She’s amazing,” Paisley says. “I asked, ‘Is there any note you can’t hit?’ And she said, ‘I don’t know,’ and I was playing it for her, and I said, ‘How about high G,’ and she went, ‘Yeah, I can hit that.’ There’s honestly nobody better, and her instincts were perfect, too. When she came in to sing, every take was perfect. She 100% nailed it every time.”

In recording This Is Country Music, Paisley’s goal was not only to sonically capture the varied tones and textures of country music, but to lyrically reflect the lives of the people who love it. “There are stories and observations in songs like ‘A Man Don’t Have to Die.’ I didn’t write that song, but I heard it and instantly said, ‘This is exactly where I want to go with this album,’ because it is absolute reality for some people,” he notes. “In the title track, when I sing ‘This is real. This is your life in a song,’ not every one of these songs will be you at this moment, but several, I guarantee, will be. If they aren’t right now, a lot of them have the potential to be a story that applies to your life. That’s our job in country music.”

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JahMusic are event organisers, website network, team of music journalists, radioshow and now also independent label based in Prague in the heart of Europe. We are in love with reggae, dancehall, dub and world music and culture for over two decades so we promote it in every possible aspect. Thanks to all artists, producers and labels for their hard work to bring people some good upliftment and share their songs with you here in this way. Fulljoy, leave here some shouts and follow us on our other platforms for much more content. One Love

Firstly, If you want/need a custom-made riddim or require some drums/guitar/keys/organ played for a track then feel free to send me a request detailing what you want via my inbox on Soundcloud, or send me an email to country.hifi@yahoo.co.uk and we can discuss it further.

Secondly, and most importantly, welcome to the Country Hi-fi sound with music to please a myriad of tastes. On an island on the very edge of Europe, Northern Ireland, an ocean away from the birthplace of reggae and not necessarily the first port of call when looking for good reggae music made inna roots and culture style. However, by making quality music inspired by a love of the music from Jamaica and the ethos behind it's creation, Country Hi-fi is doing it's best to put Northern Ireland firmly on the reggae map.

The name 'Country Hi-fi' is related to the country upbringing of founding member 'Pugs' while also being a tribute to the late great King Tubby and his pioneering sound which echoes far and wide. The Country Hi-fi sound was brought to life in a project called 'Small Town Roots' (available on iTunes) which involved two friends: hip-hop producer/DJ/MC DAZ (www.soundcloud.com/dazmusic) and Pugs (reggae fan and self-taught musician) practically living in a studio for a week with each side bringing their own ingredients to the mix. The result was a series of songs inspired by the roots reggae traditions while telling stories through the songs, which relate to various events in Pugs' life growing up in a small country town.

The Country Hi-fi sound is dedicated to making music with the original enthusiasm and willingness to experiment as our pioneering brothers and sisters in Jamaica so although you can expect to hear lots of one-drop reggae, ska, rocksteady, lovers rock etc. don't be surprised to hear some digital dancehall, house, hip-hop, or even some UK hip-hop/grime style beats, and various remixes, mash ups, and versions: feel free to download and share any tracks you like and spread the word. 

With Pugs working as a one-man-band, engineer, producer, and occasional songwriter, he has managed to work on projects with artists from all over the globe and is always open and happy to collaborate with other artists on whatever the project may be, so don't be afraid to use the drop box, respond to requests on tracks, or send a message about any enquiries you may have.

Pugs also presents a weekly reggae show on Skank FM (an online radio station in Belfast, Northern Ireland, www.skankfm.com) from 6-8pm (GMT) bringing the best in caribbean vibes with tracks from way back in the day to the hottest tracks in the Jamaican chart and everything else in between from hip-hop, DnB, soul, grime, and reggae from  all around the world. Get on board and tune in for an education in reggae music and all it has to offer.

Thank you for stopping by the Country Hi-fi profile and hopefully you enjoyed exploring all the tracks on offer and found something you liked enough to download (which means you wanted to hear it again which is cool). Comments are always gratefully received, and all those people who have got on board so far they are always appreciated and their support is crucial for the Country Hi-fi sound to gather momentum. Any newcomers are equally welcome and big up yourself for getting on board and helping the Country Hi-fi sound to spread the message of One Love and Unity which is increasingly important in this modern world.

Finally, I would like to give thanks and much respect to the people I have been fortunate enough to work with (Naptali, Tijani Concious, Madi Simmons, Junior Pinchers, delaypilot, Wadadli, fireface horns). Perhaps most notably, I have also received some crucial advice from a bredren who is known as Jamyork. He has been most forthcoming with his words of wisdom and I have had relatively few experiences in my short foray into the music scene with somebody being so willing to share their experiences and knowledge to such a degree: his advice and tips have really helped me progress my sound, so I am eternally grateful for his help; I hope I am able to do the same should anyone seek some guidance/advice from me!

Works on this profile registered with the UK Copyright Service, Copyright © 2012 Country Hi-fi.

Jah bless, One Love & Unity, Rastafari

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