This Is Country Music
Encyclopedia
Upon its release, This Is Country Music received general acclaim from music critic
s. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a average
score of 82, based on 10 reviews. This indicates "universal acclaim".
Chris Willman with Entertainment Weekly
gave the release an 'A'. He stated that "the whole record plays like a best-of sampler — not just for Paisley, but for the history of the art form". Jody Rosen with The New York Times
was in high praise of the album, saying "Mr. Paisley is once again preaching to his choir. It’s a bright, brisk record, packed with the polished country-pop songs that Mr. Paisley’s devotees have come to expect. It’s a study in the politics of 21st-century Nashville stardom, the delicate maneuvering that a performer like Mr. Paisley must do to keep his pews filled. But listen closely and you hear some surprises — and a more expansive definition of country music than the album’s title track at first suggests". In his consumer guide for MSN Music
, critic Robert Christgau
complimented Paisley's songcraft as "undiminished [...] he remains the smartest and nicest guy in his world", and gave the album an A- rating. indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction".
Jonathan Keefe with Slant Magazine
called the album less satisfying than Paisley's previous albums saying the album "threatens to become a great country album instead of an album simply about great country music. That's a distinction Paisley has gotten right more often than not over the course of his career [...] But even when the album isn't up to Paisley's typical standards, This Is Country Music is still an interesting, ambitious project from a man who need not apologize for the things he does awfully well." Giving it four stars out of five, Jessica Phillips of Country Weekly
magazine praised the album's "traditional" sound and variety of songs. She also thought that the album's more comedic songs provided a "humorous equilibrium[…]without being relentlessly clever." Rolling Stone
critic Will Hermes gave the album a 3½ star rating. Hermes thought the album "embraces all of what country music is today — its soul, its vivid storytelling, and, yes, its genre clichés. The lead singles, uncharacteristically, are ads more than songs; Elsewhere, the greatest country artist of his generation keeps it fresh, funny and guitar-heroic". Stuart Munro with The Boston Globe
gave it a favorable review, saying ""This Is Country Music
" encapsulates Paisley’s status as a premier upholder of traditional country within a contemporary framework, and the 15 songs that follow confirm that status; The sentiment here isn’t prescriptive but descriptive, in the self-referential manner that frequents today’s country [...] Yes, this is country music".
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
from Allmusic gave it a favorable review. Erelwine stated that "Paisley narrows his definition of what constitutes modern country on his seventh collection of new songs [..] here’s where Paisley’s skills as a craftsman come into play. Always a traditionalist, he builds a song with care but is keenly aware that he’s living in 2011, not 1965". Emily Yahr with The Washington Post
gave the release a favorable review, saying "While it’s an enjoyable listen, there are no real surprises — at this point, Paisley knows what works. And by the time the western actor shows up to guest-whistle his way through an instrumental track appropriately called “Eastwood,” it’s clear that Paisley has tackled so many topics and sounds that he thinks country music is . . . well, pretty much whatever you want it to be". Dan MacIntosh with Roughstock gave the album a four star rating. He believes that "buying new music can sometimes be a gamble. However, Brad Paisley is the closest artist to a sure thing that you’ll likely find. This is country music – at its best".
Randy Lewis with the extremely critical Los Angeles Times
gave it a 2½ out of 4 star rating, calling a lot of the material "overworked". Lewis explained that "[Brad's] skills as a songwriter, guitarist extraordinaire and distinctively expressive singer are obvious at many turns on his latest album. But on this outing Paisley doesn’t move the musical conversation forward the way he’s done in several previous albums". Deborah Evans Price with Billboard
called the album "musically diverse" and commented by saying that "vocally, Paisley has never sounded better, and the ace guitar player struts his stuff throughout, skillfully complementing the mood and timbre of each tune. Country music's most talented young ambassador has delivered the ultimate love letter to his art form with This is Country Music".
Technical
Music criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...
s. At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 82, based on 10 reviews. This indicates "universal acclaim".
Chris Willman with Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the release an 'A'. He stated that "the whole record plays like a best-of sampler — not just for Paisley, but for the history of the art form". Jody Rosen with The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
was in high praise of the album, saying "Mr. Paisley is once again preaching to his choir. It’s a bright, brisk record, packed with the polished country-pop songs that Mr. Paisley’s devotees have come to expect. It’s a study in the politics of 21st-century Nashville stardom, the delicate maneuvering that a performer like Mr. Paisley must do to keep his pews filled. But listen closely and you hear some surprises — and a more expansive definition of country music than the album’s title track at first suggests". In his consumer guide for MSN Music
MSN Music
MSN Music was a part of the MSN web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. In 2004, Microsoft created an MSN Music download store to compete with Apple's iTunes Music Store, though its sales in comparison were...
, critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
complimented Paisley's songcraft as "undiminished [...] he remains the smartest and nicest guy in his world", and gave the album an A- rating. indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction".
Jonathan Keefe with Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
called the album less satisfying than Paisley's previous albums saying the album "threatens to become a great country album instead of an album simply about great country music. That's a distinction Paisley has gotten right more often than not over the course of his career [...] But even when the album isn't up to Paisley's typical standards, This Is Country Music is still an interesting, ambitious project from a man who need not apologize for the things he does awfully well." Giving it four stars out of five, Jessica Phillips of Country Weekly
Country Weekly
Country Weekly is an American tabloid style weekly magazine established in 1994. The magazine focuses on country music stars and events, and regularly features exclusive interviews with recording artists and country music news...
magazine praised the album's "traditional" sound and variety of songs. She also thought that the album's more comedic songs provided a "humorous equilibrium[…]without being relentlessly clever." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
critic Will Hermes gave the album a 3½ star rating. Hermes thought the album "embraces all of what country music is today — its soul, its vivid storytelling, and, yes, its genre clichés. The lead singles, uncharacteristically, are ads more than songs; Elsewhere, the greatest country artist of his generation keeps it fresh, funny and guitar-heroic". Stuart Munro with The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
gave it a favorable review, saying ""This Is Country Music
This Is Country Music (song)
"This Is Country Music" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Brad Paisley. After performing it at the Country Music Association awards ceremony, Paisley released the song in December 2010. The song is Paisley's twenty-eighth single release overall; it...
" encapsulates Paisley’s status as a premier upholder of traditional country within a contemporary framework, and the 15 songs that follow confirm that status; The sentiment here isn’t prescriptive but descriptive, in the self-referential manner that frequents today’s country [...] Yes, this is country music".
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
from Allmusic gave it a favorable review. Erelwine stated that "Paisley narrows his definition of what constitutes modern country on his seventh collection of new songs [..] here’s where Paisley’s skills as a craftsman come into play. Always a traditionalist, he builds a song with care but is keenly aware that he’s living in 2011, not 1965". Emily Yahr with The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
gave the release a favorable review, saying "While it’s an enjoyable listen, there are no real surprises — at this point, Paisley knows what works. And by the time the western actor shows up to guest-whistle his way through an instrumental track appropriately called “Eastwood,” it’s clear that Paisley has tackled so many topics and sounds that he thinks country music is . . . well, pretty much whatever you want it to be". Dan MacIntosh with Roughstock gave the album a four star rating. He believes that "buying new music can sometimes be a gamble. However, Brad Paisley is the closest artist to a sure thing that you’ll likely find. This is country music – at its best".
Randy Lewis with the extremely critical Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
gave it a 2½ out of 4 star rating, calling a lot of the material "overworked". Lewis explained that "[Brad's] skills as a songwriter, guitarist extraordinaire and distinctively expressive singer are obvious at many turns on his latest album. But on this outing Paisley doesn’t move the musical conversation forward the way he’s done in several previous albums". Deborah Evans Price with Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
called the album "musically diverse" and commented by saying that "vocally, Paisley has never sounded better, and the ace guitar player struts his stuff throughout, skillfully complementing the mood and timbre of each tune. Country music's most talented young ambassador has delivered the ultimate love letter to his art form with This is Country Music".
Track listing
Personnel
Credits for This Is Country Music adapted from Allmusic.Technical
- Jeff BaldingJeff BaldingJeff Balding is an American audio engineer, mixer and record producer. Primarily known for his work with country music acts such as Faith Hill, Trace Adkins, and LeAnn Rimes, Balding has also worked with top rock acts such as Megadeth and Giant, as well as pop stars such as Amy Grant and Celine...
- Overdub Engineer - Brady Barnett - Digital Editing
- Richard Barrow - Digital Editing, Engineer, Overdub Engineer
- Tracy Baskette-Fleaner - Art Direction, Package Design
- Drew Bollman - Overdub Engineer
- Neal Cappellino - Digital Editing, Overdub Engineer
- Jim Catino - A&R
- Tammie Harris Cleek - Imaging, Photo Production
- Judy Forde-Blair - Creative Producer, Liner Notes
- Jennifer Kemp - Stylist
- Jason Lehning - Overdub Engineer
- Scott McDanielScott McDanielScott McDaniel is an American comics artist who has drawn numerous books, including Marvel Comics' "Fall from Grace" storyline for the Daredevil series...
- Cover Design, Creative Director - Tyler Moles - Digital Editing
- Rich Ramsey - Assistant
- Lowell Reynolds - Assistant
- Mellissa Schleicher - Grooming
- David Schoeber - Engineer
- Jim Shea - Photography
- Phillip Stein - Digital Editing, Production Assistant
- Hank Williams - Mastering
- Brian Willis - Digital Editing
- Carrie Bailey - Violin
- Jim "Moose" Brown - Hammond B3, Keyboards, Piano
- Jeff Cook - Electric Guitar, Vocals
- Sheryl Crow - Background Vocals
- Brad Paisley - Steel Guitar, Acoustic and Electric Guitars
- Eric Darken - Percussion
- David Davidson - Violin
- Clint EastwoodClint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
- Whistle - Connie Ellisor - Violin
- Teddy GentryAlabama (band)Alabama is a country music and southern rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. The band was founded in 1969 by Randy Owen and his cousin Teddy Gentry , soon joined by Jeff Cook...
- Vocals - Kevin Grantt - Upright Bass
- Jim Grosjean - Viola
- Erin Hall - Violin
- Tania Hancheroff - Background Vocals
- Don HenleyDon HenleyDonald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
- Background Vocals - Wes Hightower - Background Vocals
- Gary Hooker - Acoustic and Electric Guitar
- Sonya IsaacsSonya IsaacsSonya Melissa Isaacs is an American country and Christian music singer. Isaacs grew up near Morrow, Ohio, and graduated from Little Miami High School in 1992....
- Background Vocals - Carl JacksonCarl JacksonCarl Jackson is an American country and bluegrass musician. Jackson's first Grammy was awarded in 1992 for his duet album with John Starling titled "Spring Training." In 2003 Jackson produced the Grammy Award-winning CD titled Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers - a tribute to Ira...
- Banjo, Background Vocals
- Mike Johnson - Dobro
- Anthony LaMarchina - Cello
- Betsy Lamb - Viola
- Kendall Marcy - Banjo
- Carl Marsh - String Arrangements
- Gordon Mote - Hammond B3, Piano, Wurlitzer
- Randy OwenRandy OwenRandy Owen is an American country music artist. He is known primarily for his role as the lead singer of Alabama, a country rock band which saw considerable mainstream success throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Although Alabama only records new albums on occasion, Owen himself has maintained a career...
- Electric Guitar, Vocals - Brad PaisleyBrad PaisleyBrad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references....
- Acoustic and Electric Guitar - Huck Paisley - Vocals
- Jasper Paisley - Vocals
- Sari Reist - Cello
- Ben Sesar - Drums, Vocal Group
- Pam Sixfin - Violin
- Marty StuartMarty StuartJohn Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
- Mandolin, Background Vocals - Russell Terrell - Background Vocals
- Carrie UnderwoodCarrie UnderwoodCarrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...
- Duet - Mary Kathryn Van Osdale - Violin
- Justin Williamson - Fiddle
- Karen Winkelmann - String Contractor
Album
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
26 |
| Australian Country Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
2 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
3 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
100 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
3 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
42 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
45 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
86 |
| UK Country Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
2 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
2 |
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 1 |
Certifications
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
CAN Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
|||
| 2010 | "This Is Country Music This Is Country Music (song) "This Is Country Music" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Brad Paisley. After performing it at the Country Music Association awards ceremony, Paisley released the song in December 2010. The song is Paisley's twenty-eighth single release overall; it... " |
2 | 58 | 67 | |
| 2011 | "Old Alabama Old Alabama "Old Alabama" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Brad Paisley, featuring guest vocals from the band Alabama... " (with Alabama Alabama (band) Alabama is a country music and southern rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. The band was founded in 1969 by Randy Owen and his cousin Teddy Gentry , soon joined by Jeff Cook... ) |
1 | 38 | 41 | |
| "Remind Me Remind Me (Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood song) "Remind Me" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Brad Paisley, performed as a duet with country music singer Carrie Underwood. The song was released in May 2011 as the third single from Paisley's studio album, This Is Country Music, released May 23, 2011... " (with Carrie Underwood Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005... ) |
1 | 17 | 33 | ||
| "Camouflage Camouflage (song) "Camouflage" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Brad Paisley. It was released in October 2011 as the fourth single from his ninth studio album, This Is Country Music. Paisley co-wrote the song with Chris DuBois and Kelley Lovelace.-Content:"Camouflage"... "A |
21 | ||||
- A Current single.