Brad Paisley's 'This Is Country Music'

Brad Paisley seems like a nice guy. And there's nothing wrong with his catalog of nice country hits.

But on "This Is Country Music" (Arista), Paisley takes the country Everyman thing a little too far. It's not just the false fights he drums up in the pandering title track, where he declares, "It ain't hip to sing about tractors, trucks, little towns or mama -- yeah, that might be true. But this is country music and we do." And it's not just the subtle digs at Sinatra and Barry White's mood-setting abilities in his current single, "Old Alabama." It's a feeling that runs through the whole album.

Even more cloying are Paisley's attempts to be cleverer than thou. The twist ending to "Toothbrush" just makes the aw-shucks idea ("Love starts with a toothbrush, a Bic razor and a Dixie cup") too cutesy. "Be the Lake" -- where he fantasizes, "Wish I could be the beach towel that you lay down on or the two-piece fitting you so right it's wrong" -- gets a touch creepy.

It's too bad, really, because when Paisley gets things right, he's stunningly good. "Remind Me," his poignant country-rock duet with Carrie Underwood, may be one of the best country songs of the year. The bluegrass-tinged "Life's Railway to Heaven," with Marty Stuart, Sheryl Crow and Carl Jackson, is a musical treat, while "One of Those Lives" is a lyrical one.

But Paisley ends up crowding out those high points, which sells "This Is Country Music" short.

BRAD PAISLEY

"This Is Country Music"

GRADE B-

BOTTOM LINE Agreeable country -- to a fault