Brad Paisley Still a Big Believer in Full Albums

Brad Paisley's latest CD, 'This Is Country Music,' hit shelves earlier this week. The new set of tunes marks the tenth studio album the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year has released since he burst onto the country music scene in 1999. But while the industry has gone through many changes in the 12 years Brad has become one of music's biggest stars, he says one aspect will always remain the same.

"Luckily, there's one that that hasn't changed. People want to come see you play these songs they love," Brad tells CMT. "Almost everything else has changed, the way that you go about providing them that music. ... When I did [the album] 'Who Needs Pictures,' they pressed a few in vinyl. That was about the last time. And now, I don't know how many people listen on CD anymore. They might buy the CD, but before they're done with it, it will end up on some other format in a headphone device as an mp3. But that's the thing that's good about it. The business doesn't change in terms of live music. People still go see you play."

With several of his celebrity friends, including Blake Shelton and John Rich, choosing to release five- or six-song EPs instead of full albums, it may seem that the new trend is something Brad would be considering as well. But, the 38-year-old says he thinks the decision to only give fans a smaller collection of tunes will never be the right choice for him.

"If you weren't sure you were going to be able to sell enough of a ten-song album to justify the cost on a brand new guy or girl, you would probably say, 'Well, why don't we just let them cut five and see how that goes,'" he acknowledges. "But I hate to see that because the thing I was most excited about when I got my record deal was making an album. It wasn't about a single. I never did this just to be a star. I never even really did this just to be a songwriter. I can do that without having a record deal. Or to be a guitar player. Same thing. I did this for all of it, which means an album, which means a collection of songs that represents my vision for myself as an artist. It's hard to be an artist without an album."

One trend Brad says he does hope will go away is the out-dated term "country-western music," which he says is a largely inaccurate representation of the music today. "It just tells me off the bat," he explains. "Like when they say, 'Big fan. So when you got into country-western ...' First of all, no you're not!"

Still, in spite of the use of that antiquated term, the husband of actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley says he felt it was important to include a song that was reminiscent of old westerns, partly because of the inclusion of movie star Clint Eastwood's whistling skills on the tune.

"I wanted to write a western song because it was one of the things I felt belonged on here," explains the father of two. "I love spaghetti western music. Crazy, cool music. I don't know where [Italian composer] Ennio Morricone got the idea that a Fender guitar through an amp with reverb and a guy whistling was the sound of the Old West, but he did. It's amazing to me how much that is the sound of the Old West. So I covered the guitar with the reverb part, and I figured if you want street cred -- if there is such a thing as street cred in the western movie word -- it's to have Clint do the whistling."

'Old Alabama,' the second single from 'This Is Country Music,' went all the way to the top of the charts. The West Virginia native will kick off his H20 II: Wetter & Wilder World tour on June 4 in Hartford, Conn., with Blake Shelton and Jerrod Niemann splitting opening duties. Keep track of his schedule here, and read The Boot's full interview with Brad here.