‘Play’

‘Play’

Brad Paisley

(Arista Nashville/SonyBMG)

Grade: A

Brad Paisley’s inventive, note-bending guitar work is as much a part of his signature sound as his voice and songwriting. Usually, he hides this skill within songs that focus attention his other talents. Except on the occasional instrumental, a listener has to pay close attention to hear Paisley’s dazzling string work.

On “Play,” however, his guitar is the star. For the most part, he shuts up and plays, tilting the album toward instrumentals in a variety of styles that show off his speed, technique and range. He plays surf, rockabilly, blues and swing. There’s Charlie Daniels-style back-country jams and Chet Atkins-style country melodies, and he enlisted his old friend, Buck Owens, for a Bakersfield-style country rocker recorded shortly before Owens’ death in 2007.

Owens isn’t the only guest. On the humorous “Start A Band,” one of the few tunes with lyrics, Paisley and Urban trade guitar licks while celebrating the rites of passage found when a young musician forms his first group. Actor Andy Griffith shows up in a re-recording of Paisley’s hit, “Waitin’ On A Woman,” reprising a role he played in the song’s video. And on “Cluster Pluck,” Paisley gathers seven ace guitarists, including Vince Gill and Steve Wariner, for a course in country guitar styles. B.B. King also makes an appearance.

As usual, Paisley emphasizes good-time humor and tender romanticism, showing his personality even when he lets his fingers do the talking.

— Michael McCall, Associated Press

‘One On One’

Randy Owen (Broken Bow)

Grade: B+

Randy Owen apparently wants to establish pretty quickly that his solo career will differ from his four decades as the leader of Alabama, the most successful band in country music history.

His solo debut, “One On One,” opens with a seductive country rocker, “I Confess,” positioning him as a romantic older man whose age gives him an experience and focus he lacked in his youth.

Owen’s lustful persona rises repeatedly on “One On One,” which was produced with subtle flair by John Rich. On “Let’s Pretend We’re Strangers For The Night,” he sets up a scenario for renewing passion in a marriage. On “Slow And Steady,” he’s an all-night loving man whose attentiveness never wanes. On the power ballad “Holding Everything,” he pours his ever-loving heart out to his duet partner, young up-and-comer Megan Mullins.

Elsewhere, “Braid My Hair” is the kind of sentimental song Alabama often did late in their career, while “Barbados” is a misdirected attempt to tap into the island rhythms that Kenny Chesney uses with such success.

Despite a couple of weaker moments — including the clunky rocker “Urban’s On The Country Radio” — Owen proves that he can be just as compelling and likable standing on his own as when running with the guys in the band.

— Michael McCall, Associated Press

‘Season of Poison’

Shiny Toy Guns

(Universal Motown Records)

Grade: C

It’s been a whirlwind journey for electro-rockers Shiny Toy Guns since they made their debut with the Grammy-nominated “We Are Pilots” two years ago.

The Los Angeles-based group, led by longtime collaborators Chad Petree and Jeremy Dawson, spent most of last year touring and solidifying their fanbase for their next offering. But the Shinys hit a major snag this year when they parted ways with Carah Faye Charnow, who split lead vocals with Petree on some of the group’s biggest hits, including the ubiquitous “Le Disko.”

Undaunted, the Shinys have forged on, enlisting singer Sisely Treasure to record “Season of Poison.”

Like their debut, the songs on “Season of Poison” display Petree and Dawson’s M.O. of mashing hard-rock, techno and pop sounds, although the end result is uneven and less satisfying than “We Are Pilots.”

Petree and Dawson produced the album themselves and suffused the tracks with a darker, heavier feel and peppered them various sound effects and other synth touches.

One example is “When Did This Storm Begin,” the first track, which opens with an angsty female voice screaming “I hate you.” From then on, the song careens between heavy guitar and layered synth sounds while Treasure raps and Petree carries the chorus. The performances are powerful and earnest, but the track feels disjointed and over the top.

Among the standout tracks is the excellent, catchy rocker “Money For That,” where Petree sings “I’d give you money for that/Is there some way I could go back?”

Another is the album’s first single, “Ricochet!,” a mean, dirty romp powered by heavy synths and Mikey Martin’s drumming. Here Treasure is the star, her voice rising as she slings the words: “Like a bullet, meant to be shot/You’re the target/Dead on the spot/When I focus, I never miss/It starts with a kiss.”

— Alex Veiga, Associated Press

‘The UFO Has Landed’

Ry Cooder (Rhino)

Grade: A

God bless the archivist assigned to pin down the eclectic contributions of Ry Cooder.

After all, Cooder’s four-decade career spans early blues and roots music to film soundtracks to Buena Vista Social Club to recent genre-benders such as “My Name is Buddy” (2007) and the new “I, Flathead.” It’s a lot of ground to cover.

Produced by Cooder’s son and collaborator, Joachim, “The UFO Has Landed” admirably blends old and new in a two-disc 34-song collection. There’s only one unreleased track, a version of “Let’s Work Together” with Buckwheat Zydeco, but the collective effect is still stunning and enlightening.

It’s an astounding reminder of Cooder’s flawless touch with slide guitar, as well as his sense of humor and understanding of good music from Woody Guthrie to Flaco Jimenez. God bless this “UFO.”

— Jim Abbott, Orlando Sentinel