The countdown is on for Brad Paisley. It’s 21 days until he co-hosts the 44th annual Country Music Association Awards. And it’s 12 days until the release of his two-disc Hits Alive album.

The track list was unveiled Tuesday, and it includes 25 performances total — 21 different songs, some of them appearing in both studio and in-concert versions. And “Online” appears twice; it’s at the close of the studio disc and an “Online” reprise is the finale of the live disc.

Among the studio recordings are two that feature esteemed guests: Dolly Parton, who teamed with Brad on “When I Get Where I’m Going”; and Alison Krauss, who joined him on “Whiskey Lullaby.” Fans who’ve seen Brad’s concerts the last couple of years have seen Alison do that song with him, via pre-recorded video, in his regular set.

Songs that are repeated — once live, once in studio — include “Mud On The Tires,” “Then” and “Alcohol.”

The complete track list for Hits Alive follows:
Disc 1 (Studio Recordings):
1. Mud on the Tires
2. Ticks
3. Anything Like Me
4. The World
5. Little Moments
6. When I Get Where I’m Going (Featuring Dolly Parton)
7. Celebrity
8. Then
9. I’m Still a Guy
10. He Didn’t Have to Be
11. Alcohol
12. Whiskey Lullaby (Featuring Alison Krauss)
13. We Danced
14. Online

Disc 2 (Live Cuts):
1. Water
2. American Saturday Night
3. Waitin’ on a Woman
4. I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song)
5. Mud on the Tires
6. She’s Everything
7. Time Warp
8. Letter to Me
9. Then
10. Alcohol
11. Online (Reprise)

Leave me a comment and let me know what Brad Paisley song is even better when you see him perform it live in concert! And be sure to check out some behind the scenes interview clips with Brad on his current H2O Tour »

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Country Music Hall of Fame member Tom T. Hall.

There’s a segment of older artists who resent the current crop of performers, who represent change for a genre that’s held in high regard by its previous crop of talent. Country Music Hall of Fame member Tom T. Hall is not one of those crabby old-guard dudes.

“Music is an art form,” he told a passel of programmers Thursday at the Country Radio Seminar. “It should not be done the way it used to be done. If we do it the way they used to do it, that’s copying.”

Not that T. is above getting crabby.

“I do resent,” he allowed, “the fact that they’re makin’ so much money!”

Tom T., alternately known as the Storyteller by country fans, made his comments during WCRS Live!, a songwriter event sponsored by the performing rights organization BMI that flagged his crusty sense of humor as well as the sound of newcomer Easton Corbin and composer Wynn Varble. Neither of them makes music quite the way Tom T. did, though that fits his tenet to avoid copying quite well.

“There ain’t much of a story to it,” Easton said, introducing one of several pieces that helped showcase his debut album just days before its release.

Between his range, his enunciations and his predilection for traditionally grounded songs, Easton’s following nicely a pattern laid out by the likes of George Strait, Alan Jackson and Joe Nichols. All four of his numbers were solid material, performed with strength and conviction, in the general vein of his closing title — and first Top 10 hit — “A Little More Country Than That.”

Wynn wrote that song with Blaine Larsen in mind, and his assessment of its eventual success in Easton’s hands was delivered with a bit of humor that likely would have made Tom T. snicker.

“If you see Blaine,” Wynn drawled, “tell him he’s a dumbass.”

Wynn rendered the single he wrote for Kellie Pickler, “Things That Never Cross A Man’s Mind,” as well as the quirky “You Can Drink More Beer Than This” and the wryly sentimental “Waitin’ On A Woman,” which Brad Paisley brought to public attention.

Still, it was Tom T. who garnered the largest applause — in part because his performances are a rarity a dozen years after he retired from touring. Dressed in a suit and tie, he eschewed a guitar strap, propping the instrument with his fret hand and pressure from his right elbow while he ran through “Homecoming,” “The Year That Clayton Delaney Died” and “I Love” with his distinctly conversational style. He earned standing ovations at both the beginning and the end of that short set, then presumably headed back to his 60-acre farm, where he enjoys his retirement with his wife of 41 years, Miss Dixie.

“It’s weird,” he said of his intentional break from the spotlight. “You hear these stories about how hard it is to break into show business. You should try to break out of it sometime!”

No one seemed to mind that he revived the experience for just a few songs.

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Alan Jackson photo courtesy of SonyBMG Nashville.

Nashville celebrated its songwriters for two straight nights this week with Alan Jackson and Taylor Swift each earning trophies as Songwriter/Artist of the Year from two different organizations.

Taylor picked up the Songwriter/Artist trophy from the Nashville Songwriters Association International Sunday, the same night Toby Keith earned Songwriter/Artist of the Decade. Wynn Varble claimed the NSAI’s Songwriter of the Year after netting hits with Darryl Worley’s recording of “Sounds Like Life To Me” and Brad Paisley’s rendition of “Waitin’ On A Woman,” named Song of the Year.

ASCAP, one of three U.S. performing rights organizations, hailed Alan Monday night, while recognizing Ashley Gorley as its Songwriter of the Year. Ashley’s behind-the-scenes contributions to country during the eligibility period included Trace Adkins’ “You’re Gonna Miss This” — ASCAP’s Country Song of the Year — and the Brad Paisley/Keith Urban duet “Start A Band.”

In addition to Toby’s all-decade honor, the NSAI presented Songwriter of the Decade to Craig Wiseman, whose successes this millennium include Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying,” Brooks & Dunn’s “Believe” and Kenny Chesney’s “The Good Stuff.”

Tammy Wynette, Kye Fleming (“I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool”) and Mark D. Sanders (“I Hope You Dance”) joined the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on Sunday.

The following night, J.D. Souther received a similar career achievement honor from ASCAP in accepting the agency’s Golden Note Award. One of the contributors to the Southern California sound of the 1970s, which has had a direct influence on contemporary country, J.D. was honored with performances of his material from some of Nashville’s best. Lee Ann Womack sang “Faithless Love,” Rodney Crowell covered “New Kid In Town” and Love And Theft captured “You’re Only Lonely.”

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