There are ways to express regional or state pride that don’t touch upon volatile issues or that make a listener, especially a music critic that will try and listen closely to an album, question an artist’s beliefs and motivations.

I accept Josh (and everyone else in the world) has different points of view on different issues, but that doesn’t make me disrespect his art in and of itself or hear his music any differently. I know Miles Davis beat up women - a far more heinous crime than singing about Southern days gone by - and I still listen to Miles Davis to hear beauty and truth and swinging music without that knowledge entering my mind during the listening process. But it also doesn’t make what Miles did any less wrong about what he did.

Artistically, we’d all love to hear Brad shred and get his guitar jones on. He’s an amazing talent. But commercially, the label knows they won’t be getting major sales off that.

I look forward to just about everything Brad does. that doesn’t mean I think he fires on all cylinders all the time, but he hits the mark more than most.