Paisley pushes for fresh direction

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NASHVILLE, June 19 (UPI) -- Nashville star Brad Paisley says he made a new album because he wanted to, not because he had to.

"I didn't want to do an album if it wasn't in me," said Paisley, whose "5th Gear" follows 2006's double-platinum "Time Well Wasted," which he notes "had plenty of singles left if we needed them."

But he also had a new batch of songs he felt were crying to be recorded.

"It really came down to, 'Do I have a unique project to offer at this point in time?'" Paisley said. "And I did. The pressure was just to make sure that we go places that I've never been."

A case in point is "Ticks," the album's first single, in which Paisley expresses his affection for a girlfriend by offering to check her for infestation.