For a half century Danny Paisley has been a stalwart practitioner of the traditional bluegrass music he’s been absorbing since he was a lad. Another solid blast of tradition, Bluegrass State of Mind is also a comeback of sorts: Paisley is returning to action after beating throat cancer, and he’s sounding more formidable—and versatile—than ever. Backed by giants of genre tradition, including Darrin Vincent on bass, Scott Vestal on banjo, Andy Leftwich on guitar, mandolin, and fiddle, Josh Swift on dobro, Greg Cole on percussion, and his son Ryan Paisley on mandolin and vocals, Paisley puts the hurt on Hank Williams’ “Six More Miles” (the B side of his classic 1948 hit, “I Saw the Light”), slowing the original tempo, and delivering a measured vocal revealing the dulling inner desolation the song’s protagonist can’t hide as he’s about to bury his beloved; puts epic ache into the David Stewart-Mark Brinkman heartbreaker, “Till Lonesome Comes Around”; and gets into a feisty talking blues groove on another Stewart co-write, “Cream in My Coffee,” in counseling ditching the 9-to-5 schedule and getting tight with a loved one. Like the music he loves, Danny Paisley is alive and well.