| Love and War | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 21, 2017 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 58:41 | |||
| Label | Arista Nashville | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Brad Paisley chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Love and War | ||||
| ||||
Love and War is the twelfth studio album by American country music singer Brad Paisley. It was released on April 21, 2017, through Arista Nashville. The album's lead single is "Today".
The album's originally intended lead single was "Without a Fight", a duet with Demi Lovato, which did not make the album's final track listing. [1] The first single to be included on the album is "Today". [2] Paisley co-produced the album with Luke Wooten. [1]
Included on the album are collaborations with Mick Jagger, John Fogerty, Timbaland, and Bill Anderson. [3] The song "Gold All Over the Ground" is based on a poem written by Johnny Cash in the collection Forever Words. [4]
In April 2017, Paisley released a "visual" version of the album, which features music videos for every song, worked into a singular narrative. [5]
It is Paisley's first album not to feature an instrumental track.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 66/100 [6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [7] |
| Cleveland Plain Dealer | A– [8] |
| Paste | 6.7/10 [9] |
| Rolling Stone | [10] |
| Variety | (favorable) [11] |
| Vice (Expert Witness) | A [12] |
The album has been met with positive critical reception, with most critics showing favor toward the collaborative tracks and Paisley's use of humor. Will Hermes of Rolling Stone rated the album 3 out of 5 stars. He praised the classic rock influences of the title track and "Drive of Shame", while also considering "selfie#theinternetisforever" "entertaining". He added that "Paisley's pro enough that even his apparent phone-ins are well-crafted. But over 16 tracks, you can't help but wish that one of country's greatest would shoot consistently higher than easy chuckles and sentimental homilies." [10] A review by Variety called the album "strong but uneven", praising Paisley's guitar solos and the collaborations with Mick Jagger, while also noting that "there is a lot of familiar thematic ground to cover in fresh ways". [11] Matt Bjorke of Roughstock was also favorable, saying that "After a little bit of time to work on his music outside of the spotlight, Brad Paisley has created, with Love and War, a project which rivals his best work, even if the album is more or less what fans would've wanted out of another Brad Paisley record." [13] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic was less positive, rating the album 2.5 stars out of 5 and noting that "While he never pushes too hard -- even the Timbaland tracks don't call attention to the beats -- the shiny production, shopworn jokes, and eager melodies have the cumulative effect of seeming too ready to please any audience that comes his way. Since Paisley still has his skills, this is often enjoyable -- he knows how to craft songs and can play a mean guitar -- but it's hard not to hear Love and War and think Paisley would be a little bit better off if he learned a lesson from Jagger and Fogerty: sometimes, it's better not to try so hard." [7]
Love and War debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, and at No. 13 on the US Billboard 200, selling 26,000 in pure sales copies in the US, making a total of 29,000 equivalent album units including tracks and streams. [14] It has sold 71,200 copies in the US as of December 2017. [15]
All tracks are written by Brad Paisley, with additional co-writers as noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Heaven South" | 4:15 | |
| 2. | "Last Time for Everything" |
| 3:50 |
| 3. | "One Beer Can" |
| 3:46 |
| 4. | "Go to Bed Early" |
| 3:20 |
| 5. | "Drive of Shame" (featuring Mick Jagger) |
| 4:33 |
| 6. | "Contact High" | 4:34 | |
| 7. | "Love and War" (featuring John Fogerty) |
| 3:51 |
| 8. | "Today" |
| 3:49 |
| 9. | "selfie#theinternetisforever" |
| 3:41 |
| 10. | "Grey Goose Chase" (featuring Timbaland) |
| 3:05 |
| 11. | "Gold All Over the Ground" | 3:33 | |
| 12. | "Dying to See Her" (featuring Bill Anderson) |
| 3:45 |
| 13. | "Solar Power Girl" (featuring Timbaland) |
| 3:44 |
| 14. | "The Devil Is Alive and Well" |
| 3:59 |
| 15. | "Meaning Again" |
| 3:45 |
| 16. | "Heaven South (Reprise)" |
| 1:11 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Bradley Douglas Paisley is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Starting with his 1999 debut album Who Needs Pictures, he has released twelve studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashville label, with all of his albums certified Gold or higher by the RIAA. He has scored 35 Top 10 singles on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart, 20 of which have reached number one. He set a new record in 2009 for the most consecutive singles (10) reaching the top spot on that chart.
"Whiskey Lullaby" is a song written by Bill Anderson and Jon Randall. The song was a duet recorded by American country music artist Brad Paisley and bluegrass artist Alison Krauss on Paisley's album Mud on the Tires. The song was released on March 29, 2004, as the album's third single, and the 11th chart single of Paisley's career. Whiskey Lullaby peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, and No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song won the 2005 Country Music Association Song of the Year Award. It was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The discography of Brad Paisley, an American country music singer, consists of 12 studio albums, three compilation albums, and 46 singles. All but two of Paisley's singles have hit the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, with all but six reaching the Top Ten. He has 21 Number Ones, including a streak of ten consecutive, starting with the 2005–06 Dolly Parton duet "When I Get Where I'm Going". When "Waitin' on a Woman", reached number 1 in late 2008, Paisley set a new record for the most consecutive Number Ones (10) by any country artist since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan in 1990. This streak lasted until mid-2009's number 2 single "Welcome to the Future".
American Saturday Night is the eighth studio album by American country music artist Brad Paisley. It was released on June 30, 2009, by Arista Nashville. Like all of his previous studio albums, it is produced by Frank Rogers. The first single, "Then," has become his fourteenth Number One on the Hot Country Songs chart. iTunes released songs from the album weekly as part of the countdown to the album's release. "Water" was released on June 9, 2009, followed by the title track on June 16 and "Everybody's Here" on June 23. The second radio single is "Welcome to the Future." The title track was released as the third single on November 16, 2009. As of the chart dated January 8, 2011, the album has sold 714,812 copies in the US. It earned a 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards nomination for "Album of the Year". In 2012, MSN.com listed American Saturday Night as one of the 21 Essential 21st-Century Albums.
"This Is Country Music" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Brad Paisley. After performing it at the Country Music Association awards ceremony, Paisley released the song in December 2010. The song is Paisley's twenty-eighth single release overall; it entered the Hot Country Songs charts dated for December 4, 2010. It was included on his eighth studio album, of the same name, released on May 23, 2011 release via Arista Nashville.
This Is Country Music is the ninth studio album by American country music artist Brad Paisley. The album was originally scheduled to be released April 19, but was pushed back to May 23, 2011, by recording label Arista Nashville.
Wheelhouse is the tenth studio album by American country music artist Brad Paisley. The album was released on April 9, 2013 by Arista Nashville, with Paisley being the only producer on the album instead of Frank Rogers.
Feels like Home is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, released in the US and Japan on September 10, 2013, in Europe on September 13, and in the UK on January 27, 2014. The album is Crow's debut country music record and also is her first release through Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee and was produced by Crow and Justin Niebank. The album was ranked by Billboard as one of the ten best country albums of 2013.
Moonshine in the Trunk is the eleventh studio album by American country music artist Brad Paisley. It was released on August 25, 2014, by Arista Nashville. It became Paisley's eighth album to hit No. 1 on Billboard's country chart.
Holding All the Roses is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blackberry Smoke. It was released on February 10, 2015 via Rounder. The title track was featured in Madden NFL 16
Illinois is the second studio album by American country music artist Brett Eldredge. It was released on September 11, 2015 via Atlantic Records Nashville. Its lead single, "Lose My Mind", was released to country radio on May 4, 2015. The album's second single, "Drunk on Your Love" was released to country radio on November 9, 2015. The album's third single, "Wanna Be That Song" released to country radio on May 23, 2016. Eldredge co-wrote every song, and produced the album with Ross Copperman and Brad Crisler.
Cass County is the fifth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Don Henley. The album was released on September 25, 2015, by Past Masters Holdings and Capitol Records. It was Don Henley's first new solo album in 15 years since 2000's Inside Job.
The Driver is the debut solo album by American country music artist Charles Kelley. It was released on February 5, 2016, via Capitol Records Nashville. The lead single was released to radio on October 19, 2015.
For the Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price is the 65th solo studio album by country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson, released on September 19, 2016. The album features cover versions of songs recorded by Ray Price, who had died in 2013. Nelson, a former member of Price's Cherokee Cowboys and friend, recorded the twelve-track album at Ocean Way Studios, where Price had recorded his final album, Beauty Is. Engineered by Fred Foster and Bergen White, the album features Vince Gill on six tracks. The content spans Honky Tonk and Countrypolitan.
"Today" is a song recorded by American country music artist Brad Paisley. It was released on October 6, 2016, by Arista Nashville as the first single from his eleventh studio album, Love and War. Paisley co-wrote the song with Chris DuBois and Ashley Gorley, and co-produced it with Luke Wooten.
Gunslinger is the tenth studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks, released on November 25, 2016 by Pearl Records. The album's lead single, "Baby, Let's Lay Down and Dance", was released on October 13, 2016.
Welcome Home is the fifth studio album by American country music band Zac Brown Band. It was released on May 12, 2017, via Elektra Records. The album features the singles "My Old Man" and "Roots" which charted on Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay. Dave Cobb is the album's producer.
Love Hope Faith is the sixth studio album by American country rap artist Colt Ford. Released on May 5, 2017, the work was published through Average Joes Entertainment.
Texoma Shore is the eleventh studio album by American country music singer Blake Shelton. The album was released on November 3, 2017 by Warner Bros. Records. Its lead single is "I'll Name the Dogs". As with his previous several albums, Scott Hendricks served as producer.
Last Man Standing is the 67th solo studio album by Willie Nelson. It was released on April 27, 2018, by Legacy Recordings.