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Love and War
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Love and War Image
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66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

  • Summary: Co-produced with Luke Wooten, the 11th full-length studio release for the country singer-songwriter features guest appearances from Bill Anderson, John Fogerty, Mick Jagger, and Timbaland.
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Today
When I'm sitting in traffic some afternoon Or bored to death in some waiting room Well I'm gonna close my eyes and picture you Today You keep... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Los Angeles Times
    May 12, 2017
    80
    West Virginia singer, songwriter and guitarist Brad Paisley has proven himself a wizard at striking a canny balance among earnestness, whimsy, social awareness and party-hearty celebration. With Love and War he’s conjured another 16 tracks that skillfully traverse those lines.
  2. Uncut
    May 18, 2017
    70
    True to form, Love And War contains its share of impeccably wrought arena-country singalongs, like "Last Time For Everything" and "One Beer Can," along with the occasional bite at expectations, and the hands that feed him. [Jul 2017, p.36]
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  3. Paste Magazine
    May 12, 2017
    67
    Love & War starts off quite strong. ... The back half of the album with “selfie” and his Timbaland collabs is pure chaff, the kind of filler that a major label artist can afford to get away with.
  4. Rolling Stone
    May 12, 2017
    60
    Per usual, there's filler, none too embarrassing--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.
  5. AllMusic
    May 12, 2017
    50
    While there is some appeal in this bright blast of sound, especially when he's in party mode--"One Beer Can" in particular recounts the aftermath of a raucous adolescent bash--it can also seem vaguely desperate, as if he's still clutching a reality that's faded into the past.

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. TheKritikonCo
    May 27, 2017
    6
    John - I wasn't expecting to like this album so much. I've said before that I'm not a big country fan when we reviewed Little Big Town's TheJohn - I wasn't expecting to like this album so much. I've said before that I'm not a big country fan when we reviewed Little Big Town's The Breaker, but this really surprised me. It's the sort of album you could listen to on a sunny day's drive through the countryside with the wind blowing through your hair. It gives off such a chilled, summery vibe. There were a few tracks here and there that were very dull - The Devil Is Alive And Well and Contact High being two of them - but overall I think Love and War is consistently good. There were a lot of laugh out loud moments, many of which were in selfie#theinternetisforever (an excellent satirical look at today's society) - this guy has a fantastic sense of humour! Lyrically strong, and musically mostly varied and fresh, Love and War is a good effort from Paisley. If you're into country music, you have to have a listen.

    Tilly - I'm a fairly big fan of Brad Paisley, but even I'll admit his albums can drastically vary quality wise. His strong point are songs that take the piss out of things, and there were no way near enough songs on here like that for my liking. One of Paisley's downfalls is that when his songs are bad, they are mind numbingly dull. Love and War thankfully, didn't have too many of those, but they were still present and that stopped it from being a strong country record. However, Heaven South - and it's reprise - One Beer Can, selfie#theinternetisforever and Solar Power Girl were all excellent tracks, and I'll no doubt be playing them on repeat. Not your best Paisley, but still incredibly fun!    … Expand

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