Song Review – Brad Paisley’s “Without A Fight” feat. Demi Lovato
Go take a look at the Billboard Hot 100 if you dare, and notice the amount of “feat.” collaborations all throughout the chart. The current #1 song by Drake called “One Dance” features WizKid and Kyla, whoever the hell they are. Three of the Top 5 songs on the Hot 100 are also collaborations. Collaborations are the dominant feature of the charts these days. Why? Because music isn’t about music anymore, it’s about celebrity. Though the talk surrounding these singles is about the art of collaboration and how it brings out the creativity in artists, in reality it’s all about combining the selling power of celebrity franchises onto one track to create as much attention as possible to push it to the masses.
It’s like movie studios figuring out the formulas for superhero movies. When the Batman and Superman movies run their course, make it Batman vs. Superman. Modern popular music is doing the same thing, burning the candle at both ends in a shortsighted view that it will never flame out. Backroom payoffs for songwriting credits and appearances on records are the industry capital greasing the wheels that keep more established acts at the top of the charts, and help launch younger artists into established roles. This isn’t artists collaborating organically, this is money changers pulling levers behind-the-scenes.
Make no mistake, country music is heading fast and furious towards this trend as well, and will be enlisting pop stars left and right to attempt to boost the star power of falling stars. We’re seeing it with Dierks Bentley and his duet with Elle King (who now says she wants to make a country record), and now Brad Paisley with Demi Lovato (who, as you guessed, says she also wants to make a country record).
Like most red-blooded country music fans, I can’t name you one Demi Lovato song. Apparently she got her start as a child actor on Barney & Friends before converting to Disney. Sounds about perfect for a modern day country music collaboration.
Brad Paisley’s old enough to be Demi Lovato’s father, but let that be no object to them singing a song together about makeup sex. Demi Lovato has no business in country, and we know where this is all headed. As soon as pop decides Demi’s complexion isn’t perfect anymore, we’ll be hearing all about how she was raised in Dallas and loves country music.
Surprisingly though, “Without A Fight” is not as terrible as one would suspect. Holy shit there is actually some steel guitar floating in and out of the mix, and despite the age difference, the theme of the passionate yet contentious relationship that burns too hot is a good and classic one for country. It’s also a good one for a duet. The song is still more rock than country, but it could be worse. You see the name Demi Lovato and you expect a slew of “producers” which are nothing more than programmers sitting behind MacBook Pros composing drum beats and synth beds, but there doesn’t appear to be any programming on the track. “Without A Fight” was co-written by Paisley and frequent collaborator Kelley Lovelace, and co-produced by Paisley himself.
The slow, but intentional and nefarious infiltration of pop stars into country is real, and in the coming months and years, you could see the country charts blossom with pop collaborations to where 35% to 50% of the songs have “feat.” following the primary performer just like we see in the pop charts today. But focusing on the song—which is where the focus on music should be instead of what celebrities are singing on it—“Without The Fight” is a generic country rock song that will make a little noise in the charts before everyone forgets about it. It’s no Loretta and Conway, but it’s harmless aside from Lovato’s involvement.
June 20, 2016 @ 8:54 am
Brad Paisley has been damn boring creatively for a long time now. I was never a big fan, but he was generally inoffensive at worst up until a few years ago. Now it’s just bland, boring music that feels like he is sleep walking through. Maybe I am giving him too much credit, he’s just not that great of an artist, but his output since “American Saturday Night” has screamed “I’m bored with this, but I sure love the money”. Even this song, just feels like an attempt to turn around his radio fortunes, rather than anything he seems interested in recording. It just feels so “phoned in” by everyone involved.
June 20, 2016 @ 6:41 pm
maybe Chely Wright ghost-wrote for him when they were a couple, and without her assistance his bland self is all that comes through.
June 21, 2016 @ 3:24 pm
I must say that crushin’ it song was one if THE worst songs I had ever heard. I won’t go into how stupid the video was! Wow! Talk about cheesy! I do like his older stuff. This song doesn’t do anything for me.
June 20, 2016 @ 9:01 am
I’m just glad I get to hear Brad Paisley play guitar. I know some people consider his playing directionless and wanky, but I hear a lot of Mark Knopfler, and that’s a good thing. This is an interesting collaboration, and quite a good song.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:39 am
I don’t know about “directionless,” but Brad doesn’t have a lot of musical sensibilites, by which I mean he has no phrasing or taste… He can play tons of hot licks and sounds awesome doing it, but to really make the guitar talk, he’s lacking. In that regard, Vince Gill is the greatest Country Guitar picker, his playing is so fluid and lyrical and every note is in its place…
interesting comparison to Mark Knopfler… I’d never even thought of that before…
If you’re looking for great picking albums, Steve Wariner’s “No More Mr. Nice Guy” has some pretty amazing picking from somebody you’d never consider a great player…
just something to think about.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:53 am
I think the Mark Knopfler comparisons with Brad Paisley begin and end with this song. I too heard some licks in here that reminded me of Knopfler, just because he’s such a distinctive guitar player, and his licks are signature. It’s also not a bad thing to be influenced by Knopfler.
June 20, 2016 @ 11:22 am
There’s more than this song. Go and listen to “Lady Writer,” and all the intricate Knopfler kicks in it, then listen to the title track to American Saturday Night.
June 20, 2016 @ 1:05 pm
I’ll take your word for it. I’m not a studious dissector of Paisley’s guitar playing. I did hear the Knopfler turns in this song at times, and I believe that was the first time I’ve recognized them from him. Again, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’d much rather hear a pure country album from Knopfler than from Demi Lovato. His work with Emmylou was pretty good.
June 20, 2016 @ 11:32 am
I mostly agree with you, I just find his stuff is too well planned out. It’s like he never improvises any of his solos or fills. The thing I usually don’t like is the tone he usually doesn’t fit in the song. I can’t deny the guy is technically really good though but id rather listen to Don Rich guitar solos.
June 20, 2016 @ 1:27 pm
I agree. Vince is the greatest country picker. But do you know of Brent Mason? He’s mainly a studio player that I think is every bit the equal of Vince.
June 20, 2016 @ 9:16 am
I feel like there are two Brad Paisleys… the one who is fighting to stay relevant in a genre that doesn’t suit his strengths, and the one who I was betting on to be the modern answer to Roger Miller. At his best, he can go from silly to somber and still be believable. He can use word play and still tell an actual story (cough, cough… Blake Shelton), whether it be poignant or just dumb fun (or both). At his worst, he can flail around in the fray with the rest of the over-produced country-pop masses. He’s had a run of mediocrity of late… but at least he does tend to come from at ideas from angles that haven’t been done to death and seems to genuinely want to entertain with his music, rather than just use it as a vehicle to foster his image.
Now… as for this song… It’s just okay to me. I like good old-fashioned hook-based songs, even when they’re a tad cheesy. So I haven’t been turning it off, but I haven’t been seeking it out either.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:44 am
Roger Miller could never be replaced… His brand of material was one-of-a-kind… He had this sense of where to place words and phrases, and he never oversold material… A sad song was never too sad, a happy song was never too happy…
And let’s not forget that he was probably Country Music’s greatest writer, with the obvious exception of Willie Nelson…
Anyone ever heard a George Jones song called “You Ought to Be Here With Me?”
Roger Miller wrote it, and it’s from an entire Broadway musical that he wrote.
Yes, Roger Miller wrote the 7 Tony Award Winning “Big River.”
His writing and composition are leaps and bounds beyond practically any other writer in Country Music…
June 20, 2016 @ 11:07 am
oh, I agree with that… and yeah, as a fan I’m familiar with almost all of his published music, the Tonys, and with the work in Robin Hood. No one will ever replace Roger Miller… he’s one of the most underrated/unheralded songwriter of a generation full of underrated/unheralded songwriters. However, as a fan of songwriters who can paint with both self-deprecating/silly humor AND the more somber tones, I don’t see many… or even any… others besides Paisley attempting to do so in commercial country music. He’s come up a bit short… and still losing ground… but I appreciate his attempts at a much higher bar than most of his contemporaries.
June 20, 2016 @ 2:33 pm
” I feel like there are two Brad Paisleys… the one who is fighting to stay relevant in a genre that doesn’t suit his strengths, and the one who I was betting on to be the modern answer to Roger Miller. At his best, he can go from silly to somber and still be believable. He can use word play and still tell an actual story (cough, cough… Blake Shelton), whether it be poignant or just dumb fun (or both). At his worst, he can flail around in the fray with the rest of the over-produced country-pop masses. He’s had a run of mediocrity of late… but at least he does tend to come from at ideas from angles that haven’t been done to death and seems to genuinely want to entertain with his music, rather than just use it as a vehicle to foster his image.”
This is a dead- on -the- money observation of Brad P, Mike . He’s without a doubt the most inovative , creative and fresh writer / artist on the country charts today . His lyrics are brilliant , his diverse selection of subject matter amazes and he has a great voice . He’s also a damn good picker , if not as good as a lot of folks seem to think he is . BP could have made it as a writer alone and even his worst stuff stands so far above the shit that’s peddled by almost every other writer/’artist’ at the moment . He’s nothing , if not prolific , and he’s not bound in the least by what radio says it wants or what labels think he should or shouldn’t be writing to ‘ stay relevant ‘ . I haven’t listened to the song posted here . Maybe it breaks his trend …dunno . But I think BP could very easily do a completely traditional country record with themes , vocals and arrangements that would blow us all away if he so chose . I’ll take him over most every other artist charting .
June 20, 2016 @ 9:45 am
As a father of a 15 year old daughter, I have watched Demi grow up through her Disney shows and movies. Later my daughter continued to be a fan of her music. While she is not really in my circle of music I like, she is a very good singer and as a person I like her. I kinda like this song, though maybe more because I like her than due to it being a great song.
June 20, 2016 @ 9:47 am
I hated this song. Lovato’s shrieking at the end went right through me. Brad Paisley had some good stuff earlier in the day – his collaboration with Allison Kraus on Whiskey Lullaby was gorgeous. Then he seemed to segue into doing some sort of novelty songs. One Big Country Nation was terrible.
June 20, 2016 @ 9:49 am
This may not be Paisley’s best song, but as far as lead off singles go, it’s a far, far cry from the atrocity that was “River Bank”.
June 20, 2016 @ 9:51 am
If by you “hear a lot of Mark Knopfler” you mean they happen to be playing the same instrument, then I would agree with you, but if you are insinuating anything beyond that I would tell you to stop doing drugs.
June 20, 2016 @ 11:25 am
If you can’t hear the Knopfler influence in Paisley’s playing, you’re ignoring it because you don’t like Brady Paisley.
June 20, 2016 @ 11:51 am
Brady. Wow. Goddamn you, autocorrect
June 20, 2016 @ 9:53 am
This song is not too bad. Lyrically, it’s pretty cheesy. As for the voices, Demi Lovato is a fantastic vocalist, and her voice pairs quite well with Brad Paisley. There are some flat moments here, but overall, not too bad. It’s a 6.5/10 for me.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:09 am
Man, I’m not even…
I’ll take your word on the song not being as bad as expected, Trigger, but I will also say that miss the Brad Paisley who recorded songs (feat. George Jones” or “feat. Alison Krauss.”
I’m sure Brad will tell us all that he’s evolved beyond that. And that is…well, it is what it is. Not a few of us who liked and respected him once upon a time evolved beyond THAT, too.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:18 am
I actually like Demi (she has a good voice) and Brad is a great guitar player, but for the purposes of this song the two of them singing together weird me out, because of the age difference – in part. And their is nothing organic about the collaboration.
Collaborations can be fun though when the pairing is organic though, two friends who want to sing together, couples in a relationship. And there are songs where collaborations make sense (and this is one of them).
As an aside, part of the increase in collaborations on the hot 100 chart is due to the increase in influence of hip hop style songs. Collaborations are a natural and organic part of rap, and come from how the genre actually developed, look at NWA as a good example.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:26 am
“As an aside, part of the increase in collaborations on the hot 100 chart is due to the increase in influence of hip hop style songs.”
The influence of hip-hop style songs is also the reason for the increase in country. There are no rules that only apply to a specific genre. The monogenre has arrived.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:30 am
I think the forced, cross-genre collaborations are the issue. Country music has been doing collaborations forever and, for awhile, the collaborations were as likely to be full albums as they were to be single songs. That’s the piece I miss. The Highwaymen, Willie and Waylon, Willie and Roger Miller, Willie and Ray Charles, the… wait… maybe it was only Willie doing this? In any case, when two ARTISTS collaborate you get something that can be greater than the sum of its parts. When two ENTERTAINERS collaborate (probably remotely) on a song they didn’t write in order to capture the others’ market share… it is usually garbage. I hadn’t thought of the hip-hop influence on this type of collaboration… that’s a good point.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:55 am
the Willie and Roger album “Old Friends” has got to be a favorite album of mine…
June 20, 2016 @ 12:53 pm
Dont forget about wille and merles album last year. When colaborations are done right they are amazing
June 20, 2016 @ 5:18 pm
There were also the “cameo” features George Jones did on Alan Jackson songs, Jimmy Buffett on Ajax’s “5:00 Somewhere”, half or more of the songs on Buffett’s Licensed to Chill, Ajax on Zac Brown’s “As She’s Walking Away”, James Taylor on the Possum’s “Bartender Blues” ~ yet none of these advertised these “features” – they just came along as “pleasant surprises”
June 20, 2016 @ 11:33 pm
Part of the reason it’s listed as feat. rather than a collab is that Paisley wrote the song, and Lovato didn’t.
That’s another part of the rap influence, as writing your own shit has always mattered far more in the world of hip hop than in the world of country.
June 20, 2016 @ 12:46 pm
“:……… for the purposes of this song the two of them singing together weird me out, because of the age difference…..”
Historically, the pairing of a young female singer with an older established male star has been pretty common in country music (Ernest Tubb/Loretta Lynn, Porter & Dolly, etc.) Granted, the material generally hasn’t been as overtly racy as this tune, but mature listeners knew what those folks were singing about.
And at least they aren’t really a father and daughter like the Kendalls.
June 21, 2016 @ 9:17 am
It wierds me too and the video is silly with all the pushing, very high school for a 43 year old man. I would have maybe been less skeeved out if they hadn’t been in the video at all. There silly acting just drives home the fact that he is 20 years older than her and singing about having make up sex.
June 21, 2016 @ 9:51 am
*Their* silly acting. Uggh
June 20, 2016 @ 10:43 am
Enjoy your thirty pieces of silver, Brad. Trust me, it is not all it is cracked up to be.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:54 am
Collaborations aren’t the problem they’ve been in Country Music for decades. But at least before they were done with musicians from other genres that actually liked and respected Country Music bb king and ray Charles is who I’m talking about. Nowadays they’re collaborating with people who hate country music and half the time the pop or whatever Singer has never even heard of the supposed Country singer they’re supposed to be singing with until they meet to record.
June 20, 2016 @ 1:08 pm
There’s a big difference between a duet, and a collaboration in my opinion. George and Tammy, Loretta and Conway, Willie and just about anyone. But most of the time these were done in album form. Some of those albums were the least commercially-successful from those artists. They did them because they were friends. Elle King said she had no idea who Dierks Bentley was when she was asked to sing on “Different For Girls.”
June 20, 2016 @ 12:05 pm
I actually don’t hate it. When I first heard of the pairing, I was expecting the worst. It’s a catchy song. Not great, but nothing that offends the auditory senses. It’s the most inspired thing I have heard from Paisley in a long time, granted, that’s not saying much. If being judged on the basis of being a country song, then it couldn’t be more than a 2.5/10. But just based on being a song, with no genres implied, I’d give it about 6.5/10.
June 20, 2016 @ 12:12 pm
i hate those songs where they take 2 celebrity strangers and pretend to sing a romantic ballad like theyre in love, Its so phony, although i could buy tim mcgraw’s and faith hill passion. I would rather hear brad paisleys wife on the track even if she needed heavy auto tune lol.
June 20, 2016 @ 12:13 pm
oh no
June 20, 2016 @ 1:02 pm
I expected a lot worse, so in that regards, it’s fine. Still needlessly dumb lyrically, but I could stand this on a modern country format station.
June 20, 2016 @ 1:14 pm
I’m always willing to defend Brad Paisley more than most. I happen to think he’s an immensely talented artist who sometimes gets bored with the format of today’s country genre. To me, he’ll always come back to middle of the road country when he strays a little away from it. Think of him releasing “This is Country Music” after “American Saturday Night.” Or “Moonshine in the Trunk” after “Southern Comfort Zone.” He might do little nowadays to get the pulses of traditional country fans running. But you can count on him not to go as far away from the format as Dierks did with “Black.” He’ll never be in the good graces of most visitors to this great site, but to me, we have an ally in Paisley (most of the time.”
June 20, 2016 @ 10:16 pm
As a longtime Brad Paisley fan who has been disappointed in recent releases, I can agree with you, Nate. (Kind of: I thought Wheelhouse was downright dreadful and the title cut was the only redeeming song on Moonshine in the Trunk.)
But, let’s not put the cart before the horse. How do we know the next Brad Paisley album won’t be his equivalent of Black? I’ll grant that I liked “Without a Fight” better than the songs I’d heard from Black prior to it’s release, but Mr. Paisley hasn’t done much since “Old Alabama” to excite me and make me optimistic.
June 22, 2016 @ 9:17 am
I’ll admit, I am a Brad Paisley apologist, and while Moonshine in The Trunk was no Part II or Who Needs Pictures, or Mud On The Tires, I enjoyed it. And while most didn’t like Country Nation, and some downright hated it, I enjoy it. To me, he seems to be trying to hang on just enough through this trend of ‘country’ music moving away from the roots, and hoping he can skate by for now until the trend becomes to actually record country music again. If that happens in the near future, I think Brad will be in good shape, and can get back to the Mud On The Tires sound. At least, that would be in a perfect world. But I definitely agree with you, that Paisley is on the good side with us.
June 20, 2016 @ 1:15 pm
I am a big Brad Paisley fan and I thought Wheelhouse was one of his best offerings and I put him with Miranda and Church as artists that actually put out albums, as in 14 songs that do and say 14 different things as opposed to most artist that replay the same song over and over for 60 minutes (looking at you Aldean).
But this is by far the worst Brad Paisley song I have heard. When I hear it on the radio I can hear sadness in Paisley’s voice as if he has realized it has come to this.
I was so, so annoyed by Chris Young singing with Cassedee Pope. It was gross. And now Brad.. so disappointing.
I will buy his album and I’m sure I will enjoy most of it. But I will be skipping over this track.
June 20, 2016 @ 3:23 pm
Chris Young is only 3-4 years older that Cassedy Pope. Why was that duet gross?
June 20, 2016 @ 7:59 pm
I don’t think he meant gross in regards to their age difference or the imagined pairing of them as a couple in the song. Just that Chris Young singing with an artist like Pope who releases ridiculous song after ridiculous song was mind-numbing. Remember her “this one’s for all my girls out there” girl power song? Probably the fakest song to be on country radio in the last 5 years.
June 21, 2016 @ 9:19 am
Plus it’s hard to take anyone who spells her name “Cassadee” seriously.
June 20, 2016 @ 1:36 pm
Far too slick for me.
June 20, 2016 @ 2:34 pm
Great guitar lick at the start, all raw, old school sounding…some promise here perhaps???
Nope.
When Brad started singing, I actually laughed.
That guitar intro set a tone, and his voice sure didn’t keep up its end of the bargain.
The Chorus? Wow, theres that wall of production that took that once nice raw sound and just tramples it under foot…Hard!
Brads guitar solo isnt as bad as it normally is( but still not great, the usual) ….a big bend followed by a flury of chicken picking and notes popping off in great
numbers.
While the list of Pop/Bro/Thug country artists who assault our ears is long, this one doesnt offend near as bad.
But do I need to hear it again or will I buy it?? No.
June 20, 2016 @ 2:41 pm
I just dont like it… i feel pop artists should stay out of the country genra… my opinion thought…
June 20, 2016 @ 3:18 pm
Sometimes, Pop singers in a Country song actually work. For instance, Kelly Clarkson’s solo version of Don’t You Wanna Stay in Raleigh, NC was fantastic and sounded like something a Country music legend would sing.
June 21, 2016 @ 3:30 pm
Go all the way back to 1986, and listen to Earl Thomas Conley and Anita Pointer singing “Too Many Times,” and Alabama joining Lionel Richie on “Deep River Woman.” Both interesting songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zYX0-dMPUw&list=PLs1PPkqDlmwD5KEw5hqgNfow39kWSh4-l&index=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziWixbody3k&list=PLK2boUUUVynMVjyKd2KV9z0M1EhvgcAEY&index=5
June 20, 2016 @ 3:55 pm
I don’t think Demi Lovato necessarily belongs in country music either, but she definitely has a great voice when she exercises restraint and more than holds her own on this particular track.
*
No, my main criticism of this track is that, from both a compositional and melodic standpoint, the performance strangely lacks a conversational quality that usually elevates much of Paisley’s material.
The real gift Paisley has long had is that, regardless of how either corny or overly earnest plenty of his songs can be, you still never doubted his sincerity and often felt him because each song felt conversational in its execution and flow. It felt intimate, and that human touch is the #1 reason I believe Brad Paisley has deservedly stood the tests of time and had a #1 singles streak of his own previously.
Here, in contrast, that touch is oddly lacking. It takes two to three listens to even tell where the verse ends and the chorus begins, and even after you identify where the chorus begins, it’s hard to nod along with the central sentiment of the song reflected in the chorus.
And while it is refreshing in a way to see Brad Paisley stick to his rock and roll/guitar hero guns as opposed to pandering to the EDM and Christian Contemporary trendlines musically, the melodic composition also falls flat here. Paisley is known to have a knack at writing sticky hooks and melody lines that command your attention, so it’s peculiar how flat this sounds in comparison.
*
Still, “Without a Fight” isn’t bad. Quite forgettable and unremarkable for sure, but the vocals are fine, the lyrics are agreeable and the classic rock production suits Paisley’s style. I’m willing to give this a (albeit unpassionate) pass.
I’m thinking a Strong 5 to Light 6 out of 10 for this.
June 20, 2016 @ 7:17 pm
Who, and who?
June 21, 2016 @ 9:22 am
Seriously? The “who’s that” line is so tired. Demi I could see, but everyone that listens to country knows who Brad Paisley is. If not, use Google.
June 21, 2016 @ 9:31 am
For real. And let’s be honest, I highly doubt that someone doesn’t know who Brad Paisley is at this point.
June 20, 2016 @ 9:21 pm
Paisley is to country music what Paul Ryan is to the Republican Party. In both cases, a photogenic rising star started his career playing the role of the true believer standing for tradition. They gradually evolved into members of the establishment, compromising their principles for the benefits of conforming to the mainstream and trying to assuage the powers that be.
June 20, 2016 @ 9:32 pm
The song structure, melody and production all remind me of a generic 80’s pop rock tune. Uninspired. Less attention the better for this artist, but I get the alarm bells issue regarding the ridiculous “featured” marketing ploy.
June 24, 2016 @ 2:36 am
EXACTLY what I was thinking. While Paisley isn’t in my normal rotation anymore, I was a fan of his earlier stuff. This song is completely disposable to me, much like the “generic 80’s pop rock tune”. I don’t feel like this song will be remembered. Then again, this song wasn’t written for me. This is a song for modern pop country radio listeners.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:02 pm
I kinda liked it. Harmless fun. Demi is one of the few pop tarts that can really sing. Not every country song needs to conform to traditional acceptable standards. Just have a couple glasses of your favorite hooch, then give it another listen.
June 21, 2016 @ 5:20 am
I hear some Gary Allan on this song. It makes me think about “Like It’s a Bad Thing” off of Gary’s Livin Hard record. Without a Fight sounds like a softer version of that song, still both songs sound too rock oriented to me. I hope Brad’s upcoming album will be great.