Blaine Larsen – “It Did”
Songwriters: Jim Collins and Marv Green.
When “It Did” appeared on Brad Paisley’s 2007 album 5th Gear, it seemed destined to be released as a single. Not because it was one of the album’s best songs – no, because it was one of the album’s worst, and the only obvious reason for its inclusion was that it was exactly the sort of bland, saccharine fare that country radio seems to adore.
Blaine Larsen is hoping that Paisley’s missed opportunity will be his second chance. “It Did” is the lead single from his upcoming indie album, set to arrive three years after Larsen charted three top 40 hits for BNA Records. The preternaturally deep-voiced youngster is an undeniably gifted singer who elevates the quality of much of the material he touches – and who too often chooses material of such quality that it requires elevation. While “It Did” may get him back on the charts, it will likely disappoint anyone who expects music to be anything more than palatable.
It’s yet another three-act story consisting of a young romance, a marriage, and the birth of a child. Yet again, those three acts are wrapped around repetitions/recolorations of a particular phrase. This time, the phrase is “it did,” which is unimaginative even by the standards of this formulaic song type. The trouble is that there’s no surprise in shifting the meaning of “it did” because its meaning is obviously dependent on context in the first place. For all the things that “it did” can be made to mean, it really means almost nothing in itself.
For example: Did Larsen’s performance of the song surpass Paisley’s? It did. Did the song still bore me? It did. Did it strike me as the sort of thing you might record if you were putting the need for a radio hit ahead of your own artistic interests? It did, it did, oh, it did.
Especially problematic is the production, which saturates a decent lyric, a solid vocal and a fairly memorable melody in so much aggressive string and guitar work that the only hint of humanity to be found in the whole affair is in Larsen’s voice – and even that sounds a bit more mechanical than usual in this setting.
In the past, Larsen has shown some signs of modeling himself after standard bearers like Strait, Jackson and Paisley. If that’s his chosen course, it’s a shame that he spent so little time emulating the earlier part of their careers and jumped so quickly to the blanded-up sound of those artists circa 2009. What’s next, a cover of “River of Love” or “Good Time”?
Listen: Blaine Larsen – “It Did”
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26 Comments
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July 21, 2009 at 8:58 am
Not a comment about this song, but got me thinking: someone on here recently likened another artist’s song to Larsen’s “How do you get that lonely.” Anyone know what that song was?
July 21, 2009 at 9:58 am
Great review.
“The preternaturally deep-voiced youngster is an undeniably gifted singer who elevates the quality of much of the material he touches – and who too often chooses material of such quality that it requires elevation.”
This is how I feel about Blaine Larsen. He has an excellent, warm voice, but his song choices haven’t impressed me much. I have his first album and many of the songs sound pretty pedestrian for a guy with such a strong, mature voice. I know he was young when he recorded, but the voice didn’t match the age while the songs did. It was a little disconcerting.
July 21, 2009 at 10:01 am
I agree that Blaine’s version is better than Brad’s, but it’s still a colorless song, especially with this bland production.
July 21, 2009 at 10:12 am
I agree its not the greatest song in the world, but I’d be lieing if I said I didn’t like it…I am such a big fan of Blaine, and really want to see him break through.
Pick up his second album, “rockin’ you tonight”, an album I thought was overlooked by many people.
July 21, 2009 at 10:20 am
I actually had the second album, but gave it to someone. For some reason, I liked that one less than the first.
July 21, 2009 at 10:55 am
Does Blaine have a smooth voice? Probably one of the smoothest.
But there’s something I enjoy more about the edge of Brad’s voice.
July 21, 2009 at 10:59 am
This is kind of like… which do you want, the Ferrari or Lamborghini?
July 21, 2009 at 11:45 am
Or maybe more like “which do you want, the Big Mac or Whopper”…
July 21, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I agree with your review. I prefer Brad’s version as I feel it has more emotion. Great analysis of the bland lyrics. It is definitely not a hit single. Keep up the great work.
July 21, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I don’t like the way it seems like Larsen is slowing down the lyrics as compared to Paisley’s version. That may only be because I’m so used to Paisley’s version.
July 21, 2009 at 9:30 pm
That’s something that I like better about this version. It seems like it should be a slower song.
July 22, 2009 at 8:34 pm
“Rockin You Tonight,” was a great album.
30 years ago Larsen would’ve been a pretty big act in country music. The guy is in the wrong time frame
July 22, 2009 at 10:48 pm
That review was well-worded and concise. But in my opinion, wrong. The truth is, Brad never released that song for one reason and one reason only- he didn’t write it. No money in performance royalties just for singing it. You gotta be the writer.
As for Blaine’s version, how can you use a term like “saccharine” to describe Blaine Larsen when radio is currently flooded with crap like Taylor Swift? (BTW, saccharine is a very unimaginative adjective. I was a little disappointed in that) God forbid someone puts out real,heart-felt music and sings well. That might take air time away from the almighty Fake-o’s like Rascal Flatts, or Chuck Wicks. Come on, people! Blaine Larsen’s not even playing the same game as those garbage acts. Let’s hold back on our need to hear Gary LeVox sing out of his range long enough to put some thought into what we listen to.
July 23, 2009 at 12:23 am
So its better than what radio is currently serving up…
Was that suppose to be a compliment?
July 23, 2009 at 6:38 am
Matt, Brad has released plenty of songs that he hasn’t written, including some of his biggest hits: “Whiskey Lullaby”, “When I Get Where I’m Going” and, more recently, “Waitin’ on A Woman.”
July 23, 2009 at 7:32 am
True. But Brad did write “Online” and “I’m Still a Guy” which beat out “It Did” as a single largely, if not entirely, because of the business of songwriting. Not the quality of the songs. Don’t get me wrong, Brad’s a fantastic writer, singer, and showman. Both of those other son gs were excellent. He could have put out almost anything from 5th gear and it would have done well. But given the option to make a pile of money off a single and have a hit, or to have a hit and not make nearly as much money, I think the choice is clear.
And “It Did” is not just better than what radio has been serving up. It’s a return to actual talent. As fans, we should embrace and artists like Blaine Larsen, Brad Paisley, and Josh Turner before we lose our genre.
July 23, 2009 at 9:33 am
I’m one of the people that thought 5th Gear was Brad’s weakest albums and I think that “It Did” was one of the weakest songs on that weak album. So, I agree with CM that this song was released in order to fit in with what’s on radio right now, not as something better.
As far as Brad releasing songs only based on whether or not he had a hand in writing them, I’m still not convinced. Since he pulled “Waitin’ on A Woman” from an old album, after 5th Gear, because he liked it so much that he wanted it to be a single. Otherwise, he could have either released another song from 5th Gear that he wrote or do what you’re suggesting he should have done, which is release this song. Instead, he chose “Waitin’ on A Woman” (an old song that he didn’t write), which is why I have to disagree with your theory of why he didn’t release this song.
July 26, 2009 at 11:54 pm
First of all, I would like to express my opinion on 5th Gear and Brad’s version of the song. Brad is my favorite artist, and I think 5th Gear is one of his best albums. It has a great variety of music and every song is likeable. Even(if not especially)”It Did”. I think this song is beautiful, i liked it from the first time i heard it. But mind you, I am female, and women usually have a better ear for beautiful love songs than men do.
I have yet to hear Blaine’s version of this song. This is because I came across this review without knowing that Blaine redid it. I have searched iTunes and YouTube for the song, but I cannot find it. I would highly appreciate if somebody would post a link to his song, or show me how to find it, so I can add on to this comment.
On the songwriting debate, I’m on Leeann’s side. An artist doesn’t release a single because they wrote it. They release a song because they think that fans will like it. They want the radio to play songs that will not only make money, but also recruit fans. They want people to think “I like this song, I should listen to some more songs by this artist, maybe even buy the album”. This is what happened to me with “Ticks”, and now i’m practically in love with the guy. And I like songs that weren’t written by who sings them. Kenny Chesney didn’t write a single song on “Poets and Pirates”, but how many singles did he release from it? Four. And that is plenty.
July 27, 2009 at 2:39 pm
i like Brad version better because it relate more to Brad
July 31, 2009 at 2:46 pm
I am in agreement with Matt M.
Also, if the reviewer is such an authority on song quality and lyrical presentation, perhaps soon there will be a song to review from the author of the article.
July 31, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Yes, and perhaps film critics should all have to direct a film before they can become critics.
July 31, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I thought the criticism in paragraphs 3 and 4 was pretty compelling, and I don’t see where you’d have to be a songwriter to notice the problem. And in general, I don’t think that you have to be a practitioner of something in order to offer cogent opinions about it. That being said, the nature, intensity and manner of expression that characterizes much of much of the song criticism here does tend to make a “if it’s as easy as you seem to suggest, why aren’t you doing it” response more understandable.
July 31, 2009 at 3:56 pm
The review seemed a little rough, when comparing to some of the “Music” getting air time today.
August 3, 2009 at 8:30 am
Amen to that. And BTW, the notion that artists don’t release certain songs because they don’t write them is not conjecture, theory or opinion. It’s an absolute fact that many artists, especially ones in the position of Paisley, who can release almost anything to guaranteed high chart positions and audience accolades, will release their own songs over that of others’. And who can blame them? Given the option to make someone else a buttload of cash, or keep it for yourself, I think it’s safe to say that almost all of us would choose the latter. Sorry LeeAnn, but I was right on that statement. I’m sure of it.
As for the review, let us no lose perspective, folks. When a promising new artist like Blaine Larsen hits the scene, we all need to keep in mind that the artists doing real country music are growing fewer and further between with each passing year. Jamey Johnson, Easton Corbin, and yes, Blaine Larsen, all need and deserve our support as real country fans. We can nit-pick over whether we think this lyric is touching enough here or descriptive enough there. But Alan Jackson can’t keep singing about Bologna forever. If we keep tearing down the great new artists before they can get traction, we’ll all be listening to “WTAY… All Taylor Swift, all the time!”
Oh, and one more thing, Mel. Not that it really matters, but “It Did” relates to Blaine Larsen’s personal life more closely to that of Paisley’s. Paisley had to actually change the words from the original Marv Green version to acommodate his real-life experience (Paisley’s wife had a son, not a daughter). Larsen’s actual life experience fit in perfectly with the lyric of this song. No lyric changes required.
August 13, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I thought Blaine Larsen did a great job.
Having said that, I was shocked it wasn’t released on Brad Paisley. Brad Paisley s vocals sounded amazing on this song and I had no idea he could sing that well.
Either way-I really like it and I hope Blaine has a shot on the air with this song and his new indy label.
March 25, 2011 at 4:22 pm
I have to say I absolutely love Blaine’s music. I’m a huge fan and supporter. I really hope this talented singer and songwriter makes that big break through. He connects so well with his fans and is such a great humble guy you just can’t help but love him. Plus I’m old-school country and I’m tired of hearing all the pop-country songs out on the radio. I really want to hear the old country sound – which Blaine has.