Brad Paisley – “Then”

My first thought when I heard this was Brad’s streak of number ones is going to remain in tact. It’s a decent, radio-friendly song, but I agree that it’s forgettable and far from what he’s capable of.

Brad has such a huge audience of dedicated fangirls that they will propel each of his singles to the top of the popularity contest that mainstream country radio has become. The two questions “Will this song hit #1?” and “Is this song any good?” have become almost completely decoupled in today’s Top 40 country radio environment. If an artist has a big enough fan base who is willing to call in requests at country radio, they will hit # 1 on occasion.

I was waiting in line at a concert a few years ago that featured Megan Mullins, The Lost Trailers, John Corbett, and The Wreckers. About 90% of the others in line were females and the ones I was standing near began to talk about the “cutest” male country stars. I was amused that of the group of about six gals in the discussion it became almost unanimous for Brad Paisley. Ever since that day Brad’s success has been no surprise to me…

I agree that I think this song is just simply decent. Nothing spectacular. I think the chorus is the most boring part.

Does anyone feel that Brad released this song already and that we have all heard it once before?

I’m pretty sure those two songs are not the only songs that line is in, which is the problem with the line in general.

A fairly good idea, with a slightly better than average treatment, marred by a couple (or more) horribly cliche lines, sung by a good singer with a penchant for self-indulgent guitar licks… and it’s better than most of the stuff on the radio. It’s basically an inferior rehash of something on his last album (I think it was called “It Did?”).

Yes! When I heard this song, the first thing I thought of was “It Did”.

Don’t these two songs sound very oddly similar?

I agree with much of this review, except for the notion of a “payoff.” I’ve come to hate the third-verse twist (“Waitin’ on a Woman” especially makes me cringe) so much that I like this song more for resisting it. I was fully expecting the third verse of “Then” to be about a baby or someone dying, and when he let it go with just a few passing references, I was impressed. But it does feel a little rote.

This is a good song. It definitely deserved a thumbs up review and I really don’t understand the negativity from you people. Its not his BEST song but it is one of his best singles. And it’s better than any other country song out right now. I think you guys need to take a step back and not be so critical of a guy who has far more talent than any of y’all ever will

I wonder what would happened in the9513 if Carrie wins the ACM Entertainer of the year.

Hmmm… let me guess
1. Jim Malec would cry for a week
2. Brady would eat everything until she gain 50 pounds
3. the rest will cursed carrie for a year
That’s my guess
tell me yours

I’m actually looking forward to his next album sounding the same. It doesn’t work for Rascal Flatts but it would work for him!

I’m with you CB4. I am a big fan of Mr. Paisley and of this song. I do not believe it is one of his best, but it will undoubtedly be a hit.

Clemson – After reading your posts, I’m curious to know if you are a Kenny Chesney fan?

i love this song this song will hit #1 for sure .. i cryed the 1st time i heard it. it so sweet Kim so lucky to have Brad . “Like A river meet the sea ” is one of the best lines i have heard in along time .

You are so wrong. The very reasons you hate the song are the reasons that it will be huge. I had goosebumps when I heard it. Did you give a thumbs down to “Amazed” by Lonestar?

you people are insane if you think this song is average. its the best song ive heard in quite some time. brad did a very good job with this one, it gave me goose bumps.

Concerning some of Brad Paisley’s lyrics, i’ve lived all my life in a house about two miles from where brad paisley grew up, and let me tell you the guy grew up in a nice house in an affluent neighborhood. the mall is 35 miles away and there is no food court there where he fried chicken for ‘bob’, there is no ‘down by the lake’ where he could get ‘mud on the tires’ within a 50 mile radius of his house. In the song ‘famous people’ he says, ‘your the first car to come by in an hour or so’ even though he lived a hundred feet from a four lane road surrounded on each side by restaurants, gas stations, car dealerships, and any other sort of business you can think of, not to mention the the general hospital and triple a school right across the street where 2,000 students are enrolled. and believe me when i say that anybody under the age of 60 who says ‘ya’ll’ when speaking to a group of people is a person who will become the target of abuse in this county. the point i’m trying to make is this, while the man might entertain you and have a good singing voice to your ears, his entire background, the experiences he sings about in his songs are a work of complete fiction. I believe that if the musician has to make things up in order to appeal to a particular group, then he or she has no business writing that material in the first place. it’s especially true in country music, which is founded on the experiences of relying on oneself and facing the realities of a hard, character building lifestyle, something brad paisley knows nothing about…

Tim,

I absolutely disagree with your notion that Brad Paisley is disqualified from singing convincing country music because he wasn’t poor or uneducated.

Vince Gill, my favorite artist and quite respected in the business, is the son of a judge and grew up playing golf. Similarly, Bucky Covington grew up in a less affluent environment and his music doesn’t move me in the least. Being poor or uneducated is not a prerequisite for the making of good country artists.

…definitely the chorus itself makes me cringe…coz it should be the language of a man for his wife when nowadays, divorce is very common…i think the song is romantic:)

I happen to love this song. My husband and I danced to it as our first song at our wedding. I especially like when he says “but I’ve said that before”. While it is reminiscent of some of his other songs like “It Did”, I think it’s a beautiful song, well written and well sung.