The Battle for Everything

The Battle for Everything is the third studio album by American singer Five for Fighting, released on February 3, 2004 by Aware Records and Columbia Records. Following the success of America Town (2000) and its breakthrough single, "Superman (It's Not Easy)" (2001), John Ondrasik reteamed with producer Gregg Wattenberg and brought in Bill Bottrell to work on new material for his next record. The Battle for Everything debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 and spawned four singles: "100 Years", "The Devil in the Wishing Well", "Silent Night", and "If God Made You". The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of over 1,000,000 copies. The album's title refers to the fact "that nothing in the making of this record came easy – including concern over the title itself".[1]

The Battle for Everything
Studio album by
Five for Fighting
ReleasedFebruary 3, 2004
GenreSoft rock
Length48:02
Label
Producer
Five for Fighting chronology
America Town
(2000)		 The Battle for Everything
(2004)		 Two Lights
(2006)
Singles from The Battle for Everything
  1. "100 Years"
    Released: November 24, 2003
  2. "The Devil in the Wishing Well"
    Released: 2004
  3. "Silent Night"
    Released: 2004
  4. "If God Made You"
    Released: 2005

Background and recording

Five for Fighting had achieved a hit record with "Superman (It's Not Easy)" in 2001 leading to his America Town album going Platinum. For the follow-up, Ondrasik went into the studio with record producer Bill Bottrell, best known for his work with Sheryl Crow, in 2003.

On the influences behind Battle and its recording, Ondrasik said, "When I was a kid I could put on Dark Side of the Moon, turn up the sound in my headphones, lie down in the dark, and go away. I wanted that experience again, and so Bill and I were ambitious to the point of absurdity. If we wanted drama, we'd get a thirty-piece orchestra. If we wanted a rock edge, we went after it with reckless abandonment. It was like doing my own private Quadrophenia."[1] The Battle for Everything was released on February 3, 2004.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic47/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Alternative Addiction[4]
Billboard(favorable)[5]
Common Sense Media[6]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[7]
Melodic[8]
People[9]
PopMatters[2][10]
Rolling Stone[11]
USA Today[12]

The Battle for Everything was met with mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 47, based on 6 reviews.[2] Rolling Stone critic Christian Hoard said, "On Five for Fighting's third album, Ondrasik's self-pitying ballads overflow with dewy-eyed dreaminess, as his vocals swoon and swoop [...] Piano-based numbers such as "Disneyland" sport strong melodies, but their mush-headed philosophizing push the limits of poetic indulgence."[11] David Browne, writing for Entertainment Weekly, gave the album a C+, saying "...deep down, [Ondrasik] yearns to be a serious artist making grand statements. The band's third CD is weighed down by artificially inflated anthems, garbled lyrics about the apocalypse, and coy attempts at surrealism."[7]

AllMusic gave Battle a mixed review, criticizing Ondrasik's "pompous narcissism" but also saying he had "turned in a very accomplished, professional record that illustrates he has more ambition than such younger peers like John Mayer," that was "more assured and supple than its predecessor."[13]

Billboard's review of the album was positive, saying that the album "impressively tackled new territory". In contrast to other reviews that said the lyrics were overcomplicated, Billboard wrote that Ondrasik had "a knack for writing dead-simple lyrics and turning them into eye-opening reflection".[14][15] Another favorable review came from People, which selected Battle as a "Critic's Choice" and said it was "a grown-up work rich in melody, lyrical depth and solid musicianship".[16]

Commercial performance

Battle for Everything debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 chart in February 2004. Its first single, "100 Years" was another top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album was certified Gold in the United States on May 11, 2004 and Platinum on October 19, 2009.[17] It has sold over 958,000 copies in the United States as of November 2009.[18]

Track listing

All songs written by John Ondrasik, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."NYC Weather Report" (Ondrasik, Curt Schneider, Andrew Williams)4:53
2."The Devil in the Wishing Well"3:31
3."If God Made You"4:17
4."100 Years"4:05
5."Angels & Girlfriends"3:29
6."Dying"3:18
7."Infidel"3:33
8."Disneyland"3:53
9."Maybe I"4:30
10."The Taste"3:10
11."One More for Love" (Ondrasik, Bill Bottrell, Schneider, Williams)4:13
12."Nobody"5:10

Bonus disc
  1. "Silent Night" – 3:42
  2. "Superman (It's Not Easy)" [Acoustic] – 3:43
  3. "Something About You" – 4:01
  4. "Sister Sunshine" – 2:58
  5. "2 + 2 Makes Five" – 2:41

Charts

References
  1. "John Ondrasik | Yamaha Artists". www.yamaha.com. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  2. "The Battle For Everything by Five For Fighting". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Battle for Everything - Five for Fighting". AllMusic. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  4. "Review of "The Battle for Everything" by Five for Fighting". Alternative Addiction. February 13, 2004. Archived from the original on May 24, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  5. "The Battle for Everything". Archived from the original on August 16, 2004. Retrieved December 30, 2012. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  6. Goldmark, Kathi Kamen. "The Battle for Everything - Music Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  7. Browne, David (February 6, 2004). "The Battle for Everything". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  8. Winberg, Pär. "Five for Fighting - The Battle for Everything". Melodic. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  9. "Picks and Pans Review: The Battle for Everything". People. Vol. 61, no. 6. Time Inc. February 16, 2004. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  10. Goldstein, Todd (June 23, 2004). "Five for Fighting: The Battle for Everything". PopMatters. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  11. Hoard, Christian (January 28, 2004). "Five for Fighting: The Battle for Everything". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on February 5, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  12. Gardner, Elysa (February 2, 2004). "Twista resonates, Connick impersonates". USA Today. Gannett. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  13. The Battle for Everything - Five for Fighting | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2020-09-28
  14. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (2004-01-31). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  15. The Battle For Everything by Five for Fighting, retrieved 2020-09-28
  16. "Picks and Pans Review: The Battle for Everything". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  17. "American album certifications – Five for Fighting – The Battle for Everything". Recording Industry Association of America.
  18. Trust, Gary (November 6, 2009). "Ask Billboard: Swift's Latest 'Fearless' Feat". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  19. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 104.
  20. "Five for Fighting Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  21. "Five for Fighting Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  22. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
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