Garth Brooks - Classic or Dud?

sometimes when the streetlights glitter in my eyes on particularly ember-hot evenings i glimpse a fissure through the historical accident that made hip-hop important and good to us, and young country so worthless-seeming; i see into the philip k dick alternaverse where the south didn't just lose the civil war but the civil rights war as well, and white southerners became seriously oppressed [and blacks actually empowered], and country music became the voice of their grievances - and it oddly sounds much the same, although i always wish country top hits were more violent, sneering, hateful, brazenly sexual, bent on rewiring and reconfiguring technology and culture, etc.

instead, garth is a sort of mythical clone-man, the first truly soulless technological country star, with the madonna style hands free mic attached to his face, with the incredible demonstration of the power of the more efficient modern payola to make an elvis out of a schmuck. of course for me as i suppose for most of you he is simply the necessary missing link that gave rise to shania, who is actually quite enjoyable.

Two kinds of people: those who reconfigure technology, and those who lose their jobs whne technology is reconfigured. Country music exists for the benefit of the latter.

Do not make me hurt you.

of course, add one letter to "garth" and you get....

Without a doubt, the most commercial music I have ever heard, by far. And not commercial in a bad way, either.

I respond to the best of Garth's music the same way I respond to a really well-put together cabinet, or kitchen. Nobody's going to mistake him for Hank Williams, but that doesn't mean he's not talented.

Want proof? Look for Calling Baton Rouge, That Summer, or I'm Much Too Young To Feel This Damn Old.

That must lead to some embarrassing incidents when you go on home tours.

I thought I had blocked the whole album out of my mind until, when visiting my mom for Mother's Day last weekend, I heard "Friends in Low Places" and "Unanswered Prayers" on the modern country station she listens to when she drives. To my horror, I still remember all the words to these songs. While "Friends In Low Places" is okay, "Unanswered Prayers" is some really terrible shit. I kind of want to listen to the whole album again so I can determine what the exact okay to shit ratio is. I have a feeling the scale's going to sway in the direction of shit and at some point I'll call my mom and jokingly acuse her of child abuse for letting me listen to that repeatedly for over a year before expanding our CD collection.

Thinking about this now, though, I wonder if having such limited selection then has something to do with my current habit of obsessive CD hoarding.

Try the version of "Friends" by Mark Chesnutt. He makes it sound kinda tragic, like a dose of some self-immolating drunk's bitter humor. Garth turns it into a "rowdy" goodtime crowd-pleaser.

"Unanswered Prayers" is an abomination, just the most complacent shit imaginable. Guy sees his old girlfriend at a highschool football game, realizes how lucky he is that they didn't end up getting married. So he sends a thank-you note to Jesus. And this guy's supposed to be a country singer. Hell, Conway Twitty would've lured her under the bleachers for old time's sake and then felt exquisitely guilty about it for the next 15 years. And Jerry Lee Lewis wouldn't have even remembered her in the first place.

I'd like to hear more, though, on why Edd considers him a menace.

and then i listen to one of half a dozen or so of his songs and i am moved by them--to dance, to sing along loudly, to even cry, his belief in the mass power of spectacle is fascaniting.

some other things--i think his poliitics--both textually and intertextually-- as personal, as bascially about being nice to each other, about the power of community, and even the sort of least of my brethen thing is very seperate from people like toby keith--though the arguments that kieth makes in favour of war are similar, and i think that his position on queer issues was strangely forward, and how many people assume that nu-country is homophobic, it is a blank issue or at least one that is heavily coded, and that might be garth.

and conceptually, making a middle of the road rock album, is v. similar to the connections made in the company after him, kenny chesney talking about journey, the john mellencamp stuff and even big and riches obsession with southern rock--there is something fecund about chris gaines/his song on kiss my ass, the tribute album, but im not sure what it is birthing.

he left his wife--and i dont remember it being that much of a scandal, but left her for trisha yearwoood, and he chose to leave his career on top (though country weekly is counting back the time when comes back from retirement, and it would not suprise me if he was producing or writing) but i think that he ruined her career, and she is trying to break free from that, have a comeback and i think that trisha yearwood is as good or better then the women before her--a straight matrrilenaral(sp) line from mother maybelle to kitty wells to patsy cline to loretta lynn to tanya tucker to trisha yearwood, and that his blankness suggests a lack of care towards his new wife.a

"He got bored one day down in Houston and decided to fuse George Strait with Styx and Journey." -- Jim Hunter

"You see him up there on stage and it's like he's gettin' away with murder." -- some guy in his band early 90s.

I don't mind Garth in general, but "Unanswered Prayers" gets my goat.

revive cuz i was listening to "fences" tonight and it is a great slice of mid90s twangy pop

i grew up on this ish

actually come to think of it i prob only listened to it a couple times on this one road trip when i was 12 but still ARTIFACT OF CHILDHOOS UP IN THIS YALL

Classic

i lucked across a used copy of the hits real cheap about two yers ago, and there's some utter crap ("unanswered prayers," for sure, and i don't particularly like "standing outside the fire"). but the two highest points—"friends in low places" and "rodeo"—are about as high as country got in the early 90s for sure, maybe the whole decade. maybe as good as pop got.

and against everything, too—simpleminded, straightforward, none of the narrative/perspective complexity that so much great country has, a pretty limited voice, not much emotional nuance. but he distilled all that into some really remarkable stuff. when you hear "friends" in a redneck dive when you're half-drunk, it's enough to make you fall in love with every other person in there.

that said, i doubt i'll ever expand my collection beyond this disc. i do wish it had "beaches of cheyenne" on it.

Isn't he fairly socially liberal (We Shall Be Free)? I'm not sure what the "menace" is in "what he represents" that some posters are talking about upthread. GB always struck me as twangy exurban c&w pop more than the kind of populist right-wing id that many people here seem to associate with country sometimes. That's why he was so popular.

b double e double r. u. n. = genius.

Borrowed from Todd Snider, though.

The Billy Joel of country, he's shameless and a craftsman and that's OK. "Rodeo" -- I like that one.

he did have a hit called "shameless."

there's some dumb shit posted upthread.

Without a doubt, the most commercial music I have ever heard, by far. And not commercial in a bad way, either.

I know this is a compliment, but wtf at the last sentence.

The Billy Joel of country, he's shameless

he did have a hit called "shameless."

And it was a Billy Joel cover!

I actually think he improved on those Todd Snider and Mark Chestnut songs, too. (Never really got what people think "Beer Run" was one of Garth's best songs, though -- It doesn't even seem all that clever, and I say that as somebody who goes on lots of beer runs. Way way way prefer Gary Allan's version of Snider's "Alright Guy," for instance.)

he did have a hit called "shameless."

and on it, he growls louder and more frequently than gary stewart. 'at's how you know he means it.

but that same lack of subtlety is part of what makes 'rodeo' great. i'm not sure a more capable singer could've given into that v. dramatic minor key and keyboard line of the verses the way he did. he'll show you drama, all right. and that's all before the guitar noise he makes with his mouth at the final rodeoooooooooooooooowowo-ow.

Gotta say, though, especially working at Billboard, I kinda soured on the guy some. It's not like he's put out much (any?) especially notable music this decade, yet he's been obsessive to point of insanity about driving his world-record lifetime sales numbers up with limited edition for a limited time only box sets, Walmart exclusives, that sort of thing. That's part of his genius too, of course, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I wish Garth was as worried about still making good music as he seems to be about selling it. Once upoin time, he at least made sure fans got their money's worth.

Re: Chesnutt. His best song has to be "Bubba Shot The Jukebox". David Cantwell's Heartaches by the Numbers has it ranked at #300. Also, the best way to enjoy Chesnutt was through his various TV appearances, which he made often when he was charting. Although he still appears on the TV version of the Grand Ole Opry. He was a guest on Ralph Emery's RFDTV show in the summer of 2008 and he was very funny, with a quick wit. I always felt he would be perfect to host one of those Country awards shows.

When one hears "Friends in Low Places" emanate from the male-only third floor (which generally smelled of vomit) of your Uni dormitory for the 100th time, its very easy to become predjudiced against Garth.

Or male-only dormitories.

So, in what way is Mark Chestnutt a "better" singer than Garth?

i obviously think garth, at least on "friends," is the more effective. hence the scare quotes in the first reference.

but chesnutt does have a sonorous baritone and range and control. he's the one who'd fit into the old songbook tradition better, i guess. less dynamic than garth, for sure, but more subtle.

That might explain a lot, actually, given that sometimes I'm convinced my ears have a mental block against subtle sonorous baritones. But I obviously still need to listen to the guy more someday.

Get ready.

Although, noting this, I assume they're not going to bill him as 'our replacement for Danny Gans!'

oddly, i seem to have passed the '90s without consciously hearing a single one of his songs. i'm still not sure i've ever heard one.

Um, seriously? I didn't think it was possible to breathe during the '90s and not have at least heard "Friends in Low Places".

nope.

"that summer" is so classic. best lyrics ever.

i covered "friends in low places" at a charity show for my friends' bands' stolen van/gear and ppl went ape shit. granted, i live in mississippi.

also, flying over the crowd and crying at the end of your show = classic.

Some of the best lessons he learned from Kiss there.

"Friends in Low Places" is a song I'm always singing to myself, out of its insane there-ness.

this lawsuit is hilarious, particularly because Garth supposedly was offered major roles in Twister and Saving Private Ryan: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-615/1557505/garth-brooks-sued-by-ex-partner-claims-singer-ruined-opportunities

GB did a little duet with George Strait last week at the ACM awards and it was really just staggering how hammy and cringe-inducing his stage presence is, how much he was outclassed by Strait to an even greater degree than you'd expect

"He got bored one day down in Houston and decided to fuse George Strait with Styx and Journey." -- Jim Hunter

What are some of the best examples of GB doing this?

Gotta be testing the waters for a tour:

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-615/5770637/garth-brooks-cbs-teaming-up-for-live-concert

The special will feature Brooks, in an intimate setting, paying tribute to the musicians he grew up listening to along with those who have influenced him, including Merle Haggard, George Jones, Simon & Garfunkle, James Taylor, Otis Redding, Bob Seger and George Strait. Throughout the show, Brooks will perform some of their classic songs and show how they influenced his greatest hits.

Poor Artie, can't get Billboard to spell his name right.

I've always been curious about that Vegas show--sounded like it's been Garth solo in sweats with an acoustic guitar, playing whatever he wants to play. I'll watch.

Still chasing the Beatles, I see.

http://themusicuniverse.com/garth-brooks-set-to-release-new-8-disc-boxed-set-nov-28th/

I’ll be at walmart at midnight to get this box set. I’m so damn excited. Can’t wait. I wish walmart would release info to find out how much it will be. GARTH IS BACK!

forgot my tags but, uh, obvs a comment from ned's link. i'll buy this at Reckless instead.

Haha, thought this was a whole other side to you for a minute, j.v.c.

$24.96 for 6 discs?!

Suck on that, Eagles!

Annnnd he's back

http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1718683/garth-brooks-confirms-2014-world-tour.jhtml

the guy said around 2001 that he wouldn't perform again until is youngest daughter was 18, and she turns 18 in 2014. While he did the vegas thing and some big charity shows in between, it's kind of impressive that he put the same kind of restraint and discipline into NOT doing a lot of work that he used to put into doing a lot of work.

should say "Effort" and discipline rather than restraint. restraint's definitely the wrong word to describe garth's way of doing things

'Tis the season for box set. If one of you has extra dough to spend I would not be offended if you got his for me.

does anyone else care about us at all

its martial law west of the Shannon my ppl tell me

Even Nashville hates us!

I heard that the Dail or certain factions therein were trying to see if they could rush legislation in to allow the Garth Brooks gigs to go ahead.
Saw WSM on Facebook complaining that it was the same people who had dragged abortion rights legislation amendments out for the 20+ years I've been in Ireland. But when it came down to something that needed prioritising like stadium country fans being able to see their hero it would obviouls y need to be rushed through the Dáil in a couple of days.

Still haven't actually heard what the story was in why it was given the initial go ahead then stopped but that's a gig by somebody I'm not very interested in on the far side of the country.

Right, just seeing that it was supposed to be happening in Croke Park stadium. Having lived about 4 doors down from there on Jones Rd for about a year and a half 20 years ago I know what it was like to be living there if you didn't have any interest in what was happening in the stadium.

I used to go to the cinema all day on match day afternoons cos I wasn't going to be able to hear myself think otherwise. & the entire area would be flooded with people.

Looks like the Dublin council would only give a license for 3 out of 5 concerts after the gigs had all sold out. I don't understand that, like how could tickets go on sale before a license was granted?

heh yr kinda catching up to the basics here stevo

common enough to wing the permission after being certain there's a crowd to cover yr costs apparently, all tickets sold subject to licence. but there's very specific agreements in place here covering large events and the gaa are 100% the most culpable party here in knowingly planning for blatant and egregious breaches of these clear guidelines once the one direction gigs used up their quota for the year.

Aiken never dreamt that these would be upheld (or more likely never dreamt that the residents association weren't just holding out for more cash- which idk, IMO they probably were but it steamrollered on them so that they couldn't handle it in the end).

DCC, when pushed, absolutely could not but act as they did in refusing the two gigs that were above quota (idk maybe even three allowed was already above the allowed?) but I think they mis-stepped in refusing to countenance any compromise after delivering the shock.

brooks' petulance may be justified ito the economies, again idk. attempting to push around an authority clearly bent on flexing its muscles was a real mistake.

DCC making a clear and legit decision along prescribed guidelines and unapologetically telling whoever didn't like it to read it and weep is a v v v v good thing IMO. same thanks they'll get but hey more of that please from our public bodies.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-garth-brooks-ghost-tunes-itunes-alternative-competition-20140904-story.html

As the opening salvo for GhostTunes, Brooks introduced “The Bundle,” a $29.99 digital package that will include all eight of his studio albums, a new studio album coming this fall and another he’s planning to release next year, plus a 25th anniversary edition of his “Double Live” album.

I hope "The Bundle" is some obscure cowboy terminology I'm unaware of.

his new single sounds poorly recorded :\

You need to hear it on pono.

And then this happened...

http://i.imgur.com/jTMxmAo.jpg

"Yeehaw! I'm not going to do what you tell me!"

A special message for you all (if you were on his email list, I gather):

Hey everyone,
I so appreciate you trusting us with your email and I try not to abuse our direct connection with you. I have a couple of things I would like to make you aware of...first and foremost, our family lost our sister Betsy on Halloween night, 2013. Since then, we have flown the "B 13" on the guitar in her honor. We will fly it one last time on the two shows in Lexington this Halloween night. It has been an honor to fly her salute for the past year, she was and is loved by so many and she will forever be with us every time we take the stage.

Second, from family to the music...a friend of mine at GhostTunes asked if we would take a different look at sampling for this new record...he wanted to know if we would speak a little bit on each song as a snippet of the song was playing. Because he asked, we went into studio and tried it. We were all surprised to hear how cool it turned out. Because it was his idea and his ask, I felt it fair to keep this to GhostTunes. Because it is GhostTunes, Halloween seems like the perfect time. So, for 24 hours, starting at midnight Thursday night, October 30th and for the entire 24 hours of Halloween, 2014, a sneak-peek at the new album will be available...only you all know about it so no sweat if you don't get over there, I just thought you all should be the first to hear it if you wanted to. I really hope you like the new music.

All my love and gratitude...g

I'm still not sure what he's saying in that second paragraph. "Instead of a straight sample, here's me talking over it!"

I still think he should have called it "Ol' Pumpkinhead is Back."

I hope he reads his breakfast bowl recipe over every song

Since then, we have flown the "B 13" on the guitar in her honor

i wonder if someone's ever spotted that in the audience and assumed garth got into parkour

So I realize that this is from a year ago but I can't deal with this.

http://menbat.tumblr.com/post/132745236559/moragbong-this-video-of-garth-brooks

I decided to buy the Garth Brooks vinyl boxset on Amazon. I know what you're thinking, don't buy vinyl on Amazon, support your local retailer, blah blah blah. But this thing was 15 bucks, and it shipped for free. That's fucking crazy! Shipping this probably cost like $7-8 alone! And it's seven records and seven CDs!! If anything, I'm doing my part to bankrupt them! Plus, every album I actually want was delayed 6 months because they had to press a million copies of this stupid thing, so I might as well grab it while I'm waiting.

The thing is, I actually don't know anything about Garth Brooks!! I am sure I have heard his hits but country music is so in one ear and out the other for me. And so I'm listening to No Fences now, trying to figure out how the fuck this thing sold 18,000,000 copies in the US alone. It's some of the blandest shit I have ever heard in my life. The songs are fine, but not exactly great. Garth's voice is about as "generic country dude" as it gets. I actually managed to somehow memory hole "Friends in Low Places" because it's that fucking dumb. And yet this was the breakthrough album for the greatest selling solo artist of all time not named Elvis Presley. It's not like he was only popular for a minute like Lou Bega, he fucking dominated the charts for a solid decade after this. How am I supposed to explain this to my kids?

Credit where it's due, though...the pressing itself is really great!!

ok that's a funny story

oooh wait I think I get it now, it's that "Unanswered Prayers" song isn't it? must've soundtracked the wedding to every shithead guy who cheated endlessly on their first girlfriend

by the way I don't wanna make it sound like I'm down on Garth Brooks. he's one of the original "dudes rock" guys. everything he does is funny for reasons I can't really explain

Dude is doing crazy business this year. Just gargantuan shows. And is finally going to get to do the five nights in Ireland that he canceled back in '14. Still not streaming, though.

Am I the only one kinda blown away by this tour? He sold 86,000 tickets in both Boise and Lincoln, Nebraska. 140,000 in Minneapolis. 120,000 in Edmonton. The show in Baton Rouge registered on a seismograph.