Garth Brooks Set For Nothing Short of World Domination
In late October when the 52-year-old Garth Brooks was getting set to announce he was officially coming out of retirement, Saving Country Music spoke in-depth about how the return of Garth could have a “colossal” impact on the genre. Well apparently, this prediction was a bit too measured.
Subsequently as Garth Brooks continues to square away his affairs and flesh out the specifics of his comeback, it is apparent that the country superstar is set for nothing short of world domination. “If I may say so, the whole goal in life is to make whatever you’ve done before look small,” is what Garth told “The Talk” earlier this month. Take into consideration, this is coming from the man who is the third highest-selling music artist in history behind Elvis and The Beatles in the United States. So how is Garth planning to trump his own apogee?
Forget about any new, original music or tours for a second, let’s first sit back and appreciate what Garth has done with his Blame It All On My Roots box set released on November 28th. When Garth announced the end of his retirement, many believed he didn’t have a chance in the new music paradigm. The industry had changed so much in the dozen years since he left, and some 20 years after he was arguably at his peak of relevancy. How could Garth be successful, especially if he wasn’t willing to kowtow to iTunes and the digital world? But for a release that is not on iTunes, not anywhere digitally, and can only be purchased at Wal-Mart, Blame It All On My Roots has been positively dominating the charts, outselling huge releases from major, top-tier pop acts like One Direction, Brittney Spears, Eminem, etc., sitting well-ensconced at the top of the country music albums chart, and #2 in all of music, selling nearly 700,000 copies so far and still going strong.
And this is all with virtually no radio play, and not a spec of original music. Blame it all on the box set being the perfect Christmas gift and an impulse buy for many, but Blame It All On My Roots proves that the appeal for Garth’s music remains massive, and doesn’t need radio play or iTunes to have a commercial impact.
But this is all still posturing. The box set is simply a bellweather at best, and its success will probably be dwarfed by Garth’s future actions in the coming months and years. New, original music from Garth is what the American public is really salivating for, and what will have the greatest impact.
As will a tour, and from what Garth is saying, his upcoming tour could be legendary, spanning the globe, and transpiring over a total of three years. And once again, Garth says he wants it to be “…bigger than anything we’ve done. That’s the goal.” Flying out over Texas Stadium suspended on wires?…eat your heart out.
Garth told Electric Barnyard, “Our job is to make sure that these people that came in the 90’s come back and go, ‘Gah dang it, I didn’t know it could get any better.’ …We’re on the blueprints right now. We’re going to build a stage and a lighting rig that will hopefully blow people away. And we’ve actually got a sound system that has never been used before that’s coming, a new technology. So everyone in the room can feel the thump. We’re going to bring it in, we’re going to be proud of it, and it’s going to be loud.”
But the tour will likely not transpire until the fall of 2014, so what will tide fans over? Brooks once again hints to grandiose plans, telling Nashville’s NewsChannel 5, “There is something that could be happening between now and the tour that might be the biggest thing I’ve ever tried to take on. I’m excited. If it comes to fruition, and it looks like it’s going to, it will be the biggest thing I’ve ever tried to attempt. I’m really excited about it. It’ll be done right, it’ll be done quality. I’m in love with the idea and we just have to see if it’s going to happen. We’ll know within the next four weeks or so.”
But what about new music? Garth has been locked in a rather public battle with iTunes and other digital music sellers, unwilling to release his catalog to them because of many grievances, principally that he doesn’t want to piecemeal out his albums by selling individual songs. iTunes is unwilling to give Garth special treatment, likely because this could set off a cavalcade of stars wanting iTunes to give their albums special pricing or to make their songs available only through albums. But what Garth proved with the Blame It All On My Roots box set is that he doesn’t need wide distribution for his music to be commercially successful. He can completely circumvent the entire distribution system of the music industry and still have a #1 release. At the same time, the lack of digital distribution may not allow Garth to achieve that “make whatever you’ve done before look small” goal.
What to do about new music might be the missing piece in Garth’s plans for country music domination. We know he wants to release new tunes, but how to have it live up to the same world-beating status he’s trying to achieve with his tour and the upcoming January surprise is the question.
Nonetheless, Garth has a release at the very top of the charts, a massive, worldwide tour in the works, and something special planned for in between. The accumulative effect of all of this is that Garth Brooks is very much back, and a dominant, undisputed feature in the country music landscape once again.
December 30, 2013 @ 5:08 pm
I won’t be going to see him or nor will I be buying his music. I don’t dislike him I despise him with ever core of my body. There was a time when he seemed humble in the first part of his career but looking back that was an act. The real Garth the coincided,arrogant, ego maniac finally showed up.
December 30, 2013 @ 5:41 pm
Yeah… flying over stadiums on wires and the whole creepy Chris Gaines things ruined him for me sadly. I really don’t like his stance on trying to force people to buy entire albums either (instead of being able to buy the songs they really want). He doesn’t need the money for sure and it really seems to go against caring about his fans (it’s like the attitude of a greedy record company really). I’ve always enjoyed buying full albums because one of the joys of music is discovering really great songs that weren’t promoted. But, I think people should have the ability to choose. I’ve had so many full cassettes and CD’s that I’ve bought over the year where I was really upset with the quality level of everything but the one single hit song that was being promoted.
It will be interesting to see what happens though.
December 30, 2013 @ 7:03 pm
Garth Brooks has a history of wanting all the money from his music as possible, like when Blockbuster Music tried to sell used CD’s right beside new ones. We see who won that fight. But there is something to be said for the album concept and the wider context an albums gives songs. I’m sure a lot of this has to do with money, but I wish more people paid attention to the album concept as well.
December 30, 2013 @ 7:18 pm
100% agree trigger but that doesnt mean we shouldnt have the option to purchase just a few cherry picked songs of our liking.
December 31, 2013 @ 12:20 am
Even as a wholehearted supporter of the “album concept” myself, it’s a little hard to justify. Sure, albums are intended to be taken as single works of art, but it’s a much more complicated concept. Firstly, 90% of all albums are simply collections of songs, regardless of the artist’s intentions. An album like “Red Headed Stranger” where all of the songs add to one another in terms of lyrics and musicianship are one in several thousand, it seems. With this in mind, it’s hard not to want to buy individual songs, regardless of how good the album may or may not be as a whole. It’s even harder to justify album purchases when one considers the fact that many record labels take an artists best songs and sprinkle them over several different releases to get the most out of fans (see Curb Records, etc.). Also, not everyone has the financial means to buy every album they want for $11 a piece (or $30 if you’re still a vinyl listener) when they can get a single MP3 of the song they KNOW they like from iTunes or Amazon for $1.29. This, by extension, is why compilation albums are such huge sellers: they offer more bang for the buyer’s buck (which I know that you’re not a fan of because it robs the songs of context). When it comes right down to it, most music listeners are not serious music fans, so they could care less what context the songs are in as long as they get to listen to them.
Speaking of compilations, I don’t really see the logic in Garth taking an anti-single approach with his music. Claiming that he doesn’t want iTunes to separate his albums and then issuing yet another hits collection with his new box set is complete hypocrisy. What does he think a compilation is? A second-hand studio release? No, it’s a COLLECTION OF SINGLES. As has been hinted at, the real issue here seems to be money and little else. I just don’t think that Garth wants Apple to take as large a slice of his pie as they want through downloads. And with sales of 700,000 units he has little reason to bite now. I wonder how Apple managed to talk AC/DC into allowing their catalog to be sold through the retailer? Aside from Garth, they were one of the last major holdouts.
January 2, 2014 @ 12:06 pm
It makes sense when you realize that money isn’t the driving force behind his behavior. 20 years ago Garth stated that he has more money than his grandchildren could ever spend.
It’s his ego that drives him. He wants nothing more than to upset the Beatles in terms of total album sales, so he has that goal in mind in everything he does.
December 30, 2013 @ 10:43 pm
I totally, totally support buying albums, in fact, I have never bought a lone mp3 track in my life. But his whole: “you buy the album or you buy nothing at all” attitude annoys me. I have no desire to listen to his stuff (I heard all I need to thanks to my ex, who was a huge fan), but if I did, that kind of money grubbing attitude would definitely encourage me to get the music from those people who like to “share” their music.
December 30, 2013 @ 6:02 pm
Garth is no dummy http://money.cnn.com/interactive/technology/itunes-music-decline/
Illegal sharing also caused a huge decline in music sales and that along with iTunes selling singles seems to be the 2 biggest causes. What’s wrong with everyone including iTunes going back to selling only radio singles as singles and the rest album only?
December 31, 2013 @ 3:00 pm
As much as this stance seems to be driven mostly by money, artists have been receiving less and less for their music as time has gone on, and now with Spotify, their payout is ridiculous. Is Garth Brooks greedy? Of course. BUt I do think the payout for music is a real problem that is getting worse, and regardless of what you feel about Garth, his stance helps raise this issue.
January 2, 2014 @ 3:49 am
so with artist like Garth making less and less on album sales that could be the reason why they are charging an arm and a leg to go see them live in concert. I would rather see less and less on Itunes as long as ticket prices for concerts would go down.
January 1, 2014 @ 2:49 pm
In all the interviews he’s given since the release his main argument against the ‘cherry picking’ is that the songwriters who contributed the non-single songs don’t get paid, and if we lose the songwriters we lose the music, period. I agree with that. Plus, although I’ve not worked with him, I have several friends who have and claim he’s quite easy to work with and not arrogant or demanding at all. They were quite surprised.
December 30, 2013 @ 6:57 pm
Garth may not be as principled as Dale Watson or as good a writer as Jason Isbell, but whether we like him or not, he is the only realistic chance of country music being steered in the right direction. Is “thunder rolls” as good a song as “he stopped lovig her today”? Hell no. But it’s sure a hell of a lot better than some wanna be frat boy shaking his ass in the back of his lifted truck to a song he didn’t even write. I feel garth is a decent artist with good intentions. I don’t think any one person could “change” country music completely, but if there ever was anyone who could give a wake up call to music row, it would be garth. Now lets just hope he doesn’t start rapping…
December 31, 2013 @ 1:26 pm
I’ll disagree and say that the only real wake-up call is going to have to come from some one much younger that appeals younger Country fans.
I seriously don’t think a 50+ year old arrogant bald guy that won’t allow his music to be sold on iTunes is going to have the mass appeal to do anything.
I could be wrong though. At this point almost anyone could become a symbol from the anti ‘Bro’ country movement.
December 31, 2013 @ 3:02 pm
I could give you 700,000 reasons you could be wrong.
I agree though, it probably will need to be someone younger. But the way the industry has locked out younger traditional artists, it may take a past superstar to break the bro country Monopoly. (though bro country continues to not be a Saving Country Music-approved term).
December 30, 2013 @ 8:34 pm
Some artists I might pay for the album but not in this case. I get most of my promos from Airplay Direct where I can still Cherry Pick.
December 30, 2013 @ 8:38 pm
As you mentioned there is no way that Garth will be able to fully reach the widest audience if he doesn’t embrace the digital world. Assuming there will be a new album the singles will struggle on the charts with the digital sales portion being zero and the album will also underperform what it would achieve. I think ‘Blame It All On My Roots’ could somewhat sidestep this by being a box set with concert DVD and other extras. A standard 12,14,16 song album will need that digital component much more in my opinion.
So if he is really serious about this he is going to have work something out with iTunes. And they have the leverage on him in this negotiation I think.
December 30, 2013 @ 9:51 pm
Really? Why all the grandiose bullshit? Why not just write and play music? A few months ago GB came up in conversation with my 29 year old roommate (which happens to be very astute and nuanced in traditional Country, red dirt/Texas, Americana and Popular music). I asked her about Garth, and her response was “egomaniac”. So I repeat – WHY all the GRANDIOSE BULLSHIT Garth? I’ll listen, but I’m already suspect.
December 31, 2013 @ 1:28 pm
Ha – yep. The article makes it sound like all his hopes and dreams are pinned on some fancy new sound system. Kind of like the annoying guy that has to have you come over to his house to check out his new toy or something.
December 31, 2013 @ 3:05 pm
Maybe, but I don’t think it is smart to underestimate Garth, which I’m seeing a lot of people do, especially people who don’t particularly like him.
December 30, 2013 @ 11:04 pm
I sincerely hope he goes nowhere, He’s the reason I quit listening to Country music back in the early 90’s, I would shut the radio off every time his songs came on, and they over played the hell out of him, so my radio pretty much stayed off, so I switched to rock. It wasn’t till a couple years ago I got hooked on Miranda Lambert, after hearing White Liar, Now I’m back to Country, and can’t stand the thought of Garth coming back, I just absolutely can;t stand that guy.
December 31, 2013 @ 1:31 pm
Uhhh…. seriously? Garth turned you off and Miranda turned you back on? We’re talking about the same Miranda that sang “Fastest Girl in Town” and walked around wearing dresses so tight her chubby boobs almost popped out on the CMA’s? We’re talking about the same Miranda that farts and gets an award?
I have about the same respect for both of them (and I do have respect for both of them). It’s like comparing two flavors of cheese though.
January 1, 2014 @ 12:21 pm
There are things to love about modern mainstream country, but Miranda Lambert’s faux sassy girl bullshit isn’t one of them. If I hear one more rehash of Gunpowder and Lead with a different title (of which the atrocious “White Liar” belongs), I’m going to go ballistic.
Why can’t she just record songs like “Over You” and “All Kinds of Kinds,” primarily? We don’t need this angry, bitchin’ about men garbage. While I dig Kacey Musgraves, I’m particularly turned off of her over “Mama’s Broken Heart,” arguably Lambert’s worst song to date, and a real smudge on Musgraves’ songwriting. At least she’s 24 or 25 and has room to grow, Lambert has peaked until she hits 40 and grows up enough to just calm the hell down.
December 31, 2013 @ 1:46 am
I think all the Garth hate on here is hilarious. Having seen his show in its heyday and having bought his albums before, I can say he is a favorite artist of mine. While he’s never been a favorite of many people, his effect on country music is unmistakeable, like it or not.
And yeah, he IS out for every dime he can get, and he made millions. You know how he did it? He kept his ticket and merch prices low. Even other, more beloved artists either didn’t do that, or didn’t have the power to. As far as his feud with iTunes, it’s great. He’s showing the industry that artists can operate outside the box. While I like iTunes, this is a good way to show an alternate model of distribution.
Frankly, I think whatever he’s planning should be interesting.
December 31, 2013 @ 6:07 am
Shame he didn’t do something simply because he loved the music …..
December 31, 2013 @ 7:15 am
Actually he do love his music. Unlike most of today’s mainstream stars, he didn’t start out as a superstar. He did it first in clubs. He does love his music. Only his tastes is broader to include not just country but also arena rock and 70’s singer-songwriter stuff. He like them all without irony (unlike most of today’s pretentious hipsters). Yes, it isn’t cool to pledge allegiance to Kiss and Billy Joel (even in the pretentious hipster dominated rock and indie pop world it isn’t cool to claim you’re a fan of those) but he adores them. He also like Conway Twitty and Merle Haggard and Keith Whitley.
I believe music is subjective. Yes I agree there should be variety on radio but if a person enjoys music I don’t necessarily like, I won’t go ballistic into judging him for having an inferior taste than mine. He have fun with it then let him enjoy it.
With Garth’s case, he found a way to not only play the music he likes but also to market it for broader audience. After all he graduated college with a degree in advertising and his arena show while it may look ridiculous to some, for him it doesn’t because he grew up watching them. It’s just like a kid fulfilling his dreams to be able to do those things with the kind of music he grew up.
With regards to why he chose the country genre, I think it has something to do with marketing. If he chose the pop or rock venue, he won’t be able to write and cover country songs (and his brand of country borders on very traditional like Cowboys and Angels and Not Counting You and pop-country with more emphasize on the country part) and he loves country music the same way he loves James Taylor and Billy Joel. Well he might be but he won’t get that much airplay or be embraced by rock and pop fans. But in the country market, he can write pure country songs, country oriented pop songs, cover Aerosmith (Fever), have an arena rock stage, and still be embraced by the industry.
In 1991 he crossed over to pop without even changing his sound.
And his Chris Gaines project was not bad at all if view through the pop lens. And he had no pretense of claiming it a country album, hence a name change so as to warn fans ‘hey if you don’t like pop-rock don’t buy this stuff.’
My perspective may not mean much since I’m a pop fan who came to country in my high school days right after hearing Collin Raye, Rascal Flatts, and Garth Brooks and later on Alan Jackson, George Strait, Randy Travis, and more later discovering Hank Williams,George Jones, Bill Monroe, Stanley Bros, Clyde Moody, Johnny Cash when I was a freshman college thanks much to the internet and the CMT Radio feature on their website back in 2004.
December 31, 2013 @ 10:44 am
Well, as others have mentioned, he DOES love music. Check out the new box set for proof of how much of a music fan he is. While it may not be “deep cuts” or overlooked music that the legion of hardcore fans like, it’s obvious he has love for music.
I don’t think that liking Garth Brooks and liking traditional country music have to be exclusive of each other. That thinking kind of puzzles me. For me, Garth is the exception of “pop country”, as he pays homage to the music that came before him. He even mentions (and covers) Haggard and Jones songs in his box set. Not exactly someone who doesn’t like classic country, is it?
January 1, 2014 @ 12:39 am
OK, I can see that I haven’t really been clear in what I meant. Yes, he might LOVE music but surely if his return was actually ABOUT the music he could have recorded a few songs and put them out there for the fans for nothing rather than create an elaborate box set.
January 1, 2014 @ 5:34 am
The fact that the box set sold out means his fans must have bought and like it.
Second, he did put new recordings. These box set are not compilation of past recordings. 4 out of the 6 compact discs are new studio recordings (the two are his Ultimate Hits CD released few years back). Only they’re covers and the reason why they’re covers is because he wanted to honor his musical roots before embarking on his official return. It’s sort of a prelude so people might know what to expect on the kind of music he’s playing.
If this was a small artist, from a marketing stand point it wouldn’t be wise to release an elaborate box set. A single Cd will do. But he’s Garth Brooks. He knows fans will buy it. And it is not a coincidence that he released it on Christmas season. All part of the marketing, which is fine if you’re also making a living from your singing. But to claim Garth never cared about his music is ridiculous. If he hadn’t cared about music, he could just have released a box set featuring a disc of outtakes, a greatest hits, a live cd, and whatever they could find from the archives. But he didn’t He recorded new stuff because I believe he cares for the fans and their money’s worth.
January 2, 2014 @ 1:09 pm
Just because he’s a famous musician doesn’t mean he doesn’t do it for the love of music.
I think a lot of artists that people dangle over Garth’s head as “superior” sold out harder than Garth ever did. George Strait definitely sold out harder than Garth ever did.
December 31, 2013 @ 6:47 am
I think Garth Brooks is insane. Like, not in the slang sense, but literally insane. I don’t really put to much stock in what he has to say.
Did you see his eyes in the TV special? He looked crazy. The whole act was basically about his life, which strongly fits with the claim that he is egomaniacal.
And the whole Chris Gaines thing is still way too weird for me to ignore. Having said all that, he just may be the one to “save” country music because he clearly harbors messianic visions.
December 31, 2013 @ 7:10 am
Canuck – love your response. Can’t argue with any of it. While not one of my favorite people, he is a amazing artist and he is our generation’s Elvis, Beatles, etc (numbers don’t lie). Itunes, digital, whatever, It’s his music. If he has the balls to tell Apple or whoever to get bent, then that’s his choice. I never begrudge a person for success.
Last week on a road trip, I started listening to his catalog without stopping. I made it through “Garth Brooks”, ” No Fences”, “Ropin the Wind”, and all the way to the end of “The Chase” before skipping a song (Face to Face). Not many artists I can do that with . “No Fences” is just a great country album, chalk full of great country tunes.
Whatever he does, let’s celebrate that our generations’ great entertainer, is alive, healthy, driven, and talented enough to keep going. My parents didn’t have that chance with Elvis, or The Beatles.
December 31, 2013 @ 8:16 am
I to support the album concept. Hell if I was Garth why not do my own digital download service on my own website that only allows album downloads. Not a huge fan but have respect for his business sense here. Garth may start a trend for other artists to follow before the album concept dies off. I would love to see the idea of the album saved.
December 31, 2013 @ 8:54 am
I always laugh at the Garth haters and the arguments they make.
“He’s so selfish to sell his music as albums only” (he should sell it the way I want it sold…song by song so I can pick- who’s selfish?)
By the way, his stand against song by song stuff is all due to the free downloading/sharing that truly ruined the quality of music. If you think iTunes is freedom for fans, well, then you don’t know freedom.
And it is your right to buy the music you want, and it’s his right to sell his music as he wants.
“He’s an egomaniac” (because he doesn’t let corporate suits push their agenda over his)
Very very very few haters cite his music as the reason for their hate, which, the music is what it is all about, right? I don’t know to many artists that aren’t “egomaniacs” over their own art. I don’t know to many that wouldn’t love to dictate how their music is sold. (by the way, when I go to a small show of some underground artist, I generally have to by the who album at the merch tent…I can’t just pick a couple songs)
What I keep hearing lately from Garth (including how his Vegas show was done) is he is taking shots at the quality of music/song/production of tours, etc… of todays top performers.
Quotes from Garth-
“If I may say so, the whole goal in life is to make whatever you”™ve done before look small,”
– this to me, is him taking a shot at artists that have one big hit or album and then their work goes vanilla or “safe”.
“…we”™re going to be proud of it…”
– Pride??? hmmm. Where has that gone in music lately?
“I”™m really excited about it. It”™ll be done right, it”™ll be done quality.”
– Done right and quality. Sure seems like a shot at all the garbage out there now that is tossed up just to get something on the radio or TV.
I think people underestimate Garth’s impact. To say he can’t keep up in todays music world is absurd. Granted they are resting in peace, if The Beatles reunited or Elvis came back, they would blow the doors off music today. Garth is what they are…but he is still living and only 52.
Are his shows traditional country… no. Is he the most talented guy..no. But he has as much respect for the artists that came before him and the music as anyone.
– You are the only one you are screwin’, when you put down what you don’t understand.
December 31, 2013 @ 9:05 am
One more time for those with weak Garth arguments:
CHRIS GAINES WAS A CHARACTER GARTH PLAYED FOR A MOVIE CALLED “THE LAMB” ABOUT AN ENTERTAINER.
THE PROJECT NEVER GOT FULLY COMPLETED BUT GARTH DELIVERED ON THE ALBUM WHICH WAS THE SOUNDTRACK TO THE MOVIE.
Album was released, movie never happened.
GARTH DIDN’T THINK HE WAS CHRIS GAINES! GARTH DIDN’T WANT TO BE CHRIS GAINES! IT WASN’T REAL!!!!
Any questions?
December 31, 2013 @ 10:10 am
I’ve always felt that is the worst justification of the whole Chris Gaines fiasco. Every time it gets brought up someone yells, “But the movie didn’t get made!” Like that somehow explains the stupidity of the idea or the awfulness of the resulting music.
Don’t get me wrong, I like many Garth songs and he’s a clear upgrade over almost every artist on the radio today. BUT Garth has always been about the packaging and the spectacle, which is reflected in the quotes above.
December 31, 2013 @ 10:48 am
…and a ton of other country stars HAVEN’T been about the packaging and spectacle? I think it’s obvious that he gets singled out because he’s been the most successful at it, and the biggest example, but certainly not the only one.
December 31, 2013 @ 10:53 am
Well yeah, since Garth showed everyone how it’s done it’s only been about packaging and spectacle. That’s my point – he set the ball rolling in a very bad direction.
Who BEFORE Garth was more about spectacle than him? Maybe Dolly? Maybe Bocephus? They were in a different era where spectacle only go you so far.
January 2, 2014 @ 5:50 am
You’re right. Just packaging and spectacle. That’s all it is to get to #3 of all time.
Wonder where he came up with that package and spectacle? Probably just some hack marketing people right? I’ve heard of some of those poeple:
Kiss
RollingStones
Bob Seger
George Strait
Chris Ledoux
Led Zep
Elton John
Billy Joel
You’re right…who did it before him?
January 2, 2014 @ 5:44 am
I’m not endorsing or knocking the project “The Lamb”. In my opinion it’s pretty hard to make a call on a project like that when there’s no finished product. What I’ve always been confused about is how folks took it so literal. Garth was playing a character and to promote and build the movie, he took on that character in a few appearances before the movie was released. Trying to build it up, but that idea fell flat. Thus the whole project got scrapped.
For people to have taken him seriously in 1999 as becoming Chris Gaines and not a character is laughable. What is down right concerning is that people still seem to think he wanted to be Chris Gaines. It was a project he wanted to do, he gave it a shot, it failed. You know any other stars that take a risk like that and fall flat on their face? Stars that are arrogant and self-centered? I don’t.
Also, the music for “The Lamb”, is strictly pop music. And from that perspective, it isn’t awful.
January 2, 2014 @ 2:11 pm
That’s another argument that people always make about the Chris Gaines thing: the album wasn’t that bad for pop music.
Really? I went and listened to it a few months ago. Most of the songs are laugh-out-loud awful. I challenge anyone to actually listen to it and tell me otherwise. I’m a guy that likes and appreciates good pop music by the way.
I think you’re right in your other comment, though. Garth is the KISS of country music. He’ll always be marketable, have a huge dedicated following, and he has some really great songs if you filter out the crap. As for the country guys, comparing George Strait to Garth… well… we’ll just have to disagree about that one. Dusty Chandler’s mullet is rolling in its grave.
January 2, 2014 @ 7:00 pm
The Gaines character music is a matter of opinion. So we can disagree on that.
I wasn’t comparing Garth to Strait, but more that he was influenced by Strait. As well as Kiss. Strait doesn’t have a problem with Garth’s productions, but I think his shots at it in Pure Country and “Murder on Music Row” are at everyone who tried to be Garth and ruined country. Only Garth can do what Garth does.
June 19, 2019 @ 8:17 pm
He also who has a degree in marketing. Its all about getting peoples attention. He knows how to do it and does it extremely well. The spectacle as its commonly called here is all part of the sales pitch.
Given ticket prices for concerts these days, don’t know about anyone here , but $200 to see an artist with an 5 pce band and some tree lights flashing back stage,singing a safe re-rash of whats on the album seems like a rip of to me. I get that on a cd in my living room every time I have BBQ.
December 31, 2013 @ 1:57 pm
Part of me hopes the surprise for January is that the movie is finally getting made so maybe people will stop falsely referring to the Gaines project as some sort of identity crisis. Plus it overlooks the fact that the album was actually decent when taken as the ’90s top 40 pop music it was meant to be.
December 31, 2013 @ 4:30 pm
I’ll make it easy on Garth and my ability to purchase his songs.
I will take a pass.
I wouldn’t download his music if he was giving it away.
Give me a small venue and someone like Robert Earl Keen, Jerry Jeff or the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band any day of the week over the arena crowd.
Of course, my effort to avoid watching and reading about Garth and his fanfare will be even more of a challenge than my effort to avoid the Sochi Olympics.
December 31, 2013 @ 5:34 pm
Was just reading through the comments, and I don’t get what everyone’s problem is. Why do some think they should have the “right” to purchase music however you want? I’m not much into Garth, but it is his music. Good for him for making his own terms and doing things his own way. Not selling on iTunes may wind up costing him, but it’s his risk to take. And the money? Again, it’s his music, so I don’t blame him at all for sharing as little of that piece of pie as possible. Why should so many others profit off of your work? The guy has a total Waylon attitude, yet most of you praise Waylon, but Garth is greedy. I don’t get it.
December 31, 2013 @ 5:37 pm
And, by the way, I think a greedy guy would charge more than $25 for a box set, but that’s just me.
December 31, 2013 @ 6:03 pm
By this rationale, I guess you think he should set up a tent and play free shows outside Wal-Mart.
December 31, 2013 @ 9:10 pm
If Garth’s pop country classification has something to do with his popularity then fine. He is POPular so he is pop-country in a sense. But musically, i don’t think you can classify him as pop-country. Listen to his first 5 albums it definitely ain’t pop-country. Sure there’s a pop sounding song or two but his style, his voice, and his approach to his albums is far from pop-country. There’s no way I would classify him on the same category as Shania Twain, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, and Florida Georgia Line.
January 1, 2014 @ 7:58 am
When garth first started talking of a come back, I was highly skeptical of his ability to sell albums and be relevant, but I think with this box set, he’s proven a lot of us wrong as far as relevancy goes. I mean, think about it for a second…correct me if I’m wrong but, My understanding is that this box set includes “the ultimate hits” an album that came out and went #1 in 2007 or so. He threw this album in with the new box set and took it to number one AGAIN. Love him or hate him, he’s a master of marketing and a lot more substinent in his music than today’s artists.
January 1, 2014 @ 12:06 pm
I wonder if he’s going to launch his own digital music store. I think one problem he has with iTunes is that they have way to big of a market share of digital sales. Garth might start, or be a key investor, in a competitor for iTunes that would sell music from all genres, not just his music. The new service could be run more to Garth’s liking. Neil Young is developing a new audio format and player called “Pono” that is supposed to have far better sound quality than iTunes. Garth may help launch Pono.
January 2, 2014 @ 11:55 am
Garth’s issue with iTunes isn’t nearly that rational. The reason he won’t let his songs be sold individually is the same as the reason he re-released his first six albums as a box set with one new song each (the material would have fit on two or three discs), released a CD with four different covers, and fought against the sale of used CDs, among other things.
The Garth has been obsessed with knocking the Beatles out of the top spot for album sales since early in his career. Allowing people to buy just the songs they wanted could jeopardize his chances of breaking that record.
January 1, 2014 @ 9:33 pm
I’m a fan of Garth’s,bought the box set the weekend it came out.so I welcome what he has coming,i’m sure it’ll be better than mainstream country radio.
January 2, 2014 @ 12:09 am
I’ve got to say first I am a Garth Brooks fan. I don’t consider him a country artist but he has in my opinion recorded country songs. I’ve been a fan since right after “In Pieces” was released. That’s his 4th album.
I was upset after his last concert in Chattanooga, Tn. (my hometown) when he announced he would never play Chattanooga again because it’s too small, but he’s not the only one to make that statement.
I purchased the new box set and my feelings about it are mixed because each item in the box set are so different. I like to give my opinion one each one.
The Ultimate Hits: This is the 3 disc version that includes a dvd of his video hits. The 2 cd’s are great all the hits are there. The dvd is is the second best video collecton he has put out. The best was in the 5 dvd concert collection released by wal-mart some time ago.
Live At The Wynn: If you saw the live concert on CBS you’ve then seen most of this 2 hour dvd (yes the CBS concert was live). The only real differance is a few cuss words here and there. However if you missed the CBS special you should watch it. I believe after wating it Garth missed his true calling as a stand up Comedian.
Classic Country: The first song “Great Balls of fire does not belong on this cd. Other then that it’s a great cd with the best song being “Good Ole Boys Like Me”. A simple song kept simple and perfect.
Blue-Eyed Soul: This album was a shock. He covers so many great R&B classics but once again the best is the one kept simple. “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”.
Classic Rock” If there was one cd in his carrier that should not have been made this is it. Worse then Chris Gains. I’ve always said if your going to cover someone elses song then make it your on. Not doing this can only be made worse if you try to sing it just like the original. If I want to Here Bob Seager sing “Against the Wind” I’ll listen to Bob Seager, But if I’m listening to Garth Books sing it I don’t want to here Garth’s impression of Bob Seager. Unfortunatly that is all this cd does. The only song worth saving here is “Superstition” witch should have been on the last cd.
Melting Pot: This cd I beleive is the best The songs here I beleave are from Garth’s true influances. There is not a bad song here. Every song has pasion that is lacking in many others in the set. Insted of picking a Favorite I’ll give you a full track list.
1. Black Water
2. Mrs. Robinson
3. Maggie May
4. Who’ll Stop The Rain
5. Wild World
6. Doctor My Eyes
7. The Weight
8. Amie
9. Operator (That’s Not The Way It Feels)
10. You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
11.Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
All together I’d give the box seta 7 out of 10.
January 2, 2014 @ 10:33 am
I was looking back trying to figure out what was the last new music original (song) Garth put out; and I think its “More than a memory” I had no idea it was close to 7 years ago. I did a search on this site to see if a review was ever done, and could not locate it. Trigger I would be very interested in your thoughts on that song and also any-thoughts you may have if he put out new material in the same vein?
January 2, 2014 @ 1:13 pm
I’d honestly have to go back and listen to it to give you my opinion on it. I’ll just pull it up on ITunes or Spotify and…..oh wait.
iTunes is the reason he hasn’t released any new, original music in 7 years. This is all on purpose. Doesn’t mean he hasn’t been writing or sand bagging songs.
January 2, 2014 @ 1:27 pm
http://youtu.be/R63DPXsevNs if your interested.
I was more getting at; if this is what he has to offer does it even hit home with you as far as Saving Country Music goes?
January 2, 2014 @ 2:30 pm
I’m not sure if it is fair to assume what Garth’s new music will sound like based off the last original song he released. I really have no idea what to expect.
As far as that song, it may not be particularly country, but it’s pretty well-written.
January 2, 2014 @ 1:44 pm
I’m sure he has been writing or searching out new songs all this time which of course highlights the ridiculousness of his ‘retirement.’ While it’s admirable to want to spend time with your children while they are growing up the notion that this precludes one from continuing their career is laughable. I presume these kids went to school in the day couldn’t he have been working (writing, recording) during this time. Plus as these kids became teenagers I assume that would mean like most kids they would be spending less time with their parents.
This has always bugged me because it is so blatantly disingenuous. Did he want to spend more time with his kids? Absolutely. But in my opinion he also didn’t want to go through the natural decline that all recording artists go through and instead he bailed and claimed it was all about his kids. Uggh.
And I don’t hate the guy or anything like that but c’mon!
January 2, 2014 @ 2:00 pm
I would never question a man”™s choices or whether or not he is genuine when it comes to his kids. We all have demons we fight and for most a breaking point comes and we choose a direction. If he was on a decline than yes the master plan of building anticipation for 7+ years or whatever it was is a hell of a marketing plan, not sure I would have the patience to not do what I really wanted to do for all those years and keep up that kind of lie. Like I was getting at before I like hearing what Trigger thinks of the music and its content more than I care about Illuminati theories and tours or back and forth about how Garth is an ass cause if I want his music I have to buy the whole damn $10 disc LMAO.
January 2, 2014 @ 2:09 pm
Well first of all I was responding to Trigger’s comment about him writing songs all this time. And second I didn’t question his choice he can do whatever he wants but the whole reasoning doesn’t make sense in my opinion. If you think that is some Illuminati theory then whatever.
June 19, 2019 @ 8:00 pm
$10 on a whole Ablum is a bargin, when you look at the fact the Itunes average prices are more than $1 per song.
January 2, 2014 @ 7:07 pm
Some of the responses/opinions here are hard to comprehend. But they are opinions, I guess, so they aren’t right or wrong.
Here are some of my opinions on Garth and those that say some pretty negative things about him.
1. The man was running at an inconceivable pace to anyone that reads or writes anything on this website. Actually a pace that not many can even fathom in the entertainment business. So to question his reason for retiring as if all he did was count his money is absurd.
This guy was at a pace that killed others- Elvis, Hank Sr., and put guys like Waylon in an early grave. Rest in peace to them all.
So sure, he makes a ton of money, but he also is at a pace no on can comprehend. Even if you have 3 jobs and work 18hrs./day…this guys does the same but has to be spot on 100% for all 18hrs. and 7 days a week 365/yr.
If he says he retired cause he wanted to laugh at everyone and count his money….well, he earned it.
January 3, 2014 @ 8:45 am
I completely agree. Another famous person claimed to retire in 2001. He’s a writer. Before retiring he released about one book a year. Since retiring he has released no less then two a year.
Some people can’t slow down no matter what. That’s what I like about Garth Brooks. Weather you like his music or not everyone has to admit he works hard. His last big tour lasted three years.
January 8, 2014 @ 7:45 pm
This kind of thing is that torments me as I read the exxxxxxxagerated plans of the return of Garth!
Let me explain.
I liked Garth in the early days of his Country. I liked Elvis in his early days of his Rock.
What I really like is the pure talent of a group of five or six who has a couple of four hanger light trees that flashes in beat with their music, a simple P.A. system that has an EQ and Reverb to add just a minor touch of fullness to the already really talented band and vocalist.
What I never liked is an act who is just short of terrible on talent on stage with a four or five piece band and a couple of light trees flashing to the tempo beat,
An act that in order to draw a crowd requires a two million dollar circus sideshow five million eye burning strobes, a major propane fire breathing stage, a helicopter, ropes and miles of cables with 200 people involved and a half dozen stage producers who teach the singer and musicians how to walk, run, jump, dance, moonwalk, rub their crotch, fuzz their hair, primp and priss and teach them exactly what to say and when to say it.
WHY, because in all the BS production, if there was the talent to draw, you destroy the talent….again, if there was any to start with.
Yeah, I would go see Garth if he had a five piece band and a couple of four hanger trees and put on a real COUNTRY show. Of course the ticket price would be more reasonable if you didn’t have to pay 500 people and a bunch of clowns to play in the show, build a special stage and bring in a high tech sound system to make your vocals and instruments sound perfect.
Yes, it was done all the time a few decades back, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr., The Carters, Ray Price, Johnny Paycheck, and it goes on & on & on. So don’t tell me Country is dead or that folks won’t buy Country, they will if you’ll let them see a real Country Performance. Country music is Country Music, Like a Chevy is a Chevy, no matter how you think you changed it, it will never be a Ford just because you stick a ford logo on the side.
February 7, 2014 @ 12:20 pm
http://www.youtube.com/user/tonightshownbc
Garth’s farewell to Leno…..
“I’ve Got Friends In Low Places”.
June 19, 2019 @ 6:44 pm
Gee not many true Garth fans in here are there. I been a die hard (loyal fan) since the early 90’s. Not sure where the ego maniac part comes into Garth personality. And not many of his true fans who have met him or spent any time with him would agree. This is a guy who come out of retirement in 2014 after taking time off 12 year to help raise daughters. Yeah family first he must be real money hungry. HAHA. Since his return he has the biggest tour in North American History under his belt 390 in 3 years. 6.5 million ticket. Number #1songs, Box set, top selling book (Anthology) Every Monday night has one of the internets most popular Facebook pod casts Inside Studio G. Answer questions from fans an even grants requests where possible. Now his current stadium tour also selling out by the numbers over and over again. IF it was not for an Artist with International appeal of Garth Brooks. Country music in any form would have fallen off the Map years ago. He left and there was an international drop in country album sales. I will never buy just one song of any artist. Each Album is like a book . It tells a story of where that artist is in their life an career. IF you only buy one song you only get 1 chapter of the story. Seems like a waste to me. I tunes rip off the customers, the artist an song writers. Having been a musician myself I see it every day.