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Returning to Nashville in 1987, Brooks began making connections
with various songwriters and producers, and sang on a lot of
songwriter’s demo tapes. Although he had made several connections
within the industry and had a powerful management team, every label
in town was refusing to sign him. In 1988, he received his break and
recorded his first album with producer Allen Reynolds. The album
was an instant success, with its first single, “Much Too Young (To Feel
This Damn Old),” climbing into the country top 10. Brooks’ debut
was a success, crossing over into the pop album charts, but it was
overshadowed by the blockbuster appeal of Clint Black, as well as other
similar new male vocalists like Travis Tritt and Alan Jackson. Within a
year, Brooks would tower above them all with his surprise, widespread
success.
He had three other hit singles—”If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “Not
Counting You,” and “The Dance”—but it was No Fences that established
him as a superstar. No Fences was released in the fall of 1990, preceded
by the massive hit single “Friends in Low Places.” No Fences spent 23
weeks at the top of the country charts and sold 700,000 copies within
the first 10 days of its release. Throughout 1990-91, Brooks had a string
of number one country hits from the album, including “Unanswered
Prayers,” “Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House,” and “The Thunder
Rolls.” By 1993, No Fences had sold over 10 million copies.
Not only did his record sales break all the accepted country
conventions, but so did his concerts. By the end of 1990, he was
selling out stadiums within minutes and was putting on stadium-sized
shows, patterned after ‘70s rock extravaganzas. Brooks used a cordless,
headset microphone so he could run around his large stage. He had an
elaborate light show, explosions, and even a harness so he could swing
out above the crowd and sing to them. It was the first time any country
artist had incorporated such rock ‘n’ roll techniques into stage shows.
Ropin’ the Wind, Brooks’ third album, was released in 1991 and became
the first country record to debut at the top of the pop charts. Ropin’ the
Wind matched the success of No Fences, selling over 10 million copies
within its first two years of release and spawning the No. 1 hit singles
“Shameless,” “What She’s Doing Now,” and “The River.”
By the end of 1991, Brooks had become a genuine popular music
phenomenon and there were no signs of his momentum slowing down.
Naturally, a backlash began to develop in the fall of 1992, beginning
For the RecordDig into the deep catalog of the maverick who released his ninth
studio album, Man Against Machine, that stays true to the quality and
tone of his past work.
Garth Brooks
1989
Brooks’ fusion of rock
‘n’ roll and traditional
country genres was fully
formed, as was his gift
for extended metaphors
on his debut album. One
listen to his signature song
and breakthrough hit, “The
Dance,” proved that, which
is why he broke away
from the hat acts that he
was initially grouped with.
Brooks stuck with neotraditional
country on about
half of the tracks. He sang
traditional country quite
well—”Not Counting You”
is a particularly effective
honky-tonk number, but
what made the album an
exciting debut were songs
like the genre-bending
ballads “The Dance” and “If
Tomorrow Never Comes.”
No Fences
1990
No Fences, followed
the same pattern as his
debut, but was a more
assured and risky record.
Brooks still performed
neo-traditional country,
such as the honky-tonk hit
“Friends in Low Places,” but
he twisted it around with
clever pop hooks. Brooks
offered the same mix as
any other traditional country
performer—ballads, honkytonk,
and the occasional
kick ‘em-up rhythm tune—
but he found off-the-wall
ingredients to put in it, such
as ‘’The Thunder Rolls.’’ He
also had a feel for whitetrash
anthems, like ‘’Friends
in Low Places,’’ in which
a likable clod declared,
‘’Blame it all on my roots/I
showed up in boots/And
ruined your black tie affair.’’
RoPin’ the Wind
1991
With Ropin’ the Wind,
Brooks began to make
his ‘70s rock influences
more explicit. Naturally,
that was most notable
in his reworking of Billy
Joel’s “Shameless,” which
he transformed from a
rock power ballad into
contemporary country. But
that influence was also
evident on ambitious epics
like “The River” and even
honky-tonk ravers of “Papa
Loved Mama” and “Rodeo.”
Some might say that those
rock influences are what
made Brooks a crossover
success, but he wouldn’t
have been as successful if
he didn’t have a tangible
country foundation to his
music.
The Chase
1992
The Chase was Brooks’
most ambitious and
personal album. Not
coincidentally, it was one of
his least popular releases.
But in its own way, The
Chase was more rewarding
and deeper than Ropin’ the
Wind. That was partially due
to Brooks’ naked ambition;
not only did he record
“We Shall Be Free” with a
gospel choir, but he tackled
deeper social and personal
issues than he had before.
However, the true key to
the album was Brooks’
conviction; even when his
musical experiments didn’t
quite work, it was easy
to admire and respect his
ambition.
In Pieces
1993
Brooks toned down his
experimental eclecticism
on In Pieces alternating
between heavily rockinfluenced
numbers,
dramatic ballads and
revamped honky-tonk. In
Pieces appealed to the
audience that found The
Chase overly serious.
That doesn’t mean Brooks
abandoned his desire to
bend the rules—he just
masked his more ambitious
material with crowdpleasing
up-tempo numbers
like “American Honky-Tonk
Bar Association” and “Ain’t
Going Down (‘Til the Sun
Comes Up).” In Pieces was
an album that was made
for the fans, and it shows.
It is one of Brooks’ most
energetic and exciting
collections.
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