Admittedly I'm a country music junkie. Personally I love the puns. It has a certain folksy Dad quality that I love. If you don't like that kinda thing then stay far away from Brad Paisley lol
Garth, especially early Garth, is great. Not my favorite act of the 90s, but he's among the greats. The late 80s and early 90s had some great albums. Steve Earl's Guitar town in 86, Clint Black's Killin Time in 89, Brooks and Dunn Brand New Man and Reba McEntire's For My Broken Heart 91 are among my favorites from that era.
Country lends itself to singles more then albums unfortunately. That was especially true in that era.
Interesting perspective. The singles on this album are significantly stronger than the rest of it. I hadn't thought about country that way, but it could be why it doesn't resonate with me the way other genres do.
What "Jamey Johnson terrible pun" were you thinking of when you wrote that sentence, CJ?
I haven't listened to "No Fences" since 1991. Why? Because I don't own the CD and Garth is old enough to think he's "losing money" by streaming his music. #smh
Mostly I was thinking of "Mary Go Round", but also this pearl: "The high cost of living ain't nothing like the cost of living high." What a turn of phrase! It's like the Bard has been reborn.
That's fair. I had a feeling you were talking about "High Cost Of Living". It's just that the song, itself, is actually solid. I don't mind puns as long as the entire song isn't a pun. You know, like "Two Of A Kind Working on a Full House."
Great post, thanks! I never listened to much country, particularly at that point in my life. Growing up and living in Bermuda I just wasn’t exposed to it. I have, of course, heard of Garth Brooks but not of this album. I just gave it a listen and although it’s not something I’d expect to go back to at all, there were a few good tracks on there, particularly the opener.
Good country music comes in waves. You had the "sad country" of Hank Williams, Hank Snow . . and pickers like Bill Monroe. You had stand alone's like Johnny and (much later) Willie. Then came overproduced pablum (The Nashville Sound) for 10 years (Thank you, not, Chet Atkins). Country music was "saved" by the Bakersville Sound only to fall back to the abyss with guys like Toby Keith and other country pop performers. Basically they are Nickleback with Banjos.
The new future are guys like Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell. Having said this, Gart is straight in the cross hairs of the country pop pablum that ruined the 80's and 90's of the genre. Consider Garth "Twangy Barry Manilow". There is nothing lower (musically). As a human being he's a stand up guy and has done an awful lot to help the community. So I give him props for that. In fact he should stick to being a humanitarian.
Admittedly I'm a country music junkie. Personally I love the puns. It has a certain folksy Dad quality that I love. If you don't like that kinda thing then stay far away from Brad Paisley lol
Garth, especially early Garth, is great. Not my favorite act of the 90s, but he's among the greats. The late 80s and early 90s had some great albums. Steve Earl's Guitar town in 86, Clint Black's Killin Time in 89, Brooks and Dunn Brand New Man and Reba McEntire's For My Broken Heart 91 are among my favorites from that era.
Country lends itself to singles more then albums unfortunately. That was especially true in that era.
Interesting perspective. The singles on this album are significantly stronger than the rest of it. I hadn't thought about country that way, but it could be why it doesn't resonate with me the way other genres do.
Great White is certainly known for their commitment to flawless, filler-free albums.
Have I ever pitched a Great White album?
There’s still time.
Just wait a minute. Wait. A. Minute.
What "Jamey Johnson terrible pun" were you thinking of when you wrote that sentence, CJ?
I haven't listened to "No Fences" since 1991. Why? Because I don't own the CD and Garth is old enough to think he's "losing money" by streaming his music. #smh
Mostly I was thinking of "Mary Go Round", but also this pearl: "The high cost of living ain't nothing like the cost of living high." What a turn of phrase! It's like the Bard has been reborn.
That's fair. I had a feeling you were talking about "High Cost Of Living". It's just that the song, itself, is actually solid. I don't mind puns as long as the entire song isn't a pun. You know, like "Two Of A Kind Working on a Full House."
Exactly
Great post, thanks! I never listened to much country, particularly at that point in my life. Growing up and living in Bermuda I just wasn’t exposed to it. I have, of course, heard of Garth Brooks but not of this album. I just gave it a listen and although it’s not something I’d expect to go back to at all, there were a few good tracks on there, particularly the opener.
That opener “The Thunder Rolls” is such a great song. Sets the proverbial bar for the rest of the album.
Good country music comes in waves. You had the "sad country" of Hank Williams, Hank Snow . . and pickers like Bill Monroe. You had stand alone's like Johnny and (much later) Willie. Then came overproduced pablum (The Nashville Sound) for 10 years (Thank you, not, Chet Atkins). Country music was "saved" by the Bakersville Sound only to fall back to the abyss with guys like Toby Keith and other country pop performers. Basically they are Nickleback with Banjos.
The new future are guys like Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell. Having said this, Gart is straight in the cross hairs of the country pop pablum that ruined the 80's and 90's of the genre. Consider Garth "Twangy Barry Manilow". There is nothing lower (musically). As a human being he's a stand up guy and has done an awful lot to help the community. So I give him props for that. In fact he should stick to being a humanitarian.
"Bakersfield" not Bakersville . . bad typo on my part
I can’t argue with the greatness of the Bakersfield sound. From Buck Owens to Dwight Yoakam, there’s a lot of amazing music in that California dirt.