Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsNever though I'd give Garth three stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2019
Garth Brooks' come-back CD is, frankly, a big disappointment. There's some country (Honky-tonk Somewhere, for example), there's a lot of what, I guess, can be called pop. And some is just plain baffling (Bang-Bang, for example). Weekend sounds a lot like a mediocre Creedance Clearwater Revival song. Pure Adrenaline sounds like a Stones song. He Really Loves You set to 3/4 (waltz time)? 3/4 generally has some grace to it. This song is about a guy who thinks his wife is in a car wreck, something demanding 2/4 or 4/4 for the guy's heart beating like crazy as he sees the wreck. Whiskey to Wine is a classic duet song - two people, one mic, lotta mouthwash, and no credit to the other half of the duet! (Trisha Yearwood???) I have utterly no idea what Bang! Bang! is doing here. Cowboys and Friends is, I guess, good ol' boys being boys. 8Teen is a total mystery for me.
Tons of Nashville Strings backing? Where's the solo fiddle that can raise hairs on your arm, or wishing for a two-steppin' lady on your arm.
Packaging. Why, why, why does Garth continue to do beefcake pictures for his albums? The John Travolta cover, and the crotch shot (OK, showing a rodeo buckle - Cheyenne 100th Annual Daddy of 'em all)... give me a break!
While I like almost all of his work (except Double Live or mostly studio with crowd backing - whyinheck not a full concert??? ), I recognize that making a change is the way out of "ho-hum, one more Brooks C&W album - BTDT". Chris Gaines, in many ways, was a good change with mostly good material (I even like rappin Garth!). Gunslinger has lame (or bad) Gaines pop, and only a weak attempt at C&W.
Finally, of all the Garth Brooks CD's I own, only two are excluded from my Garth Brooks rotation: Double Live and Gunslinger. Not a good sign... If it weren't Garth Brooks, who should know better, this would be a two star CD at best. Recommended only for completeist fans.