In Pieces - Garth Brooks

Title: In Pieces
Performer: Garth Brooks
Genre: Country
Sub Genre: Contemporary Country
Release Date: 04/03/2002
Original Release Year: 1993

Garth Brooks is an American country singer/songwriter from Yukon Oklahoma and for those that have seen that constant annoying advert for Who Wants to be a Millionaire, his first name is Troyal. Garth Brooks' success is legendary with several albums going diamond ...
...and finds a fan base in the most unlikeliest of places once discovered. In Pieces is Garth Brooks studio album out of six to date.

===In Pieces===

In Pieces to date has sold over 8 million albums, an incredible feat. Garth Brooks is very well known by his fans for having very high octane, energetic, too much caffeine type live concert performances and In Pieces is as close as you can get to one of his shows musically. ... more

Title: In Pieces
Performer: Garth Brooks
Genre: Country
Sub Genre: Contemporary Country
Release Date: 04/03/2002
Original Release Year: 1993

Garth Brooks is an American country singer/songwriter from Yukon Oklahoma and for those that have seen that constant annoying advert for Who Wants to be a Millionaire, his first name is Troyal. Garth Brooks' success is legendary with several albums going diamond he has sold between 100 and 200 million records, and that is just the tip of the iceberg on his achievements. What Gave Garth this amazing success and made a fan out of me is that he pushed the boundaries of Country music, breathing new life into it and creating a new style of music uniquely his own. Elements of rock, southern rock, swing, country, folk and much more combine giving an almost unbelievable intensity as well as Garth Brooks own style of wit, cheekiness and charm that is hard to resist and finds a fan base in the most unlikeliest of places once discovered. In Pieces is Garth Brooks studio album out of six to date.

In Pieces

In Pieces to date has sold over 8 million albums, an incredible feat. Garth Brooks is very well known by his fans for having very high octane, energetic, too much caffeine type live concert performances and In Pieces is as close as you can get to one of his shows musically. What i mean is that this album is full of the very fast paced ass kicking, gun toting, girl grabbing, cigar chomping country songs that would get anyone dancing and is some of the ones Garth uses in live performances for that reason.

The Songs

1.: Standing Outside The Fire- 3:52
2.: Night I Called The Old Man Out- 3:12
3.: American Honky-Tonk Bar Association- 3:33
4.: One Night A Day- 4:15
5.: Ain't Going Down (Till The Sun Comes Up)- 4:33
6.: Kickin' And Screamin'- 4:02
7.: Red Strokes- 3:44
8.: Callin' Baton Rouge- 2:38
9.: Night Will Only Know- 3:55
10.: Cowboy Song- 3:59

In Pieces a critique

Standing Outside The Fire It is not unusual for a Garth Brooks song to have an underlying message and SOTF has a worthwhile one and if you ever get to see it, one of the most beautiful music videos i have ever been fortunate to have seen. SOTF is a very fast paced in your face country song that is about testing yourself. It is about taking risks with risks being likened to fire, and if you get burned at least you have truly lived, "Life is not tried it is merely survived if your standing outside the fire" Deceptively for the first few seconds the track starts off with a slow tempo but in no time at all it becomes like the Ozzy Osbourne of country music, lol.

Night I Called The Old Man Out This one for me is a touch odd since it kind of goes against my ethos. In a nutshell a wily young man gets a bit big for his boots and calls his father out for a dose of fisticuffs. Naturally the silly billy bites off way more than he can chew, but it is difficult to relate to because for me this is immoral conduct for a family, i don't know maybe it's set in a different time frame where social norms were different. Anyway, this is a moody song that perhaps has a latent message somewhere perhaps telling youngsters you think you know best but the reality is sometimes contrary, apart from Garth who knows.

American Honky Tonk Bar Association is foot tapping head nodding fun and is a real beauty of a spirit lifting song. This is your hearty southern, redneck style, upbeat song about the advantages of being a member to the AHBA. This song combines southern style rock and swing artistically to create a slightly lengthy track that entices a smile onto the face, it is just so pleasant.

One Night A Day This is one of your occasional new country love ballads sung only as Garth can sing it. It is one of those tracks that is simply hard to enjoy but in saying that, it is not one of Garth's best but still enjoyable nevertheless.

Ain't Going Down (Till The Sun Comes Up) is the albums debut single and will blow your head off. This is proper hooligan country music if there ever was such a thing and if not then this would patent the idea. Everything in this song is erratic and excessive and cranked up on the stereo housework is a cinch. No doubt about it this is a feel good track and if you ever see Garth do this on stage he goes nuts, just as i do around my living room. The fiddle is incredible and the energy is electrifying....Barn dance on drugs.

The Red Strokes Is a beautiful ballad with some incredible vocals laid down against a melody played out on a piano. It all comes together well on this track. The song is sung like an analogy about the emotions of love like love itself, jealousy, tenderness etc being the colours of paint and once it comes together it is a beautiful painting. The tentative love caressing the body etc is the strokes of the brush with the emotions paint that creates a thing of beauty I hope that i make sense!! An amazing song

Callin' Baton Rouge has some of the most impressive fiddle playing i have ever heard in a song and it kicks off right from the beginning. This song is like a real yee-haw hoe-down but slightly rock orientated making it fresh, modern and perfectly acceptable for young folk to enjoy, which ironically is predominantly who Garth Brooks fan base is, how about that? The song is about a rampant trucker who spends one lustful night with Samantha in Baton Rouge and the next day he can't get over what a dynamic woman she is. So he keeps ringing her to tell her what she means to him, AWWW very sweet. A real happy, bubbly jovial track that gets you rushing for repeat at the end.

The Night Will Only Know This is a very interesting track that tells a story about a murder that's made to look like an accident, only in the song you are made privy to certain information. This means that you can surmise as to what it was really all about but the truth is the night will only know. The song is more than a ballad but less than the very pacey tracks on the album, it is very much a pop style country track and is a very nice twist to the album.

Cowboy Song This is very much like a lament and is a really wonderful song about the life of a cowboy and the hazards and hardships that it entails. It goes on to explain about songs around the camp fire and stampedes, even right down to the difficulties of crossing a river. It finishes off the album very well and it's kind of nice to hear a song about the west and something from the roots of country music.

Conclusion

In Pieces is another can't go wrong Garth Brooks album. Your more traditional old country such as Kenny Rogers is not a style you will find on a Garth album and many older folk are not so keen. Garth Brooks did to country music the same as Elvis did when he bought out his rock & roll, Garth is a dark horse, a rebel element injecting enthusiasm and stamping is own style and authority of it. Garth's successes speak for themselves and promote his music far better than I, but In Pieces is a revolutionary grab you by the scruff of the neck album and gives youngsters the ability to say "Hell, i like Country Music".

Thanks for reading. 

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