In case you’ve been living under a rock, Garth Brooks recently announced he’ll be coming out of retirement. In addition to a tour with Trisha Yearwood, he will be releasing his fist studio album in 13 years, titled ‘Man Against Machine,’ which comes out this Tuesday. We here at New England Country Music were given an advanced copy. The album is very much vintage Garth. He is known for staying true to his roots with his boycotts of iTunes, etc. and he does the same with his music. In a recent interview he summed it up saying, “I have watched heart and soul, dreams and individualism, fighting for their very existence in a world of increasing technology. This album is a reminder to all those who dream, work, and fight for what they believe; do not give up your vision.”
1.) ‘Man Against Machine’ – Written by Larry Bastian/Jenny Yates/Garth Brooks
Impression: The album starts off with the title track and starts with a cool organ intro, before coming in rocking. The song goes through several elements that really make it a unique and complete piece of music. Garth has revealed that the machine is the music industry. It’s no secret that Garth has some strong feelings about the way the industry is now, and his mean mug on the album cover really shows that he means business.
Favorite Lyric: Papa, the power’s out, the machines are down. But in this world of darkness I can still hear a sound. Papa that sound tells us apart, ‘Cause I’m a machine myself. But I’m one with a working heart…
2.) ‘She’s Tired of Boys’ – Written by Amanda Williams and Garth Brooks.
Impression: This duet with Trisha Yearwood is the story of an older guy who falls in love with a younger woman. As the title implies she wants to be with a man, not a boy. It’s a really good, old fashioned song that reminds me of classic 90’s country.
Favorite Lyric: Well I sat there for a moment and I took a deep breath, and I told her I was flattered but most of all I was scared to death…
3.) ‘Cold Like That’ – Written by Steven Lee Olsen, Melissa Pierce, and Chris Wallin.
Impression: This song is sung from the point of view of a heartbroken man who wishes he could not have feelings or care because it would be so much easier and less painful not to. However, he doesn’t have that in him and he is absolutely crushed. The song is sung very well and you can feel the passion and emotion of the song in Garth’s voice.
Favorite Lyric: I could be the train for a change, you could be the one tied to the track…
4) ‘All-American Kid’ – Written by Craig Campbell, Brice Long, andTerry McBride
Impression: I was excited when I heard Craig Campbell had written a song that was on this album, and I was not disappointed! The song is very well written as it tells the story of a boy who led a high school team to a big comeback win. After school he decides to join the service, his town then wished for a different type of ‘comeback’ from him as he heads off to war. In the end, our All-American kid does make his comeback but the song goes out to all over the All-American kids who never did.
Favorite Lyric: And the hometown cheered and his momma cried. And they lined the streets just to say goodbye. Got his picture in the paper and the headline read, ‘Come Back All-American Kid…’
5.) ‘Mom’ – Written by Don Sampson and Wynn Varble.
Impression: This is my favorite song on the album. God is talking to an unborn child who is afraid to go out into the world. God lets him know that he needs to go as there’s someone really special waiting for him down there. The song then describes perfectly the love that a mother has for her child and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t get a little ‘dusty’ in my apartment when I listened to it for the first time. Garth actually has said in a few interviews that this song may rival ‘The Dance’ as his favorite one of his songs.
Favorite Lyric: She’ll put you on the path, that’ll bring you back to me…
6.) ‘Wrong About You’ – Written by Adam Wright.
Impression: While on the short end at only one minute and 56 seconds, I really like this song. Not a lot of frills, just a plain good song about being wrong about someone. I think we’ve all been there- there was someone in our life who we were wrong about and are kind of swimming upstream to apologize once we realize that we were.
Favorite Lyric: If I could do it all over again, I’d do it all a little differently, and slower than then. And I might be able to see, that you were right about our hearts beating as one heart, and me not having a clue…
7.) ‘Rodeo and Juliet’ – Written by Bryan Kennedy and Garth Brooks.
Impression: This is a really fun song with an awesome honky tonk/swing sound. I really like the musical interlude. Not too much to say just a really upbeat, likeable song with a great country twist on a classic tale.
Favorite Lyric: Into our scene of fair, Verona Rides a queen from Arizona, the fairest in a pairest of blue jeans…
8) ‘Midnight Train’ – Written by Melissa Pierce and Matthew A. Rossi.
Impression: This is a song that when it comes on you’ll say ‘yup this is a Garth Brooks song.’ It’s another heartbreak song. Out of the whole album this is the song I had the hardest time picking out a favorite lyric for, not because it lacked on ones I liked, but because there were so many to choose from.
Favorite Lyric: Whiskey bottle on the floor, King James Bible from the drawer, Neither won but Lord they’ve done their best…
9) ‘Cowboys Forever’ – Written by Wynn Varble, John Martin, and Dean Dillon.
Impression: We might not be out in Wild West on a cattle drive, but this song lets us know that being a cowboy is a mindset. Even as cities pop up and the world changes we will always be ‘Cowboys Forever.’
Favorite Lyric: To that one generation that transformed a nation. As descendants we all salute you…
10) ‘People Loving People’ – Written by Lee Miller, Chris Wallin, and Busbee.
Impression: This powerful song was released in September as the first single off the record. Garth explains on the GhostTunes Preview for the track why he chose this song as the lead off single: “its gonna be the first time I was going to be on radio in over 7 years, first studio album in over 13 years and if I had to pick a statement I wanted to lead with there’s not a more important statement than this one.” It’s a great message from the country megastar.
Favorite Lyric: In a world so full of hurting. But I believe the remedy, starts right here with you and me. People loving people. That’s the enemy of everything that’s evil…
11) ‘Send ‘Em On Down the Road’ – Written by Marc Beeson and Allen Shamblin.
Impression: I love when Garth has piano in his songs. Something about it just goes so well with his voice. The first verse is Garth singing over a piano about his father. The story then shifts to him sending his own kids out into the world despite how much it pains him. Like ‘Mom’ this song perfectly captures the relationship between parents and their children.
Favorite Lyric: I guess I always knew those days would end. But the hardest thing I’ve ever learned has been, you can cry for ‘em, live and die for ‘em. You can help them find their wings. But you can’t fly for ‘em…
12) ‘Fish Written’ – Written by Chris Wallin and Wynn Varble.
Impression: If you never had to worry about money what would you do? A lot of us would probably go fishing because we enjoy it. Well, why don’t you go fishing for a living? That’s the message of the song. While the song itself is pretty simple it can inspire much bigger thoughts.
Favorite Lyric: You can do anything that you wish. He says, “you mean fish?”
13) ‘You Wreck Me’ – Written by Stephanie Bentley, Kevin Kadish, and Dan Muckala.
Impression: You’re absolutely crazy for someone, and while they are open and close with you they just don’t see you the way you see them. However, you go along with it because you would rather have that ‘friend zone’ type of relationship than not have the person in your life at all. The music does a great job of capturing the passion and frustration of the situation.
Favorite Lyric: My heart’s running in a race that I can’t win…
14) ‘Tacoma’ – Written by Caitlyn Smith and Bob DiPiero.
Impression: The song features soulful harmonies which book end the album back to ‘Man Against Machine.’ This is another song where Garth carries the emotion of the song in his voice. He’s so in love with his ex that he needs to get to the furthest corner of the country to even have a shot of getting her out of his mind.
Favorite Lyric: You made me the joke, the fool, the last one to know. So, I’m gonna put mountains and deserts and rivers between us. Go as far as I can go…
Top to bottom the album is very good and I believe it will have no problems living up to all the hype and expectations it has surrounding it. It is a complete album with a little bit of everything, so everyone gets something. As I said above, ‘Mom’ was hands down my favorite song on the album with ‘Rodeo and Juliet’ and ‘Cowboys Forever’ rounding out my top three. Garth is yet to announce a tour stop in New England but our fingers are crossed we’ll make his next round of announcements. With the new tour and the new music, Garth Brooks fans have so much to look forward to in the coming months and years. The album will be available Tuesday in stores and on GhostTunes, where you can currently check out a track by track preview with commentary from Garth.