OK - he's had a string of #1 records,has swept practically every award going in the field of country and is the second biggest selling artist of all time in US. But how good actually are his records? He seems to be totally overlooked...
Brooks obviously has tremendous appeal to a certain group of people: I am not one of them. As an artist he is able to make music that millions of people enjoy and can relate too, so I guess that counts for something. In terms of artistry and ability to make music, he's certainly above most country artists and pop artists, but I dont think he's musically inspired. Far greater than Britney Spears and Toby Keith, but not exactly Dylan or Bowie.
I think his music is inspired... sure he basically created a genre that really sucks, but he created it and made it popular. I don't mind a lot of his music either, it's often imitated but he did do it the best. I tend to like his upbeat stuff and stay far away from the ballads...
I'm no big fan of Garth Brooks, but he does have some talent, and of course "Friends in Low Places" is a pretty good song. I'm no big fan of country whatsoever, so I guess that I'm not very advised to speak about him. He's alright in my book, which is better than about 90% of most country artists.
There are worse country artists out there. At least Garth Brooks isn't one of those sanctimonious jerks who thinks anyone from a small town is morally better than anyone else.
He's a big part of the reason I hated the 90s. "Friends in Low Places" wanted to make me drive stakes through my eyeballs. The Chris Gaines thing was amusing, though, I'll concede!
I think his first couple CDs are decent, he peaks with ROPIN' THE WIND, then drops off after that quite a bit. ROPIN' usually lands on any list of my all-time favorite albums.
I'd say "Unanswered Prayers" and "Friends in Low Places" are legit classics.
He's like the male Mariah Carey- huge, huge, huge commercial success and fanbase, but not all that highly regarded as an artist. I enjoy some of his songs- "The Dance" and "Unanswered Prayers" probably are myfavorites.
I had The Hits on cassette, but upgraded and bought his Ultimate Hits- but, I haven't listened to it or watched the accompanying DVD of all his videos since I got it.
