Garth Brooks always does things his way, a right he’s earned after 30-plus years of sweat-drenched tours, unforgettable anthems, quiet philanthropy and shelf loads of awards.
And so it goes that his new album, “Time Traveler,” arrives Tuesday (the industry standard for new releases for decades until a shift to Fridays in 2015). It's also available only as part of the box set, “The Limited Series,” which, in turn, is available only at Bass Pro Shops now or online later this month.
The seven-disc collection, the third and final in Brooks’ line of “Limited Series” sets, also includes his albums “Man Against Machine,” “Gunslinger,” “Triple Live” and his last studio release, 2020’s “Fun.”
The 10 brisk tracks on “Time Traveler” clock in at just under 40 minutes. Brooks’ storytelling has never been superfluous and that, also, hasn’t changed.
Duets with Ronnie Dunn (the guitar-driven toe-tapper “Rodeo Man”) and Kelly Clarkson (the Jimmy Buffett-esque “The Ship and The Bottle”) are pleasantly engaging if not particularly memorable. More worthy of repeated listens are “Neon Neighborhood,” which embraces Brooks’ love of Memphis soul and “The Ride,” which unfolds with the kind of ominous foreshadowing the country titan excels at, with shades of “The Thunder Rolls” echoing in its chord progression as he sings of a hitchhiker “dressed like 1950, half-drunk and hollow-eyed.”
But these are the two particular standouts on “Time Traveler”:
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On its surface, the song is a lighthearted champion of country music, positioning it as the balm for all emotional occasions.
“Where else can low places mean you’re in for a good time?” Brooks sings, slyly nodding to his signature anthem “Friends in Low Places.” “What’d I play the whole way home the day my brother died?” he asks, his voice more grateful than sad.
Pedal steel guitar whines in the background as picked guitar notes push the front of the song through a propulsive beat and lovely melody.
A cynic might say “Only Country Music” feels tailor-made for a commercial. But there has never been anything disingenuous about Brooks or his approach to music, so just appreciate the authenticity.
Brooks debuted a snippet of the darkly introspective ballad at opening night of his Las Vegas residency this spring.
The completed version of the ballad is Brooks in full twang mode as he gives permission to wallow, whether it’s listening to Keith Whitley’s “Lonesome Train” or his other musical saviors, Merle Haggard and Hank Williams.
While the chorus about flowers sometimes needing sunshine and other times aching for rain is a bit pedestrian, the depth of the verses redeem the superficial as Brooks acknowledges he has “lots of friends who love me, everything a man could want,” but that doesn’t prevent his dark side from invading his mind.
“I don’t need no one to help me/ I can hurt all by myself/fill my glass with some old memory and enjoy my little slice of hell,” he offers, not necessarily looking for sympathy, but simply making a statement that sometimes, feeling bad is the only way to eventually feel better.
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