Gunslinger

20世紀にアメリカで最も売れたソロ・アーティスト"としてアメリカレコード協会が認定する、文字通りカントリー界のスーパースター、ガース・ブルックス。13年に及ぶ活動休止期間を経て2014年にリリースしたアルバム『Man Against Machine』以来、2年振りとなる11作目のスタジオ・アルバムをリリース。今作制作中に、楽曲制作のパートナーとして多くのアルバムを生み出したキム・ウィリアムスを亡くすという出来事に見舞われた。リード・シングル「Baby, Let's Lay Down and Dance」もキム・ウィリアムスとの共作曲であり、亡き友への想いもひとしおのリリースとなる。54歳を迎えてなお、アメリカのエンターテイメントのトップに君臨するガース・ブルックスの新作。

The cover of Gunslinger returns Garth Brooks to familiar territory: he's sporting a black hat, leaning against a saddle, evoking memories of his earliest records. Similarly, the album -- produced by Mark Miller, just like his 2014 comeback Man Against Machine -- finds him reconnecting to his '90s glory days, something evident from the record's first single "Baby, Let's Lay Down and Dance."|

The very title of Garth Brooks' 2014 comeback Man Against Machine telegraphed how the singer saw himself in the 2010s: he was an outsider, taking on the establishment. Man Against Machine debuted at number one and sold well but it didn't conquer the charts -- none of its singles went further than 19 on Billboard's Country Airplay charts -- and, in light of this, Brooks did something uncharacteristic: he decided to retreat. On Gunslinger -- its title consciously evoking the western themes of No Fences and Ropin' the Wind -- Brooks is so unconcerned with hits that he decided that "Baby, Let's Lay Down and Dance," a slice of country-disco that sounds like a kissing cousin to Orleans' "Still the One," was a good idea for a lead single. And, in a way, he's right. Gunslinger has its heart in the past, existing on a plane between Brooks' arena-country '90s hits and his '70s AM influences. The difference is, Brooks is comfortable in his middle age. It's not just that his maturation gives him an easy touch in performance -- although that does help -- it's that he's no longer obsessed with being the biggest, best star in country music. Modesty is a marked shift for a singer who always seemed partially driven by the desire of shattering records, and he wears it well, digging into the honky tonk numbers, happy to sound goofy on the neon-pumping anthems, and easing into the ballads. All of these sounds are familiar, but his light touch means Gunslinger doesn't sound like pandering to the past but rather a cheerful acceptance of the present. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine