Greatest Hits

"GARTH HAS summoned up the long-gone thrill of innovation, adventure and risk that was once the foundation of rock ’n’ roll music. More importantly, he has done so while making an artistically gratifying album that blossoms under the scrutiny of repeated listening.”

Those are the words of producer Don Was on the release of this strange (very strange) record from the biggest country act of them all and one which will surely provoke civil war among Garth Brooks' fans.

For the record, Chris Gaines is a fictional "international pop/rock superstar" (born in Brisbane, Australia in 1967, according to the detailed biography in the sleeve notes). This collection supposedly represents Gaines' "greatest hits", spanning the '80s and '90s. Produced by the decidedly non-fictional Don Was, it contains fourteen original songs, few of which could be described as country in the recognised sense. To complicate things even further, the album is also the "pre-soundtrack" to a movie The Lamb, presumably a biopic on the said Gaines, which is currently in production.

Whether this is a determined attempt by Garth Brooks to shed his good ole boy image and reinvent himself in a totally new guise is not entirely clear. Strange thing is – it works. If nothing else, this project demonstrates the strait-jacket in which Brooks had become trapped for the last decade, despite the claims made on his behalf as an innovator within the genre.

And what of the sounds? Well, Greatest Hits is fairly impressive in almost every respect, not least due to Brooks' jettisoning of that hokey yodel which had infiltrated most of his material. Almost every track here sounds like a potential hit single and there's a strong retro ’70s, early ’80s, feel to the production and playing.

That said, the opening track 'That's The Way I Remember It', a mid-tempo Crowded House-style acoustic ballad with an instantly memorable melody, is hardly revolutionary. Likewise with 'Lost In You', a mellow, soulful ballad that recalls Bread's David Gates in his heyday.

Then things take an unexpected turn. 'Snow In July' is a terrific belter, one part Average White Band and one part Little Feat. 'Right Now' starts out like a cross between The Pet Shop Boy's 'West End Girls' and Murray Head's 'One Night In Bangkok' and evolves into a gospelly workout not a million miles from Dobie Gray's classic 'Drift Away; 'Unsigned Letter' is power-pop in the Cars vein while 'Main Street' runs so close to Dylan's 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' that it must be some kind of intended joke.

The album's closer 'My Love Tells Me So' is a heavily Beatles-influenced number, which neatly wraps up this suprisingly engaging record.

Leaving aside the preposterous nature of its conception, Chris Gaines Greatest Hits is a powerful album, with some great songs and performances.

And not a hat in sight!