Garth Brooks - No Fences (CD)

All Music Guide

Essentially, Garth Brooks's second album No Fences follows the same pattern as his debut album, but it is a more assured and risky record. Brooks still performs neotraditional country, such as the honky tonk hit "Friends in Low Places," but now he twists it around with clever pop hooks. Those pop/rock influences are most apparent on the ballads, which alternate between sensitive folkrock and powerballad bombast. But what made No Fences such a success is how seamlessly he blends the two seemingly opposing genres, and how he chose a set of material that makes his genrebending sound subtle and natural. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the songs are consistently entertaining, either. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide