I was hoping to have an article out last week to commemorate what was probably one of the great historic moments of our lifetimes. Yes, January 20, 2021 will be a day that few of us will be able to forget, as we came together as one to witness the reunion of one hit wonder titans New Radicals. However, upon my review of the performance, the line in which Gregg Alexander challenges Beck, Hanson, Courtney Love, and Marilyn Manson to a fight was left out, so I’m not even sure if it counts. Thus, I decided to take a pass on an article about the biggest musical story of the year.
Jokes aside, the inaugural festivities did inspire me to pursue at least one article concept that I’ve been kicking around. Specifically, the following tweet caught my eye:
For those unaware, Chris Gaines was an alter ego briefly assumed by Garth Brooks in the late 90s. The character was that of an Australian alt-rocker and Mr. Brooks donned his finest bangs/soul patch combo to fully commit to the role. So committed was the entire entertainment industry to this bizarre bit of performance art that Gaines got his own VH1 Behind the Music special. One edition of Saturday Night Live even featured “Garth Brooks” as the host, while “Chris Gaines” performed the duties of musical guest.
All of this was intended to culminate in the release of a full length film, The Lamb, which was to tell the life story of the Gaines character. However, the plug was pulled on the film and the Gaines character was quickly consigned to the dustbin of history. But not before he released an album.
Greatest Hits, also known as The Life of Chris Gaines is a full 13-track “compilation album” purporting to span the full length of Gaines’ career. It is also the topic of today’s edition of Forgotten Friday. I will lead off by saying that this album is not easily accessible without some digging. I worked for this, damnit. Brooks is notorious for his resistance to streaming and digital music sales, so even finding a good version of “Friends in Low Places” can prove difficult. Unlike Brooks’ other material, however, you won’t find Chris Gaines’ music in any boxsets or remasters. Currently, a new copy of Greatest Hits goes for over $70 on Amazon. And, while I love all 6 of my readers, I do not love you that much.
But, after an outrageous amount of time rummaging through Reddit and old Myspace pages that could have been spent assessing the choices in my life that have led me to this point, I found what I was looking for. And, all in all, I’d call it… fine. I went into this process with the hope, if not the belief, that I would find either: a). a lost masterpiece; or b). a trainwreck worthy of such a through scrubbing from existence. What I found was neither. Rather, I didn’t encounter anything particularly memorable, either for better or worse.
The music here is pretty upbeat and, in stark contrast to the image projected by Gaines’ appearance. You won’t find anything here that wouldn’t slot in comfortably on any 90s pop-rock radio station. The material also isn’t different enough from Garth Brooks’ usual fare to necessitate the creation of a whole new persona. All in all, if he was looking to branch out, this was a swing and a miss; the backstory surrounding the album’s creation is by far more interesting than any of the musical material.
Garth Brooks, however, is a talented fellow, so if you’re a big fan or a completionist of any sort, maybe check this out if you stumble upon it. I can’t say in good conscience that it’s worth the amount of time or money required, but if you happen across a used copy of the CD for a good price, it’s definitely an interesting little curiosity.
It is our hope here at channel.WAV to make Forgotten Fridays a regular feature over at the site. So, if you’ve got any obscure, bizarre, or just plain bad music you’d like us to touch on, feel free to reach out with suggestions via Twitter or in the comments below.
- Slone
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