Double Live
Garth Brooks's obvious inspirations forDouble Livewere all those 1970s double-album concert recordings from album-oriented-rock influences such as Bob Seger, Kiss, and Peter Frampton. The difference between those classic-rock sets and this one is thatLive Bullet,AliveandFrampton Comes Aliveall helped to rescue their respective artists from virtual obscurity. Coming as they did from still largely unknown commodities, they seemingly promised nothing yet delivered everything. Already a superstar, Brooks merely promises more of the same onDouble Live. He delivers, too. "You guys already know what's coming, don't you?" he asks at one point. "And you know what? You're right." Loaded with 22 hits (and three new tunes) recorded in any number of unnamed cities (and studios, too) over the past seven years,Double Livefinds Brooks exaggerating his most irritating tics--the Wynnona-ish growls, the ridiculously elastic twang--in the process ruining even his finest songs. Still, even those convinced that Brooks is the Garth Vader of country music will be brought to pause as tens of thousands of admiring fans sing earnestly along to "The Dance" or "Unanswered Prayers," and scream their way through the anthem "Friends in Low Places." (Please note: You may receive any one of the album's six different covers.)--David Cantwell