The Life Of Chris Gaines (Audio CD)
by Garth Brooks

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In... The Life of Chris Gaines is a way for Garth Brooks to indulge his rock-star fantasies without directly putting his country credibility on the line. This fictional greatest-hits album is supposedly a prequel to a movie (The Lamb) in which Brooks will assume the role of a mysterious Australian-born pop singer. The first single, "Lost in You," sounds like Kenny Loggins auditioning for a role in the Backstreet Boys. Gaines's other "hits" range from the funk-lite of "Snow in July" to the Prince-like "The Way of the Girl," the Beatlesesque "Maybe," and the blatant Wallflowers rip "Unsigned Letter." The tune on which Brooks most resembles the cat in the hat we all know is the melancholy ballad "It Don't Matter to the Sun." The most provocative tune is "Right Now," which interpolates (really) the Youngbloods' hippie classic "Get Together" with Cheryl Wheeler's antigun screed "If It Were Up to Me." As himself, Garth Brooks has sold almost 100 million albums. If he's lucky, many of those fans will forgive him for Chris Gaines. --Rick Mitchell

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Product Details

Audio CD Release Date:	September 28, 1999
Studio:	Capitol
Number Of Discs:	1
Average Customer Rating:	based on 478 reviews

Track Listing

1.	That's The Way I Remember It
2.	Lost in You
3.	Snow In July
4.	Driftin' Away
5.	Way Of The Girl
6.	Unsigned Letter
7.	It Don't Matter To The Sun
8.	Right Now
9.	Main Street
10.	White Flag
11.	Digging For Gold
12.	Maybe
13.	My Love Tells Me So

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: 4.0

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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Wish more artist had the power & guts to do this Oct 02, 2008
I think this is fun stuff. A great artist stretching the boundries and getting out of the box everyone has placed them in. I wish they would've gone ahead with the movie. Garth's videos were done so well, I think a movie would've only been better. Different writers and producers along the "timeline" of Gaines career would've given a greater range in style/sound, and moved even further from the Garth Brooks sound. But I do like it overall.

"That's the Way...", "Unsigned Letter", and "It Don't Matter..." are good songs. "White Flag" is my favorite.

Come on Garth resurrect this thing and do an indie film; play out your vision for this! Your instincts have served you pretty well so far.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Garth's most underrated album Jun 20, 2008
Great, great album. I am a huge Garth fan and I would put this album at or near the top. The execution and marketing were way off, but the music speaks for itself. A must have for any true music lover.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Rock from a country star. Feb 14, 2008
This was actually a replacement, that's how much I liked it the first time. You wouldn't believe that voice is coming out of Garth Brooks face but it is and it is great just like his country stuff.

Garth: Misunderstood Jan 04, 2008
This album is one of my favorites from Garth. I truly love and appreciate Garth as a country artist, but one mark of a true master is one who can go off on a different limb and still put out a product that is as good as this one. Garth did just that when this album was released. It saddened me when he was severely criticized for releasing it. Many had pigeon-holed him and didn't understand the true talent he has as a singer, writer and visionary. I need to purchase another CD as I have literally worn mine out!

Tina

Betrayed by His Fans and Wrongly Misunderstood Dec 21, 2007
Garth Brooks, a massively talented, inquisitive and daring artist, took a chance to broaden his range and he was punished for it - by his own fans. I recall a former co-worker, a stout Christian woman who claimed to be "a big fan" complaining bitterly about him "in a pair of tights." What?! That's all it took to knock him off her pedestal? Apparently that was the case for lots of "fans" who turned on Garth like a rabid dog, just because he tried something bold and pioneering, not strictly Country.

It really is too bad, because coincidentally, Garth withdrew from the public shortly after Chris Gaines debuted. This album is conspicuous by its omission from the official Garth Brooks website. It seems to me that too many of his fans over-reacted in their vehement rejection of this unique and fascinating artistic effort. I do not mean to damn with faint praise, I merely first had to devote fair placement of my astonishment and dismay with the public reception Chris Gaines received.

I think it hurt Garth a lot more than he may ever publicly admit. He is entitled to feel wounded. (Money doesn't heal those kinds of wounds, for those who are rolling their eyes about right now and whining "puh-leez!")

The music, entire concept, entire persona, are all deeply interesting, manifold in emotion, and rich in fantasy. "it don't matter to the sun" sounds like a street urchin's heart singing through the man's weary voice. "maybe" is as hip-hop/rap/rock as a country legend on a star gazing mobius strip is gonna get and it's good. Very good. For a change, a rap that doesn't dare you to be wrong or bust you for being baffled. Really, country folks would've had a chance to "get it" if only they'd've given Chris a chance. "way of the girl" is accepting and thoughtful without being cloying. Something Avril Lavigne could stand to be a little more often.

Oh well. I hope Garth will let Chris out of the attic again someday. Ziggy Stardust didn't last all that long either, and maybe that's part of the tale. But not because they didn't deserve to live, but because we weren't ready for them.