After the relative commercial disappointment of
The Chase
,
Garth Brooks
toned down his experimental eclecticism on
In Pieces
. Alternating between heavily
rock
-influenced numbers, dramatic
ballads
, and revamped
honky tonk
appeals to the audience that found
too pretentious and overly serious. That doesn't mean
Brooks
abandoned his desire to bend the rules -- he's just masked his more ambitious material with crowd-pleasing up-tempo numbers like
"American Honky-Tonk Bar Association"
and
"Ain't Going Down (Til the Sun Comes Up)."
is an album that was made for the fans, and it shows -- it is one of
' most energetic and exciting collections. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine