Ropin' the Wind (CD - 1991)

Chris Leuzinger (electric guitar); Bruce Bouton (lap & pedal steel guitars, dobro); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Sam Bush (mandolin); Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Bobby Wood (keyboards); Edgar Meyer (acoustic bass); Mike Chapman (electric bass); Milton Sledge (drums, percussion); Trisha Yearwood, Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle, Susan Ashton (background vocals).

Recorded at Jack's Tracks Recording Studio, Nashville, Tennessee.

ROPIN' THE WIND was the first country album to debut at the top of the Billboard Pop Album chart. It was good news for both Garth and country music because it meant that the genre was expanding to a pop audience. Yet this also made many traditionalists nervous: "he's going `pop'," they cried.

The album opens with the bluegrassy "Against The Grain," with its nothing-ventured-nothing-gained theme. It is followed by the cowboy blues "Rodeo," which features another topic close to the hearts of country music fans, and "What She's Doing Now," a powerful ballad immersed in steel guitar. Halfway through ROPIN' THE WIND and there's not even a trace of "pop music." In fact, Garth could even be mistaken for Randy Travis on "Cold Shoulder." "In Lonesome Dove" is a beautiful Western narrative, while "Papa Loves Mama" talks of truckers, diesels, wine bottles, the penitentiary, and the graveyard; when's the last time you heard a song like that on a Michael Bolton album?

Yes, Garth is all country on ROPIN' THE WIND--even though he fervently covers "Shameless," a song written by his idol Billy Joel. But really, with that twang, the catch in his voice, the steel guitars and the blue-collar themes, how can anyone doubt Garth's devotion to traditional country? minimize