The Limited Series Bottom Line:
The Limited Series consisted of
Garth Brooks' first six album releases, with an additional track on each disc. At this time, Garth had pulled each of the albums out of print, where they would remain for ten years after the original release date. Each CD in this set was packaged with a new cover, stating that it was from "The Limited Series," and there was also a 60 page booklet with the liner notes for each of the six albums, plus lyrics for all the songs. The title comes from the fact that only two million copies were pressed.
The Limited Series was released in the spring of 1998. At the time, Garth was nearing the end of a three year tour, which started in March 1996 and ended in November 1998. The tour ended up playing to over 5.5 million fans at 350 shows in 100 cities. Garth was more popular than ever.
It was then that he decided to pull his first six albums out of print, and release a boxed set of the six albums, each with an additional track that was recorded around the same time as the album on which it was included. There would be only two million copies of the boxed set, and each of the first six albums would remain out of print until the tenth year of their release.
The first six albums included in this set are: "Garth Brooks," "No Fences," "Ropin' the Wind," "The Chase," "In Pieces" and "Fresh Horses." There was much said about making fans pay for the same music many of them had most likely already owned, just to get the six new tracks. It wasn't an uncommon practice, as many other stars had packaged their music in this way, but Garth's box set was not the normal $40-$50 for the box set, but a mere $19.99.
The new songs were:
From Garth Brooks - "Uptown, Downhome Good Ole Boy" - This song is another of Garth's cowboy-style songs, with a story of a rodeo cowboy that breaks his back, and now uses his name to sell Western wear. While it's nice to have new Garth music, I don't think this song is of the same quality as the other songs on the CD.
From No Fences - "This Ain't Tennessee" - This tender ballad is reminiscent of the feel of "The Dance," while not the same calibre of the latter tune, this is still a very good song. The feeling is meloncholy, as the storyteller describes what everyone believes is the perfect life, with a perfect house, and perfect woman, but all he can think about is the woman that she is not, and the fact the this home is not like the home he used to have in Tennessee.
From Ropin' the Wind - "Which One of Them" - This song has a very sentimental feel. The man in the song has gone through a breakup, and is moving on with different women all the time, but none of them can replace what his ex was to him. He laments "Which one of them will you be tonight? Oh which one will hold me in your arms so tight?" The song is piano-driven, with delicate accents of fiddles.
From The Chase - "Something With a Ring To It" - This has a great western swing feel to it, with prominent fiddles, ragtime piano, and even a clarinet! The storyline is that the girl in the story is ready to move on to a more committed relationship.
From In Pieces - "Anonymous" - This song is piano-driven. It tells the story of the man who is in love with a woman, but is too afraid to approach her, so he sends her flowers, and signs the card "anonymous," and dreams of her, writing their names together, just to see them together. While I really like the song, it doesn't quite seem to fit the rest of the album, which was mostly fast-paced with a lot of up-tempo tunes.
From Fresh Horses - "To Make You Feel My Love" - This song was used in the motion picture Hope Floats. It's a beautiful, soft ballad that is piano-driven. Garth sings: "I know you haven't made your mind up yet, but I would never do you wrong. I've known it from the moment that we met, there's no doubt in my mind where you belong."
This collection is well worth the $19.95 price. Of course, since all two million copies have been sold, the only way to obtain a copy now is through a secondary market, so prices will surely be much higher. For fans of Garth's music, and those that like to collect memorabilia, this is an excellent package of music.
Release date: May 5, 1998 - Label: Capitol Nashville
