Man Against Machine
| Garth Brooks
Man Against Machine
Man Against Machine is the ninth studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on November 11, 2014 by RCA Records Nashville and Pearl Records. Brooks confirmed the album in July 2014 while announcing his comeback world tour. Brooks' first studio album since Scarecrow, which was released in 2001, it was his first album released digitally, exclusively to his online music store, GhostTunes. The album's lead single, "People Loving People", was released on September 3, 2014. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Billboard
A rowdy, vintage-Brooks-style slam-dunk like "Friends in Low Places" or "Fever" is missing here, but that's a small complaint for such a solid return.
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Rolling Stone
The country superstar is back to remind you how he got there.
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USA Today
Brooks' first album of original material since 2001's Scarecrow, fits comfortably in the country mainstream that he once defined, yet doesn't sound dated.
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New York Times
This is familiar country structure — the road song — but an unleashed Mr. Brooks takes it from Nashville through Memphis and Muscle Shoals and maybe a Birmingham church. He is beholden to no one place or style, an upsetter of norms before, and an upsetter of norms now.
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All Music
Brooks doesn't try to do anything differently; he just picks up where he left off and the time away has only made it clearer how he's different from all that came before and all that came since.
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Los Angeles Times
Still a maverick, Garth Brooks returns with 'Man Against Machine'
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AXS
In a time when it seems that some singers are changing musical genres the same way other people change socks, it’s refreshing to see a singer stay true to his roots.
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Hallels
A classic Garth Brooks record, where he does rock with a freeing abandon and there are still songs where he gets contemplative about life's tender (and country) issues.
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Country Standard Time
For those looking for a strong return from one of their favorite artists, Garth Brooks delivers.
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New England Country Music
Top to bottom the album is very good and I believe it will have no problems living up to all the hype and expectations it has surrounding it.
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AV Music Club
Instead of building on Brooks’ strengths, Man Against Machine is firmly rooted in midair.
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Country Music Chat
It provides old and new fans with a perfect taste of who Garth Brooks is as an artist and a person. He carefully chooses his songs, pours himself into the performances of those selections, and only puts absolute perfection into the universe for people to absorb.
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World of Entertainment
There are highlights in every song, and it is a breathe of fresh air to hear a more “traditional” country artist again. What’s funny about that last statement is Garth was always considered the “new thing” when he first came out, being more pop and rock driven than country artists at that time.
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Spectrum Pulse
Honestly, it's hit-and-miss. Sure, I appreciate the strong country flavour, the story-driven songwriting, and Garth is still a powerhouse of a performer, but the album finds itself bogged down in sentimentality, a lack of killer singles, and pandering directly to the established older demographic that constitutes the majority of his fanbase, and that doesn't ring nearly as strong for me.
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Greensboro
The songs are weighty and wordy, taking up where his albums "Scarecrow" and "In the Life of Chris Gaines" left off.
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My Kind of Country
While the formula is here (cowboy songs, Yearwood on backing vocals, fiddles and steel) it just wasn’t executed with a timeless feel. Brooks, in his heyday, proved he is much, much better than this.
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NY Daily News
Thirteen years away from a studio hasn't taught Garth Brooks much. He still favors the artery-clogging American rock he employed to recommercialize country in the 1990s.
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Las Vegas Weekly
It isn’t desperate or pandering, but it is bland and mediocre, far from the momentous return Brooks’ fans have been waiting for all these years.
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My Pop Cultured Life
It's great to see Garth Brooks back in the saddle after years away from the music scene. He's able to bring back a bit of the 90s country sound in songs like "Romeo & Juliet" and "Wrong About You" and able to start my waterworks flowing with "Mom".
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Omaha World Herald
There’s very little to make any of these songs stand out among a crowded field of country artists and especially not amid Brooks’s already crowded catalog of hits.
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The Music Universe
Nearly every track could stand on its own, but together they work as a "machine" and place this album as on of his best yet!
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Keep It Country, Kids
Man Against The Machine proves that Garth can still fight the machine with the best of him, and can still be a major player. That is a pretty solid comeback if you ask me.
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The Consumer's Corner
All in all, ‘Man Against Machine’ is a solid comeback effort from this iconic musician.
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