Garth Brooks Is Back In The Saddle Again

“Fresh Horses” Garth Brooks (Liberty)

If life is a roller coaster, Garth Brooks has been riding the top rim for an awfully long time now, the extension of that metaphor of course being that he’s overdue for a plunge.

So with his self-imposed exile from the day-to-day business for the past year or so, there were whispers that Brooks may be creatively exhausted or, at least, questions about what he would offer when he came back.

With the release Tuesday of “Fresh Horses,” his first studio album in more than two years, Brooks answers those questions convincingly with a collection of songs that rivals anything he’s released to date.

Brooks co-penned eight of the album’s 10 cuts (that’s a record for him), and it shows. From his sometimes wicked sense of humor to his bare-heart emotion and down-to-earth honesty, the album resonates with Brooks’ sensibilities as much as any of his previous studio records.

It’s a typically Garth-paced album, too. Naturally, there are a number of knee-knocking rockers, including the road tribute, “The Old Stuff,” “It’s Midnight Cinderella,” and a slightly countrified cover of Aerosmith’s “The Fever.”

But it’s the several stunning ballads that are the heart and soul of this album.

As always, his favorite is the 10th track, “Ireland,” a moving tribute to one of his favorite countries from his world tour. But it’s only one of several gems, such as “Cowboys and Angels,” a cowboy song that’s as country as anything he’s recorded, or “That Ol’ Wind,” accompanied by the Nashville String Machine.

“The Change” which explores individual kindness, ironically came to Brooks just days before the Oklahoma City Bombing. “She’s Every Woman,” the debut single, zoomed to the top of the country charts shortly after release.

It’s hard to imagine that, with a portfolio including classics such as “The Dance,” “If Tomorrow Never Comes” and “The River,” Brooks could surpass previous work, but this collection of ballads is the best he’s put forth yet.

Brooks has already sold more than 30 million albums. If his adoring public hasn’t been distracted in the past couple of years, his future should continue to look bright.