For the last six months, Garth Brooks and his crew—notably engineer Matt Allen—have been culling songs for a new live album that were recorded during Garth’s three-year World Tour. Keep in mind, Garth performed 391 concerts over the course of the tour, with set lists that consistently numbered more than 25 songs.
It sounds like Matt has his hands full.
But there is good news from Garth’s camp. The G-man revealed during his weekly Inside Studio G Facebook series that they are closing in on completing the first version of the new album.
“We’ve got two more songs, which means we’ll be done with the live record . . . the first version of it,” says Garth. “And we’re gonna take a little ‘vacation’ from the studio. I think Matt needs one for sure—he’s lived here for the last six months.”
In 1998, Garth released his first live album, Double Live, which was recorded during his World Tour from 1996–1998. The album has been certified for sales of 21 million units by the RIAA.
“The live record has turned out better than I ever could’ve imagined it,” says Garth. “The first live record—I didn’t remember it being this much time in the studio. And then, of course, they bring up and remind you, ‘Well, the live record was picking things from Croke Park, Central Park, Texas Stadium, This is Garth Brooks.’ They already had them already mixed and kind of ‘done,’ so this is all from scratch. 391 shows, a lot of love, a lot of labor, and we’re wrapping it up.”
No release date for the new album has been announced.
photo by Jason Simanek
