Ropin' the Wind
Ropin' the Wind is the third studio album by the American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on September 2, 1991, and was his first studio album to debut at No. 1 the Billboard 200 chart and the Top Country Albums chart. It was the first album by a country singer to top both of these charts since Kenny Rogers just over a decade earlier. It had four runs at No. 1 between September 28, 1991, and April 3, 1992, spending a combined 18 weeks at the top, eventually being certified 14x Platinum by the RIAA in 1998. In the UK, it reached the Top 50 pop albums list and went to No. 1 for several months on the country charts. It is the last studio album on Capitol Records Nashville until the 1995 album Fresh Horses.
Ropin' the Wind | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 2, 1991 | |||
Recorded | 1990–1991 | |||
Studio | Jack's Tracks Recording Studios | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 39:21 | |||
Label | Capitol Nashville | |||
Producer | Allen Reynolds | |||
Garth Brooks chronology | ||||
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Singles from Ropin' the Wind | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | A−[2] |
Entertainment Weekly | C+[3] |
Los Angeles Times | [4] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
The track "Shameless" is a cover version of a Billy Joel song recorded on his 1989 album Storm Front.
According to the music review website Allmusic, Ropin' the Wind was the first country album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.[6]
Background
Brooks commented on the album saying: "Ropin' the Wind was what we called the son of Fences. Ropin' the Wind was made in this kind of tour that we were on from No Fences. We were gone, pretty much 250 days out of the year. And in that remaining 100 days, I elected to cut Ropin' The Wind, and try to write for it. This album became a lot bigger than I ever thought it could possibly be. And when I listen to the singles off of it like 'Rodeo', 'What She's Doing Now', 'The River', 'Papa Loved Mama', and 'Shameless', I look at it and stand very proud. And then when I also look at the cuts, 'Against The Grain', 'Cold Shoulder', these songs I am equally proud of."[7]
Reception
Ropin' the Wind debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, becoming his first, and No. 1 on the Top Country Albums number-one album selling 400,000 copies, becoming his second No. 1 country album. In September 1998, Ropin' the Wind was certified 14 x platinum by the RIAA.
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Against the Grain" | Bruce Bouton, Larry Cordle, Carl Jackson | 2:23 |
2. | "Rodeo" | Larry Bastian | 3:54 |
3. | "What She's Doing Now" | Pat Alger, Garth Brooks | 3:26 |
4. | "Burning Bridges" | Brooks, Stephanie C. Brown | 3:36 |
5. | "Papa Loved Mama" | Brooks, Kim Williams | 2:50 |
6. | "Shameless" | Billy Joel | 4:16 |
7. | "Cold Shoulder" | Kent Blazy, Brooks, Williams | 3:54 |
8. | "We Bury the Hatchet" | Brooks, Royal Wade Kimes | 3:05 |
9. | "In Lonesome Dove" | Brooks, Cynthia Limbaugh | 4:49 |
10. | "The River" | Brooks, Victoria Shaw | 4:23 |
Total length: | 36:37 |
Personnel
- Garth Brooks – lead and backing vocals
- Ty England – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
- Dave Gant – keyboards, fiddle, backing vocals
- James Garver – electric guitar, percussion, backing vocals
- Steve McClure – pedal steel and electric guitars
- Betsy Smittle – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Mike Palmer – drums, percussion
- Susan Ashton – backing vocals
- Bruce Bouton – lap and pedal steel guitars, Dobro
- Sam Bush – mandolin
- Mark Casstevens – acoustic guitar
- Mike Chapman – bass guitar
- Charles Cochran – string arrangements
- Larry Cordle – backing vocals
- Jerry Douglas – Dobro
- Carl Jackson – backing vocals
- Chris Leuzinger – electric guitar
- Rob Hajacos – fiddle
- Kenny Malone - percussion
- Edgar Meyer – acoustic bass
- Milton Sledge – drums, percussion
- Bobby Wood – keyboards
- Trisha Yearwood – backing vocals
- Nashville String Machine – string orchestra
Charts
Album
Singles
Other charted songs
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End of decade charts
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Certifications and sales
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA)[16] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada)[17] | 5× Platinum | 500,000^ |
Japan | — | 23,000[18] |
Spain | — | 40,000[18] |
United States (RIAA)[19] | Diamond | 10,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- AllMusic review
- Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
- Entertainment Weekly review
- Los Angeles Times review
- Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 105. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Garth Brooks". Allmusic. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- "Garth'S Cd'S". Angelfire.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- "Garth Brooks – Ropin' the Wind". hitparade.ch.
- Hits of the World – Eurochart. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 23, 1992. p. 43.
- "Hits of the World – Ireland". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 23, 1994. p. 47. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- "Artists".
- "Garth Brooks : Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
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- Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
- Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade – The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- "Canadian album certifications – Garth Brooks – Ropin' the Wind". Music Canada. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- Duffy, Thom (January 29, 1994). "EMI Makes Brooks Ana International Priority". Billboard. p. 100. Retrieved June 9, 2020 – via Google Books.
- "American album certifications – Garth Brooks – Ropin' the Wind". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 9, 2020. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.