Sevens

by Stephen Thomas ErlewineDespite a massive publicity campaign, Fresh Horses failed to match the success of its predecessors, which meant that its successor, Sevens, had to return Garth Brooks to his superstar status in order to be considered a hit. Part of the problem with Fresh Horses is that it embraced arena rock instead of merely flirting with it; as a result, large portions of his audience refused to follow him. Sevens corrects that misstep by retreating to traditional country territory and establishing a new, folky country-pop direction.