Season 7 Episode 8: Garth Brooks - Ultimate Hits DVD, Part 5

The road we're on is paved in Garth.

Come along on the journey.

As we explore,

Garthology.

Think a bit more as a conversation.

I like that.

So if this is truly a conversation,

then I say let the conversation begin.

The road we're on is paved in Garthology.

The road we're on is paved in Garthology.

The road we're on is paved in Garthology.

The road we're on is paved in Garthology.

The road we're on is paved in Garthology.

Hey everyone, it's Deb.

And I'm Pete.

And I'm Jess.

Welcome back to Garthology.

Today, we're jumping right back into the ultimate hits DVD,

which was included in Garth's 2013 box set,

blame it all on my roots, five decades of influences.

As we continue our deep dive through the music videos

that helped bring Garth's songs to life on our TV screens.

Last time, we wrapped up videos 14 through 18,

which means today we're moving into the next batch of five

on the DVD.

So videos 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23.

This stretch really shows how Garth's video style

continued to evolve.

He mixed big performance moments,

but with some creative storytelling along the way.

So let's get going.

Starting with video number 19,

which is American Honky Tonkbar Association.

American Honky Tonkbar Association

was written by Brian Kennedy and Jim Rushing.

The music video was directed by Bud Schatzel.

This video is another concert performance video.

And honestly, for me,

it's a pretty standard Garth concert performance.

Not much really grabbed me while I was watching it.

I do like seeing Thai England

because, you know, he no longer tours with Garth,

so we don't get to see him now in the present.

So it's nice to see him on these old videos.

I did like the kind of little,

I don't know, I guess Elvis Presley Snarl

that Garth kind of did at the beginning of the video.

He like, lips is lip is upper lip.

And it just, I was like, Elvis, no, Garth,

I liked that.

It made me laugh.

Other than that, honestly,

there is just not much to write home about for me in this one.

It's Garth performing.

And I'm like, okay.

I don't know, I just nothing grabbed me.

I think it's hard to because we're watching these back to back,

though.

So when so many of them are live videos,

because I started to feel that way too with the live ones,

like, what is different about this live one

because it is another live show?

So yeah, I think some of it's that.

Yeah, and it could be that because we are.

And we're doing them in these batches of five.

Yeah.

And so many times, like,

four of them are concert performances.

Yeah.

That would make sense.

So for review purposes,

yeah, you kind of go and it's a concert performance.

Whereas if we were just sitting down to watch them,

we'd be like, woohoo, concert performance.

Exactly.

Yeah, that makes sense.

All right, Pete, what about you?

Did you get any more from American Honky Tongue Bar Association

than I did?

You know, honestly, I didn't.

But American Honky Tongue Bar Association,

it's a fun, fun song.

That I will forever turn up loud when it comes on.

Because it does have a lot of fun to the song itself.

One great thing that I see when we watch these videos,

like you were saying, yes,

and it's another concert performance.

But watching these videos,

you could see the escalation of the size of his stages

and the energy that happens through his career.

And this song kind of shows all of that.

I mean, that stage was pretty darn big in this show.

And of course, it wasn't just for this song,

but it was in the show.

And his energy, you know, he's up and he's running around

and jumping all over the stage and stuff.

I love the lyrics that we don't reach for hand-downs.

We reach for those who are down.

Like, I just, I love that part of that song, right there,

which is always great.

Yeah.

It's just a section of lyrics that kind of just grabbed me.

It's all around fun song.

But as far as the video goes,

there's not a whole hell of a lot to the video

that you could say that changes anything about the song.

And the song itself, I think, was the highlight of the concert performance.

And that's kind of what I got from it.

What about you, Jess?

What are your thoughts?

Yeah, I agree with you guys.

I mean, like some of the other ones,

I do, I love how much fun he's having.

So I enjoy watching that part of it.

I did note, and I like that when you would stop and put his hand over his heart

when he says American Hunky Tung Bar Association.

So it's like he was pledging allegiance to the flag or something.

And it just kind of made me laugh because he would stop in the middle of the performance

to kind of do that part and it made me chuckle.

But it is another fun live one.

But I feel like they could have done this one in like a dive bar setting

and it could have been a traditional video.

So I feel like, again, this is maybe one that was a missed opportunity there.

And yeah, doesn't stand out crazy different from the other live performances.

Not bad, just not, you know, super special either.

Yeah, yeah, I could totally see it in a dive bar setting.

And I mean, they could have, they could have done more.

Yeah.

All right, our next video is number 20 on the ultimate hits DVD, which is the fever.

The fever was originally written by Stephen Tyler and Joe Perry

with altered lyrics by Brian Kennedy and Dan Roberts.

The video was directed by Marty Colner.

This video is another concert performance video.

And the footage was taken from Garth Live from Central Park as first seen on HBO.

But this one totally different for me.

I could talk about this music video all day long because there are just so many great moments in it.

You know, we get Jimmy's fiddle playing at the beginning and he's so good.

And we get just crazy Garth running all over the stage.

Absolutely going nuts and you can tell he's just having a blast.

You get the water bottles and all of that energy that the band is putting out into the crowd and the crowd is giving back to them.

And so I love this video.

That moment when Garth jumps over the camera as he like as the camera is moving across the stage and Garth jumps over it.

And he hits those like two lower platforms of the stage and he kind of bounces on one down to the next.

I swear he has so much momentum on that.

I'm surprised he didn't just keep going right into the crowd.

Like that's what I was like because it had been a while since I saw it.

So the first time I watched it for the research, I was like bounce bounce.

Oh, no, he's okay.

Woo that moment.

So without a doubt, this is probably one of my favorite videos on this whole DVD so far.

And I love when Jimmy chases down Garth and he kind of like pushes him and Garth kind of stumbles and then Garth grabs the camera and then uses it to film Jimmy up close.

I don't know if that was all staged and honestly I don't care because I love it.

If it's not staged even better, if it is staged, I'm fine with it because I just love those moments.

They look like they're having a blast and I had a blast watching them.

So I'm here for all of that.

And like I said, I could go on and on but if I did, we would never get to the other ones.

So Pete, it's your turn. What do you think about the fever?

Well, I think that you took my notes, copy, pasted, added a few of your things and then read it out to everybody.

I like, man, oh man, the way that Jimmy starts this one and then Palmer with the drums comes in and it just sets up for a full blown meltdown of a song.

And then you see Garth and his eyes when he hears those guys just come in like that.

And then, you know, like you said, you have the water like this song could be one of the most underrated songs in Garth's collection when it comes to energy.

Nobody jumps off of a level of a stage like that and doesn't think that this song has a potential to get to a higher level than where it starts.

I think that this song in Central Park has the energy of calling Baton Rouge in almost any setting that there is.

Like I mean, people get up for this song the whole time, including the band and crew.

When Garth grabs that camera like you were saying as far as it being staged or not staged, I would be willing to bet the farm.

It was not staged because when Garth almost comes down like that, thank God, nobody got hurt and he kind of topples over.

And he grabs that camera from that cameraman, that cameraman about his pants like, what are you doing?

And Garth got this thing and he's, you know, trying to film Jimmy.

And I think that if it was set up and Jimmy knew that it was coming, Jimmy would have looked into the camera a lot earlier than he does at the very, very end where he kind of just screams.

And then when Garth takes that camera and throws it back to the camera guy, I have zero financial interest in that camera at all.

But my stomach, like my heart drops because if that camera doesn't get caught, I can't imagine even back then and did that time where that was made at 97 or whatever year it was.

I cannot imagine that that camera was cheap at that point.

Just in all around bad ass fun song, I love it and I love the video.

I love the concert performance in Central Park. Just what about you?

Yeah, I have so many of the same notes.

I was so happy to see Jimmy here.

Like I can't even tell you.

And you guys both noted it, but like, yeah, definitely so happy to see Jimmy.

Just for Jimmy.

Yes, just for Jimmy.

Also the return of the water bottles. I had that in my notes.

I love the crowd screaming fever with them.

It's like such a simple lyrics so it really comes out more.

Sometimes it gets a little garbled in the videos or everyone's not together.

And that's such a good moment, I think, to have on film.

If you go back to Honky Talk Bar Association.

Yeah.

In the beginning he says, say association.

And you don't ever really hear it clear.

Like you feel fever.

It's so quiet.

It's a great, great, great note. There you go.

Yeah, yeah.

So I love that part.

And also, I just think this is one of the most fun ones to watch.

Like you guys said, we're Garth grabs the camera and runs with it.

They all look like they're having such a blast.

They're water flying everywhere and their smiles are so big.

Like to me, this is kind of what they were talking about in the song, the old stuff.

I mean, I know back then, like just the craziness and the fun of being on the road together.

Because I know when that song was new, it was like the old stuff.

Like when they were coming up probably before they were really famous.

But now looking back, like that's the old stuff.

Like those early big shows and touring days and things like that.

So I think just that time that they look back on kind of reminds me of that song.

But I'm very glad this one was a live concert video because this is one of those songs that probably nothing else would do it justice.

So I'm very happy with that one.

Yeah, I think so too.

I can't imagine this any other way.

Yeah.

Now onto the 21st video on the DVD.

Video number 21 is to make you feel my love.

The song was written by Bob Dylan and the video was directed by John Small.

The video itself is a traditional music video here.

So not the concert performance, but an actual music video.

And it was filmed on the set or something that looks awfully like the set of the movie Hope Floats.

As we've talked about in the past, both Garth's version of this song as well as a version by Trisha Yearwood are included in the movie's soundtrack.

So having it filmed on the set is a great tie-in to the movie and one that I really, really like.

Same.

Me too.

Yeah, Peter.

Peter does not get to participate in the review of this video because he doesn't understand all of the importance of the background.

Did you even know what the set was that he was on?

No, but no.

Yes.

Yes, I did.

I was going to say.

No, you did not.

You did not.

The entire video is just Garth on the set.

No other people, no clips of the movie, just Garth.

Two of the film's locations are used, the main house in the movie, and also a small town dance hall.

And when Garth sings, you ain't seen nothing like me yet.

Oh, listen, okay.

I'll admit it.

I swooned a little.

I mean, I'm only human, right?

I love to watch him sing that line in any performance of this song.

It's ridiculous.

Yes.

That moment.

Pete's like whatever.

No, no, no.

But that moment.

Peter swooned too.

Pete says, when he sings, you ain't seen nothing like me.

When he walks down the stairs, I love it.

And I love to smirk.

That's what Pete says.

See?

It's universal.

Nobody can help it.

I do have to say, though, that belt buckle.

Oh, wow.

Oh, okay.

Just wow with that.

It was.

It's ginormous.

I never paid attention.

I come from the land of giant belt buckles.

I guess I didn't know.

I just was like, that's.

Yep.

That's about buckle.

And by the way, Pete, FYI.

I watched Hope floats again immediately after doing more.

And immediately after doing my research for this episode.

I'm sure you did too, right?

Yeah, it's been a while since I've seen it.

A while.

I immediately.

I couldn't help it.

I got after the last one.

I was like, and now I watch Hope floats.

All right, Pete, what are your thoughts on this video?

Besides the fact that you didn't know it was in Hope floats.

I do the song came from Hope floats.

I'm him standing on the set.

Yeah, listen, they got to do something.

I'll get to that in a minute.

When you go from fever to make you feel my love,

what an energy killer.

Like, I mean, come on.

But for real, this song is so dang great.

There is a lot in this song from the lyrics in the video.

But nothing stands out more than the wallpaper in that house.

What the actual fuck are they thinking?

Like, and then I go on to say, you know,

when he sings, you ain't seen nothing like me.

And then, you know, it's funny because when I see that,

and then when he walks down the stairs,

I love the smirk.

It automatically takes me back to Garth at the Winding,

where he talks about the first time that James Taylor comes in.

He goes, I don't think I'm gay.

But, you know, but it's funny when he says that,

walking down the stairs, I'm a man.

That's pretty good.

Yeah, that's her voice in a little bit.

I don't think I'm gay.

Yeah, I don't think what.

I love the song.

I love how it has its own music video.

But in my opinion,

this video could have had a little bit more to do

with the song in my opinion.

However, I have not seen Hope Float.

So, maybe not.

There is a ton of potential in Garth in a house with ugly ass.

Wallpaper isn't all I see there.

I mean, I see so much more.

But nevertheless, the song is one of my favorites.

And I thoroughly do enjoy the movie Hope Floats that I haven't seen.

Just what are your thoughts?

I adore this video.

No, surprise, surprise.

Right?

I mean, I adore Hope Floats.

I adore Garth.

I adore this video.

How could I not, really?

I really shouldn't watch that.

You really shouldn't.

It's actually a really good movie.

But, you know, the mom in that movie was a little bit eccentric.

I didn't really notice the wallpaper and can't picture it in my head.

But it would make sense if it was a little bit different.

Yeah, you don't want to.

It's probably her fault.

I think using the set from Hope Floats also,

I agree that was such a good idea.

And I like how like the photos and stuff from the movie are also there.

It's not just the home.

It's like set up how it was for the movie.

And it blended so well with the song.

And there's also just something so haunting about Garth,

just kind of wandering through the empty house.

And all those close-up shots of his eyes.

His face is really emotive in those close-up shots.

And I think that was just a really good angle to use for this video.

So I have like zero complaints.

I love this.

I did think as we were reviewing it,

though coming into it, I was like, man, we just made it like out complete.

180 from the last song to this song.

Like that was a leap.

So I agree, Pete.

That was like a, you know, kind of get a quick in your neck,

because it changed so fast.

But yeah, I got no problems with this one.

I love it on every level.

I think the only thing I not even had issue with,

but my suggestion would have been if they had put some clips of the movie in it.

Yeah, I could see that.

Because otherwise I could see how someone like Pete is like,

what's with this house and that ugly wall paper?

Yeah.

If you'd showed that it was, you know, part of the movie, yeah.

And it's not like this one wall or a room.

It's the whole damn house.

It was the mom's character.

She was very excited.

She really was.

I have to look at that house the entire time I watch this movie.

Well, not the whole thing.

Well, not every scene is in the house.

But some of it, most of it.

A lot of it.

I would know because I just watched it.

All right, video number 22 is The Beaches of Cheyenne.

The song was written by Dan Roberts, Brian Kennedy and Garth Brooks.

And the video was directed by Joe Domeo.

This is another concert video shot on the deck of the USS Enterprise in November 2001.

And for me, I guess I felt like we mentioned earlier that this was another missed opportunity.

And we've talked about that previously.

It was mentioned in this episode.

This is such a great story song.

I would have loved for a traditional music video.

And granted, a music video is short.

You don't have a lot of time to put the whole story in.

But I think there are ways they could have done it.

And so for me, I'm like, it's a great song.

But again, we're covering videos.

So I would have liked a traditional story music video to accompany this wonderful song.

I will say there are a couple of moments that I liked when Garth keeps turning the camera out to the sailors and their families.

I think that was his way of saying these are the important people, not me.

And so I really liked that.

I also like in the last chorus when he stares right into the camera as he sings the lyric late at night.

That's just a great moment for me.

Again, I did my little swoon.

So those two moments are really kind of what stuck out for me.

All right, Pete, what about you?

Oh my God, the beaches of Cheyenne.

Like this song, I love this song.

And I could have swore that it had its own actual music video.

So much that I literally have watched the video that I thought this song had in my head over and over again.

The problem with it is it's only one scene.

But I'm telling you, I swore it had its own music video.

Like for whatever reason, I have a picture of this bedroom beach house, like on the beach.

Like I've seen walls and holes punched in it.

I've seen things of these people closing stuff rolling up in the shore.

It's crazy to me that this song doesn't have its own actual video.

Because I'm telling you, like I remember it so vividly, I could write, produce, and act it if I needed to.

God, now you're making me think I've seen it.

I'm telling you, I could have swore that there was something.

And then you know what?

Also like now that now because I asked you guys, I literally touched you guys and asked if it had its own video.

Because I thought I did.

And then I remember like now I think about it at when we were doing the stadium show deal.

He had these big pillars on the, you can't say the corner of the stages, but they were LED.

And then he had the big thing up on top.

And then that showed some scenes of the beach.

And so like I remember seeing that.

But I don't remember seeing that in whatever video I think it is.

I don't know, this song has got me tripped out.

I love, love, love this song.

Trying to do research.

It came on and I'd turn it up and I'd watch it.

Not write a word down.

And it would end and I would replay it and I would turn it up louder.

And not write a word down.

I don't have anything to say about this song because it's so freaking good.

And I love the song.

I love the lyrics.

You know, he talks about, you know, drew a bowl that a man can't ride.

Like, it's so good.

And there's little subtle lyrics that just continue to tell a phenomenal story.

Garth, if you ever want to revamp this song and actually make a music video call it free of charge, I'm in.

I got a great idea for this thing.

I'm sure we could do it.

Just what are your thoughts on the beaches of Cheyenne?

Yeah, while I love that they filmed this one on the ship, I do think it was another missed opportunity because.

This is one of those songs that really could have easily been a traditional video.

Because like you said, it's such a vivid story.

It's so easy to picture what's happening.

And because there are so few that are traditional music videos that I feel like this would have been a great chance to do that.

And with a really compelling story song.

You know, kind of bummed that, you know, unless somehow I miss the video that you've imagined in your head.

And it's out there somewhere.

Somebody drop it to us if you know what he's talking about.

Could you imagine if somebody emailed him or sent it to us in the video?

I mean, it's like you're in the video that actually was playing and then pulled.

I don't know.

I mean, you can't find anything anymore.

So I guess if he chose not to put it out on a disc for us and it's pulled from the internet, like.

Or the Mandela effect or whatever like that never happened.

That was never.

And I did after Pete sent that text.

I searched everywhere because I was like, maybe it's just buried down deep somewhere in the internet.

And I could not find anything.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I don't know.

I feel like if it wasn't, it should have been.

And I would have gladly watched it on this collection of videos.

We got a live show and it was fun to watch.

But I do think this one should have been for sure a like full on story to watch from beginning to end.

I think that would have been the better option personally.

Yes.

I agree.

And I think Pete can just storyboard it right now.

I think so.

Yeah.

I liked it.

Like the whole like the clothes washing up in the.

I was like, yeah, visual.

I see it.

That's a good.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And the house does not have bad wallpaper.

I'm telling you.

Not in this video.

All right.

Not in this one.

No.

Not in the one in your head.

Yeah.

No.

All right.

Now we'll go on to the 23rd video, which is today's last video.

Video number 23 on the ultimate hits DVD in the blame at all of my roots box set is the change.

The song was written by Tony Arata and Wayne Tester and the video was directed by John Small.

This video is about the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing and is extremely emotional.

As Gart sings throughout the video, we see his scenes inner cut with real life images and footage of the everyday heroes from that awful day.

Firefighters, police officers, emergency responders, volunteers, victims and their families.

The overall tone of the video is deeply respectful to the people affected by the tragedy.

It shows real human moments rather than dramatic storytelling, which for me, I feel like it lets the song's message come through that way better than if Gart had tried to dramatize it.

You know, we get to see that heroism of those ordinary people and that just carries the emotional weight of the song for me.

So for me, the message is clear and this video is so powerful.

All right, Pete, over to you.

Yeah, again, it is another super emotional song and the video for me is tough to watch and I just assume that it is for others.

The sound of the explosion in the beginning, the people screaming, the kids running, the firefighters pulling toys from rubble, the FBI and first responders wiping tears.

It's so, so much an anti like what you were saying.

It seems like the video tells the story from the people who were affected and like it's coming from them and not being sung by Garth Brooks.

It's like after standing outside the fire and you know other songs like, you know, we've researched this, you know, song, the change.

Like Garth has a collection of a lot of very meaningful songs with a lot of emotional videos, I guess, that you can say they're attached to them.

And you know, I have my research that is in my lifetime, but it's in a lot of people's lifetime, right?

It's just not about me or whatever, but these things like I was 16ish when the Oklahoma City bombing happened.

Like I remember so much about it, watching this video and doing this research.

You know, it's not every day you sit there and you think about that and you think about 9-11 and all these other things.

But when you do watch them, it just brings back so much and there's so much devastation and it just did it.

It's just super, super emotional.

But I think that the video was so well done.

You can't hark on it, right?

There's nothing negative about watching a video that's attached to something so devastating, I guess.

So that's my thoughts on it.

Jess, I know this one.

You probably have a lot to say about this one.

Yeah.

I mean, this video breaks my heart and I kind of struggle with it because when I watch it, I feel, I mean, I think everybody it's sad to watch and it's hard to watch.

And most of us, unless you were very young or not born yet, remember where you were and kind of have that connection to it.

But I think I feel sort of a special connection to the people that it's showing because they were my neighbors, you know.

The people that ran to help that day, the first responders that it shows running toward the rubble and the victims.

Those are my people.

But also the ones that were hurt, the ones that didn't make it.

All the innocent people, the babies, like you said, you know, that the daycare was there and it shows them pulling the toys out of the rubble and stuff.

And I just, I feel like those were my people too.

So it's really hard to watch that.

I watched it one time and was like, okay, I mean, I remember the video.

I can't sit and watch it a bunch of times because it's really disturbing in that way.

But it's kind of, it's good because it's honoring to those people for sure.

But also for me, it's like reliving the trauma, watching it unfold in real time and knowing that it happened in my home.

And I was pretty young like middle school.

So that was very jarring to me and scary that something like that could happen so close to home.

And I've always been proud to be from Oklahoma and I still am.

I think being an oaky is something special.

But in this case, it makes the video hit a little too close to home to ever have it just be a video, I think, to me.

And I would wager to probably most people from Oklahoma and probably to Garth, honestly.

But I love that they use the footage and kind of honored everybody that way that was involved that day.

Yeah, the whole time I watched it, I just thought of you and I just kept thinking I only watched it once also.

But I kept thinking, God, this has got to be so hard for you.

Yeah.

And so I mean, I think in the same way, like I thought of Garth and was like, you know, he must have been proud of it when it was done.

But it must have been very hard to watch too.

Because I'm sure he was also feeling like those are my people.

Those are his people.

Yeah.

I want to be a oaky.

You could be an honorary oaky.

I can't just be a honey, Tim Boy, or something that doesn't sound good.

All right.

That wraps up videos 19 through 23 on the ultimate hits DVD.

And as we've talked about previously, this has been really fun for me to watch these videos to revisit this stretch of Garth's career and get to see him as he grows into the artist that we know he is today.

Going back and watching them again is such a great reminder of how much storytelling and personality he packed into these videos through the years.

We all just accept that he is who he is today, but it's so interesting to look back and see him grow into who he is today.

And it gives us that kind of needed dose of Garth.

We've talked about that before too.

And that's part of why I'm really enjoying this series because I'm missing that Garth time.

So for me, this has been great.

I've said that before and I'll keep saying it because I've really enjoyed this time.

So thanks for hanging out with us for this one and be sure and check in with us next time as we continue this journey.

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So please jump on, tag us, tweet us, direct messages, like us, whatever it is,

we appreciate the support and we are looking forward to interacting with all of you.

We release new episodes of Garthology on the seventh, 17th and 27th of each month.

So if you're missing Garth, come join us for an episode and spend some quality time

with your fellow Garthologists as we relive the highlights of Garth's life and career up to this point

and discuss the albums that have become the soundtrack to our lives.

So until the next one.

Thanks for joining us for today's episode of Garthology and I'm Deb.

I'm Pete.

And I'm Jess.

We'll see you guys next time.

Bye everybody.

Bye everybody.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye everyone and remember love will always win.

That

when jars you know jars we release new episodes of

garthology on the7th 17th and 27th of each month

we release new episodes of Garthology on the 7th 17th and

and 27th of each month.

Yeah, I say one.

It's a little triggered.

He's just waiting.

He's like, and now, and now.