The Chase (Garth Brooks album)

The Chase
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 14, 1992
StudioJack's Tracks Recording Studio
GenreCountry
Length40:12
LabelLiberty
ProducerAllen Reynolds
Garth Brooks chronology
Beyond the Season
(1992)
The Chase
(1992)
In Pieces
(1993)
Singles from The Chase
  1. "We Shall Be Free"
    Released: August 31, 1992
  2. "Somewhere Other Than the Night"
    Released: October 12, 1992
  3. "Learning to Live Again"
    Released: January 25, 1993
  4. "That Summer"
    Released: April 26, 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Consumer GuideB+[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB[3]
Q[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

The Chase is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on September 14, 1992, through Liberty Records and sold 403,000 copies in its first week,[6] The Chase debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and Top Country Albums chart and has been certified diamond by the RIAA. It was also successful internationally, reaching number one on the UK country albums chart and remained in the top ten for many months.

"Dixie Chicken" is a cover of the classic Little Feat song off of their 1973 album of the same name, while "Night Rider's Lament" is a classic cowboy song that had been previously recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker and Chris LeDoux.

Background[edit]

Brooks commented on the album, saying:

"The Chase is definitely the most personal album I think I've ever been involved with. This is as much me as anybody has ever seen. It was recorded at a time in my life that was probably the most trying time of my life. Not the fact that it was a hard time for me, I was just going through a lot of things at this time. Probably the biggest thing was expecting the birth of our first child Taylor. Was also in the business for record re-negotiations, we were remodeling our house. And still trying to go through the biggest tour I'd ever been on since Ropin' The Wind was seeing the success that it was. No Fences seemed to still be doing very well. So we were gone another 250 to 300 days out of the year. So, when you hear this album or snippets from it, and you hear things that are more, probably socially oriented as far as concerns of the world. And some things that are a little bit darker. That's probably 'cause that's where I was at that time. It was a big moment for me. And I gotta say of all the albums I've ever done, this one has the best writing on it, and probably the one that I feel the strongest about. I'm very proud and I love this album."[7]

Commercial performance[edit]

The Chase debuted atop the U.S.[6] Billboard 200, becoming his second, and number one on the Top Country Albums, becoming his third Country chart-topping album. This album was keeping Madonna's "Erotica" from taking the top spot. In 2020, The Chase was certified diamond by the RIAA.

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."We Shall Be Free"3:44
2."Somewhere Other Than the Night"3:11
3."Mr. Right"Brooks2:01
4."Every Now and Then"
  • Brooks
  • Buddy Mondlock
3:56
5."Walkin' After Midnight"
  • Alan Block
  • Don Hecht
2:33
6."Dixie Chicken"
4:21
7."Learning to Live Again"4:05
8."That Summer"
4:46
9."Something with a Ring to ItA"2:33
10."Night Rider's Lament"Michael Burton4:04
11."Face To Face"Tony Arata4:18
Total length:36:59

AThis track was not on the original release of the album. It first appeared when the album was re-released as part of Brooks' first Limited Series box set collection, and has since been part of subsequent releases of the album.

Personnel[edit]

Musicians[edit]

  • Bruce Boutonpedal steel guitar on "Somewhere Other Than the Night", "Mr. Right", "Walk-in' After Midnight", "Dixie Chicken", "Learning to Live Again", "That Summer" and "Night Rider's Lament"
  • Garth Brooks – lead vocals; backing vocals on "Every Now and Then" and "Night Rider's Lament"
  • Mark Casstevens – acoustic guitar
  • Gary Chapman – backing vocals on "We Shall Be Free"
  • Mike Chapman – bass guitar
  • Johnny Cobb – backing vocals on "We Shall Be Free"
  • Charles Cochran – string arrangements on "Somewhere Other Than the Night" and "Learning to Live Again"
  • Rob Hajacos – fiddle on "Mr. Right", "Walkin' After Midnight", "Dixie Chicken", "Night Rider's Lament" and "Face to Face"
  • Vicki Hampton – backing vocals on "We Shall Be Free" and "Dixie Chicken"
  • Yvonne Hodges – backing vocals on "We Shall Be Free" and "Dixie Chicken"
  • Chris Leuzinger – electric guitar
  • Donna McElroy – backing vocals on "We Shall Be Free" and "Dixie Chicken"
  • Debbie Nims – backing vocals on "We Shall Be Free"
  • Denis Solee – clarinet on "Dixie Chicken"
  • Milton Sledge – drums, percussion
  • Howard Smith – backing vocals on "We Shall Be Free"
  • Bobby Wood – keyboards; piano on "Mr. Right", "Walkin' After Midnight" and "Dixie Chicken"
  • Trisha Yearwood – backing vocals on "Dixie Chicken", "That Summer" and "Night Rider's Lament"
  • Nashville String Machinestring section on "Somewhere Other Than the Night" and "Learning to Live Again"

Production[edit]

  • Allen Reynolds – producer
  • Mark Miller – recording and mixing engineer
  • Matt Allen – recording assistant
  • Richard Aspinwall – recording and mix assistant
  • Terry Palmer – recording assistant, technical supervisor
  • Carlos Grier – digital editing
  • Denny Purcell – mastering engineer

Charts[edit]

Singles[edit]

Year Single Peak positions
US Country CAN Country
1992 "We Shall Be Free" 12 12
"Somewhere Other Than the Night" 1 1
1993 "Learning to Live Again" 2 5
"That Summer" 1 1

Other charted songs[edit]

Year Single Peak positions
US Country
1993 "Dixie Chicken" 73

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[21] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[22] 5× Platinum 500,000^
United States (RIAA)[23] Diamond 10,000,000

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
  3. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  4. ^ Album reviews at CD Universe
  5. ^ 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. rolling stone garth brooks album guide.
  6. ^ a b Haring, Bruce (October 5, 1992). "Garth Brooks to take an eight- month hiatus". Variety. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  7. ^ "Garth'S Cd'S". Angelfire.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  8. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Garth Brooks – The Chase". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  9. ^ "Hits of the World - Eurochart". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 10, 1992. p. 43.
  10. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  11. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Garth Brooks – The Chase" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  12. ^ "Charts.nz – Garth Brooks – The Chase". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  13. ^ "Garth Brooks Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  14. ^ "Garth Brooks Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  15. ^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  16. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1992". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  17. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1992". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  18. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1993". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  19. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1993". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  22. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Garth Brooks – The Chase". Music Canada. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  23. ^ "American album certifications – Garth Brooks – The Chase". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 9, 2020.