''No Fences'' is the second studio album by the American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

. It was released on August 27, 1990, and reached No. 1 on ''Billboard's''

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales a ...

chart. The album also reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200. On the latter chart it stayed in the top 40 for 126 weeks. ''No Fences'' remains Brooks' best-selling studio album to date with 18 million copies shipped in the US, and is the album that made him an international star. It was his first album issued in Europe (the original European release contained the four singles from his US debut as bonus tracks).

Singles

Some of Brooks' most famous songs appear on ''No Fences'', including: "

The Thunder Rolls "The Thunder Rolls" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released in April 1991 as the fourth and final single from his album ''No Fences''. The song became his sixth number one on the country cha ...

" ( CMA's 1991 Video of the Year), " Friends in Low Places" (

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...

's 1990 Single of the Year), "

Unanswered Prayers "Unanswered Prayers" is a song by American country music artist Garth Brooks which hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in 1991. It was released on October 12, 1990, as the second single from his album '' No Fences'' and also appears ...

" and "

Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House "Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House" is a song co-written by Warren Haynes, Dennis Robbins and Bobby Boyd. It was originally recorded by Robbins himself in 1987 for MCA Records and charted at number 71 on the '' Billboard'' country charts. The ...

". A cover version of

The Fleetwoods The Fleetwoods were an American vocal group from Olympia, Washington whose members were Gary Troxel (born November 28, 1939), Gretchen Christopher (born February 29, 1940), and Barbara Ellis (born February 20, 1940). Early history The band mem ...

' " Mr. Blue" appears on the album. The album itself was named Album of the Year by the ACM in 1990. It reached Number 1 on the British country music charts (earning Brooks his first gold album in that country) and remained charted for over five years. The track "Victim of the Game" was later covered by Brooks's friend and future wife

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single " She's in Love with the Boy," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' c ...

for her 1991 eponymous debut album. Brooks later re-recorded the track "

Wild Horses Wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus ''Equus'' that includes domesticated and undomesticated subspecies. * Przewalski's wild horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), a rare and endangered subspecies of wild ...

", and released the new recording as a single in early 2001, reaching #7 on the country chart.

25th anniversary reissue

In September 2015, it was announced ''No Fences'' would be reissued later in the year to commemorate its 25-year release anniversary. The release would include a new version of " Friends in Low Places", featuring

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

Jason Aldean Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 ...

Florida Georgia Line Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...

, and

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

singing along with Brooks. The album release has since been delayed due to royalty disputes.

Track listing

Personnel

The following credits are sourced from liner notes included with the album's release. Musicians * Pat Alger – acoustic guitar, harmony and backing vocals *

Bruce Bouton Bruce Bouton is an American guitarist, session musician, producer, and songwriter. His pedal steel guitar has been featured on many country music recordings, and he helped reintroduce the pedal steel guitar to the forefront of the Nashville sound ...

–

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

, harmony and backing vocals * Tim Bowers – bass guitar, harmony and backing vocals * Garth Brooks – lead, harmony and backing vocals, acoustic guitar * Mark Casstevens – acoustic guitar * Mike Chapman – bass guitar, harmony and backing vocals * Johnny Christopher – acoustic guitar *

Ty England Gary Tyrone England (born December 5, 1963) is an American country music singer and guitarist. Initially a member of Garth Brooks' band, England began his solo career in 1995, recording a self-titled debut album on RCA Records Nashville, RCA Na ...

– acoustic guitar, harmony and backing vocals * Dave Gant – piano, keyboard, organ, fiddle, harmony and backing vocals * James Garver – electric guitar, harmony and backing vocals * Rob Hajacos – fiddle, harmony and backing vocals * Chris Leuzinger – electric guitar * Steve McClure – electric and pedal steel guitars *

Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegrass ...

– double bass * Mike Palmer – drums, percussion * Brian Petree – harmony and backing vocals * Milton Sledge – drums *

Bobby Wood Bobby Shou Wood (born November 15, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. Youth and early career Wood was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a mother with partial ...

– piano, keyboards, organ, harmony and backing vocals *

Nashville String Machine Nashville String Machine is a musical collective comprising session musicians, based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Members of the group have been credited on records dating from 1972 to the present, although the group was formally formed ...

–

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...

Backing and harmony vocalists *Friends in Low Places ** Pat Alger ** Al "Shaggy" Barclay ** Dewayne Blackwell ** Bruce Bouton ** Tim Bowers ** Sandy Brooks ** Stephanie C. Brown ** Mike Chapman ** Bob Doyle ** The Englands (plus one) ** Dave Gant ** Rob Hajacos ** Joe Harris ** Dan Heins ** Rusty "Race Horse" Jones * Steve King * Earl of Bud Lee * Pam "The Chick" Lewis * Buddy Mondlock * Steve Morley * Mike "Palmerman" * Brian Petree * Dale Pierce * Jim Rooney * Tami Rose * Lee Sartin * Charlie Stefl * Scott Stem * Bobby Wood *Unanswered Prayers ** Wendy Johnson ** Jennifer O'Brien ** Hurshel Wiginton ** Curtis Young *Wolves ** ''Indian River'' *** David McVay *** Stephen Tolman *** Neil Thrasher *** Curry Worsham Recording * Denny Purcell – mastering engineer * Mark Miller – recording and mixing engineer * Dan Heins – harmony and backing vocals, audio engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1990 albums Garth Brooks albums Albums produced by Allen Reynolds Capitol Records albums