No Fences

No Fences
Studio album by Garth Brooks
Released	August 27, 1990
Recorded	1989–1990
Studio	Jack's Tracks (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre	Country pop neotraditional country
Length	34:32
Label	Capitol Nashville
Producer	Allen Reynolds
Garth Brooks chronology
Garth Brooks (1989) No Fences (1990) Ropin' the Wind (1991)
Singles from No Fences
"Friends in Low Places" Released: August 6, 1990 "Unanswered Prayers" Released: October 12, 1990 "Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House" Released: January 1991 "The Thunder Rolls" Released: April 30, 1991 "Wild Horses" Released: November 20, 2000

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[1]
AllMusic	[2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A [4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

No Fences is the second studio album by the American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on August 27, 1990, and reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. The album also reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. On the latter chart, it stayed in the top 40 for 126 weeks. ^[6] No Fences remains Brooks' best-selling studio album to date with 18 million copies shipped in the US, ^[7] 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).

Musical style and composition

No Fences has been described as a country pop and neotraditional country album, ^{[8] [9] [2]} that expanded further on the pop elements of Brooks' self-titled debut album, and focused more on the fusion of the soft rock, arena rock, and hard rock styles of artists such as Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor, the Eagles, Journey, and Aerosmith, and traditional country artists such as George Strait. ^{[10] [9]} It is considered the turning point when Garth Brooks established and followed the "stadium country" country-pop sound that grew in popularity for the rest of the 1990s, departing the neo-traditionalist sound that he started with in his career. ^[8]

Singles

Some of Brooks' most famous songs appear on No Fences, including: "The Thunder Rolls" (CMA's 1991 Video of the Year), "Friends in Low Places" (Academy of Country Music's 1990 Single of the Year), "Unanswered Prayers" and "Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House". A cover version of The Fleetwoods' "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 for her 1991 eponymous debut album.

Brooks later re-recorded the track "Wild Horses", 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, Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line, and Keith Urban singing along with Brooks. The album release has since been delayed due to royalty disputes. ^[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Thunder Rolls"	Pat Alger, Garth Brooks	3:43
2.	"New Way to Fly"	Brooks, Kim Williams	3:55
3.	"Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House"	Bobby Boyd, Warren Haynes, Dennis Robbins	2:33
4.	"Victim of the Game"	Brooks, Mark D. Sanders	3:09
5.	"Friends in Low Places"	Dewayne Blackwell, Earl Bud Lee	4:18
6.	"Wild Horses"	Bill Shore, David Wills	3:12
7.	"Unanswered Prayers"	Alger, Larry Bastian, Brooks	3:26
8.	"Same Old Story"	Tony Arata	2:53
9.	"Mr. Blue"	Blackwell	3:17
10.	"Wolves"	Stephanie Davis	4:06
Total length:			34:32

Personnel

The following credits are sourced from liner notes included with the album's release. ^[12]

Musicians

• Pat Alger – acoustic guitar, harmony and backing vocals
• Bruce Bouton – pedal steel guitar, 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 – 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 – double bass
• Mike Palmer – drums, percussion
• Brian Petree – harmony and backing vocals
• Milton Sledge – drums
• Bobby Wood – piano, keyboards, organ, harmony and backing vocals
• Nashville String Machine – string orchestra

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 Chart (1990–1994) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [13] 11 Canadian Albums ( RPM ) 49 Canadian Country Albums ( RPM ) 2 European Albums Chart [14] 69 Irish Albums (IRMA) [15] 1 US Billboard 200 [16] 3 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [17] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1990) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [18] 60 Chart (1991) Position US Billboard 200 [19] 2 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [20] 1 Chart (1992) Position US Billboard 200 [21] 6 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [22] 3 Chart (1993) Position US Billboard 200 [23] 47 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [24] 9 Chart (1994) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) [25] 85 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [26] 21 Decade-end charts Chart (1990–1999) Position US Billboard 200 [27] 4

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [28]	Platinum	70,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [29]	7× Platinum	700,000^
Ireland (IRMA) [30]	5× Platinum	75,000^
United States (RIAA) [31]	18× Platinum	18,000,000‡
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States

References

1. Coleman, Kathy. "Garth Brooks – 'No Fences'". About.com . Retrieved August 29, 2012.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "No Fences – Garth Brooks". AllMusic . Retrieved August 29, 2012.
3. Christgau, Robert. "CG: Garth Brooks". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
4. Alanna Nash (September 21, 1990). "No Fences Review". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved August 29, 2012.
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. Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Albums, 3rd edition, Billboard Books, 1995, p. 46.
7. "RIAA – Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved August 16, 2015.
8. "No Fences (1990)". Country Music Project. University of Texas, Austin . Retrieved July 25, 2025.
9. "Garth Brooks - No Fences (album review)". SputnikMusic. October 21, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
10. Molanphy, Chris (November 5, 2020). "Friends in Low Places Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate . Retrieved January 22, 2024.
11. Newman, Melinda. "Garth Brooks' All-Star 'Friends in Low Places' & Album Reissue On Hold Over Royalty Dispute: Exclusive". Billboard.com. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
12. No Fences (CD). Garth Brooks. Capitol Records. 1990. 93866.
13. "Australiancharts.com – Garth Brooks – No Fences". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
14. "Hits of the World – Eurochart". Billboard . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 17, 1994. p. 43.
15. "Hits of the World – Ireland". Billboard . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 23, 1994. p. 47.
16. "Garth Brooks Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
17. "Garth Brooks Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
18. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
19. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
20. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
21. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1992". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
22. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1992". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
23. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1993". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
24. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1993". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
25. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Albums 1994". Australian Record Industry Association Ltd. Archived from the original on November 2, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
26. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
27. 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.
28. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 42.
29. "Canadian album certifications – Garth Brooks – No Fences". Music Canada.
30. Duffy, Thom (January 29, 1994). "EMI Makes Brooks Ana International Priority". Billboard. p. 100. Retrieved June 9, 2020– via Google Books.
31. "American album certifications – Garth Brooks – No Fences". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved February 19, 2020.