Did GunSlinger get Murdered by Garth's Obessesion with Numbers.

[Brett Dale]

A lot of articles I have read on Garth's Gunslinger talks about what a failure it is commercially.

There doesnt seem to be much written about the music on it.

Does the fault lie with Garth???

Before it's release he signed with amazon, who promoted his The Ultimate Hits, then he promoted the new The Ultimate Collection (which gunslinger was a part of) then there was the Bundle with the Xmas CD.

The standalone album got lost in all of this.

Garth's always been an album artist, but I thought it was sad that GunSlinger wasnt treated as an album but more of a commodity to move numbers, I thought it deserved better. (Yes Im well aware it isnt the 90's anymore and numbers arent that high) but I genuinely think as a album, Gunslinger got treated poorly by Garth and his management.

Man against machine got treated a bit poorly too, where he stopped some promotion because of riots in Ferguson.

Kinda thought he had a second chance with Gunslinger.

I hope when he gets to his next studio album, there are no more bundles/boxsets/special deals and I hope he talks about the ALBUM

Because he is an ALBUM artist foremost!

[CER956]

I think the silver lining in all of this was that the last box was a relative flop, they sold what 300K before they had to chop the price to $9.99 or whatever it was?
And from the RIAA certifications it's safe to say Target ordered a million sets, even know you can get them for less than $12 sealed from third party sellers, that says it all IMO.

I think the next record will be handled as a standalone record unless he decides to bundle it with Triple Live

[Brett Dale]

Wasnt there also a couple of extrra songs but only if you buy it from target.

A standalone album is what needed, because then, its the album that gets talked about.

I alos wonder if the reason "The Ultimate Hits" sold well, is because people thought it was "The Ultimate Collection"

[CER956]

Yes SugarCane and FILP 25th anniversary which was the main selling point for me, the other was that you could GS earlier and it included the new remixes for the other tracks.

I really he hope he's gotten the boxset thing out of his system...

[rhd13]

Were tracks remixed or remastered? I thought they were just remastered.

[Mr_Sevens]

See, it's hard for me to follow that line of thought. Gunslinger was a better deal in the box, so most people bought it that way. Unless you are a super fan/collector, why purchase it twice? The standalone copy offered nothing the box set version didn't have. The set sold over 500k copies. That's 500k copies of Gunslinger that have been purchased. So, murdered? That's an interesting way to look at it. Seems like boxed set move was smart because it got the new album in FAR more homes than it would have been in otherwise.

[CER956]

Were tracks remixed or remastered? I thought they were just remastered.

No he used the remixes first released on the Sony Legacy CD's back in 2013.

[CER956]

See, it's hard for me to follow that line of thought. Gunslinger was a better deal in the box, so most people bought it that way. Unless you are a super fan/collector, why purchase it twice? The standalone copy offered nothing the box set version didn't have. The set sold over 500k copies. That's 500k copies of Gunslinger that have been purchased. So, murdered? That's an interesting way to look at it. Seems like boxed set move was smart because it got the new album in FAR more homes than it would have been in otherwise.

I don't disagree it was a better deal getting it in the box, I bought it day of release but as a Garth fan it was embarrassing seeing so many sets in the clearance set within weeks of release. Never mind the ridicule he got from social media, this is one of many I saw on twitter https://twitter.com/TreyHigdon/statu...92051126026241

[Skywise]

Yes SugarCane and FILP 25th anniversary which was the main selling point for me, the other was that you could GS earlier and it included the new remixes for the other tracks.

I really he hope he's gotten the boxset thing out of his system...

That 25th anniv FILP ..... That was a train wreck imo

[rhd13]

No he used the remixes first released on the Sony Legacy CD's back in 2013.

Wow, I don't know how I missed that. Didn't realize it had been remixed. I bought the digital bundle in 2014 and it is obvious some songs were remixed but I thought most were just remastered. Any more detailed info on what was remixed I'd love to hear.

[CER956]

That 25th anniv FILP ..... That was a train wreck imo

Agreed but I needed to hear it for myself!

[CER956]

Wow, I don't know how I missed that. Didn't realize it had been remixed. I bought the digital bundle in 2014 and it is obvious some songs were remixed but I thought most were just remastered. Any more detailed info on what was remixed I'd love to hear.

Check this thread referencing the boxset
http://www.planetgarth.com/forums/sh...ht=#post425763

This is from another forum I frequent where the poster went into much more detail regarding the differences in mixes, credit goes go GG.
"I picked it up when it first launched for Man Against Machine, the follow-up, and for the new mixes. If you A/B the original masters and these, there are substantial and very audible differences between them. There are some lyrical, instrumental, and technical changes on a few tracks as well.

-Crowd cheers were added back into the studio version of "The Old Stuff" on Fresh Horses (in the Limited Edition it had been removed)
-New steel guitar part on "Somewhere Other Than the Night" on The Chase
-"Do What You Gotta Do" from Sevens has some new mandolin work
-Almost all the 80s/90s-era echo is gone and the cleaned up vocals are more prominent with a more modern and reserved reverb.
-Several songs' fade in/fade out have been altered or shifted - some longer, some shorter but not by much.

Scarecrow had a substantial amount of George Lucas-ing done to it.
-"Squeeze Me In" has a new lyric from Trisha, nixing the old outdated "faxing you love notes" lyrics.
-"Don't Cross the River" is slightly longer with an extra chorus, by approx 15-20 seconds.
-"Wrapped Up In You" is slightly shorter, by approx 10-10 seconds.
-"The Storm" has Garth change one word of lyrics "swirl like a hurricane" instead of "whirl"
"

[AronP24]

In MY opinion, Gunslinger got murdered by the song choices on it. It is far and away the worst Garth album and, to me, it really isn't even close. MAM had 5-7 songs I played over and over and over and over again bc they were SO good. On Gunslinger there isn't a SINGLE LONE song I have bothered to replay after listening to the album all the way through. It was disappointing, boring and just..bad.
Your mileage may vary.

[CER956]

In MY opinion, Gunslinger got murdered by the song choices on it. It is far and away the worst Garth album and, to me, it really isn't even close. MAM had 5-7 songs I played over and over and over and over again bc they were SO good. On Gunslinger there isn't a SINGLE LONE song I have bothered to replay after listening to the album all the way through. It was disappointing, boring and just..bad.
Your mileage may vary.

I don't disagree although I do enjoy Cowboys and Friends, Honky Tonk Somewhere, BLLDAD and Ask Me How I Know. But as a whole I too find it to be a very weak record overall, a sentiment I've shared since it was released.

Most certainly lower tier GB and I too felt that a handful of the tracks off MAM were some of the best he's cut like "You Wreck Me", "Midnight Train" "Cold Like That" & "Mom", which is why that album ranks up there with In Pieces and Ropin The Wind in all time favorite GB albums.

[Skywise]

Check this thread referencing the boxset
http://www.planetgarth.com/forums/sh...ht=#post425763

This is from another forum I frequent where the poster went into much more detail regarding the differences in mixes, credit goes go GG.
"I picked it up when it first launched for Man Against Machine, the follow-up, and for the new mixes. If you A/B the original masters and these, there are substantial and very audible differences between them. There are some lyrical, instrumental, and technical changes on a few tracks as well.

-Crowd cheers were added back into the studio version of "The Old Stuff" on Fresh Horses (in the Limited Edition it had been removed)
-New steel guitar part on "Somewhere Other Than the Night" on The Chase
-"Do What You Gotta Do" from Sevens has some new mandolin work
-Almost all the 80s/90s-era echo is gone and the cleaned up vocals are more prominent with a more modern and reserved reverb.
-Several songs' fade in/fade out have been altered or shifted - some longer, some shorter but not by much.

Scarecrow had a substantial amount of George Lucas-ing done to it.
-"Squeeze Me In" has a new lyric from Trisha, nixing the old outdated "faxing you love notes" lyrics.
-"Don't Cross the River" is slightly longer with an extra chorus, by approx 15-20 seconds.
-"Wrapped Up In You" is slightly shorter, by approx 10-10 seconds.
-"The Storm" has Garth change one word of lyrics "swirl like a hurricane" instead of "whirl"
"

No CER, it's the Mandela effect- that's the changes!!!! (ok I had to... just had to laugh at the idiocy of that 'effect'..)

interesting- LOL I must not pay attention enough to the details of the differences in the songs- thx for referencing them

[Skywise]

In MY opinion, Gunslinger got murdered by the song choices on it. It is far and away the worst Garth album and, to me, it really isn't even close. MAM had 5-7 songs I played over and over and over and over again bc they were SO good. On Gunslinger there isn't a SINGLE LONE song I have bothered to replay after listening to the album all the way through. It was disappointing, boring and just..bad.
Your mileage may vary.

HMMM... .. . .. first off.... ARON!!!!! HEY THERE!!! BACK OUT OF THE SHADOWS.. Welcome back- PM me- lol have a bit of a story to tell you..

re: GS... I don't know if I 'd say it's the 'worst' garth album or not- honestly, I have a hard time (I know, me the cynical one) picking a worst album. I do think some of the song choice is meh at best..

honkytonk somewhere- it's fun- not OVER AND OVER for me, but fun

I pers. like Ask me how I know.. after I've listened to it a lot it grew on me.. the most 'repeat worthy' song to me so far.. (and this is wild for me to even say) has been whiskey to wine... I just like that duet. (and I';m not a huge TY fan so I find it surprising..)

lower tier definitely.. but there aren't TOO many make ya wanna vomit or throw the album away type of songs... (well, maybe BANG BANG)

[fences2312]

I agree with Aron, GS is the worst Garth album. Never thought I would be disappointed with a Garth release but this was a total letdown. I even reordered the tracks and still...it's bad. Soooo disappointed.

HMMM... .. . .. first off.... ARON!!!!! HEY THERE!!! BACK OUT OF THE SHADOWS.. Welcome back- PM me- lol have a bit of a story to tell you..

re: GS... I don't know if I 'd say it's the 'worst' garth album or not- honestly, I have a hard time (I know, me the cynical one) picking a worst album. I do think some of the song choice is meh at best..

honkytonk somewhere- it's fun- not OVER AND OVER for me, but fun

I pers. like Ask me how I know.. after I've listened to it a lot it grew on me.. the most 'repeat worthy' song to me so far.. (and this is wild for me to even say) has been whiskey to wine... I just like that duet. (and I';m not a huge TY fan so I find it surprising..)

lower tier definitely.. but there aren't TOO many make ya wanna vomit or throw the album away type of songs... (well, maybe BANG BANG)

[Emerald Isle]

Huh! I have really liked GS from the start! And I've only come to love it more and more since.

[Mr_Sevens]

Huh! I have really liked GS from the start! And I've only come to love it more and more since.

I really like it a lot too. Not that there's a lot in between, but it's my favorite since Sevens for sure.

[Brett Dale]

Yep loved Gun Slinger, such a fun album!

[Garthmedic]

*Raises hand* I like it.

[wimpy77]

I think people here like to raise the Garth's obsession of the numbers argument a little to much and I don't think that's why the album didn't do well.

[Skywise]

ok, that begs the question, Wimpy...... why do you think it didn't do well?

[wimpy77]

ok, that begs the question, Wimpy...... why do you think it didn't do well?

because i think out of all the albums that he's released, IMO Gunslinger was on of the weakest. None of those songs made want to listen again.