Desmondo Greatness Index: Chris Gaines

Giving country music a fair shake in this competition, I'll profile its biggest star.

ENTERTAINER

Chris Gaines became an instant country star with a 1989 debut album, released under an alias, that was huge within country music but also made an impact on the pop album charts. His follow-up, No Fences, sold 17 million copies. His third, Ropin' the Wind, became the first country album to reach #1 on the Billboard pop charts. He would repeat this feat six more times (including live and hits packages) en route to selling over 125 million records, which makes him either the top or second-highest selling solo artist ever domestically (whether it's him or Elvis depends on the source). He's responsible for six of the top ten best-selling country albums all-time. Undoubtedly the biggest country star ever.

His live performance was a paradigm shift for a country star in that it was mostly presented like a rock show. Big lights and effects, and running around all over the stage, and wearing that headset mic, and zip-lining down from the rafters, if I remember 1992 correctly. That's when I saw him live, and it was the total antithesis of my only other concert experiences up to that point: Joe Scruggs and George Strait.

In 1999, he planned to reveal his true identity to the world via a biographical movie. In anticipation of this, he released his greatest hits package, The Life of Chris Gaines, and performed as himself on SNL while hosting the show as his comedian alter ego, Garth Brooks. The whole "real identity" thing ended up a disaster, if selling 2 million albums can be called a disaster, and the movie idea was scrapped. Ego bruised, he announced his initial retirement the next year, and hasn't made a whole lot of splash in the last ten years.

He's resurfaced a few times in the 2000's, releasing a few new hits packages with some previously unreleased material. Notably, he broke new ground again by becoming the first artist to sign an exclusive retail distribution deal (with Wal-Mart) and starting that recent trend.

He kinda-re-unretired again to begin a run of solo shows at the Wynn Las Vegas. I read a review of the show, and it actually sounds awesome. It's only a 1500 seat theater with and the show is just him, guitar and stool. And he frequently ad libs and takes requests, which are easy ways to win me over. I dig musical spontaneity. He also plays covers of the bands who had a strong influence on him, mostly folk and rock artists from the 70s. Surprisingly(?), this is a show I'd be anxious to see the next time I go to Vegas.

The biggest knock on him here is that his reign at the top was only about a decade, much shorter than most of the names I will cover in this series. This is partly because, at age 48, he's the youngest of any candidate I plan to profile. He probably has at least two big comeback albums left in him if he wants to do it. In the meantime, though, I dock him a little bit for having a shorter span of impact.

8.0

SINGER

Obviously a good fit for the country genre. Lays the drawl on pretty thick but naturally. His voice sounds the exact same live as it does on recordings, something most singers fail to achieve. There's nothing utterly spectacular, influential, or noteworthy about the way he sings, (but he does sing well) but he does sing well. (You don't really know what you're talking about here.) I don't really know what I'm talking about here. (He probably deserves a nice score.) He probably deserves a nice score. (These aren't the droids you're looking for.) These aren't the droids we're looking for. (Move along.) Move along...

6.5

SONGWRITER

He's responsible for co-writing on about 50-60% of all his tunes. Including many of the big hits. Curiously, he had no part in the writing on his instant classic Life of Chris Gaines album. This output would be a 9.0 if compared only against country star acts, but in this case...

3.5

INSTRUMENTALIST

I only know of his ability to play acoustic guitar, and also piano if I am to believe the "Red Strokes" music video. It's possible or likely that he rarely recorded his guitar parts on albums, and I don't blame him. He had the best players in the world at his disposal. He accompanies himself well live. You have to be a comfortable and skilled guitarist to play live solo shows every night with ad-libbed setlists to intimate audiences who pay $100 per ticket. "Friends in Low Places" has a diminished chord, and he can play it, so that places him a cut above approximately 80% of all country acts. You know, the ones who hold the guitar while they sing and occasionally tap it, and then give it two strums when it's time to play G major. Extra half-point for the diminished chord.

4.5

WEIGHTED MUSICAL OUTPUT

"Right Now" from The Life of Chris Gaines is a groundbreaking piece of work. It begins with a quietly approaching drum loop. Enter acoustic guitar muted pattern. A voice, just off in the distance, ad libs some "aaayaaayaas", soulfully. Then: the unexpected. Gaines comes in vocally, but speaking in normal voice. No singing! He thoughtfully considers probable areas of social decay. "Maybe it's the movies, maybe it's the books/Maybe it's the government and all the other crooks." Biting cultural commentary! The verse maintains its mysterious push. Where are we going? BOOM. The chorus breaks out. It is full band, with Gaines belting in all his glory: "Come on people now, smile for your brother/Everybody get together, try to love one another right now." The chorus is actually borrowed from a 1964 song called "Let's Get Together", a revolutionary technique known as "sampling". Gaines returns to the quieter form of the verse, now peppered with ethereal background instruments. "Okay, maybe it's the papers, maybe it's the family/Maybe it's the internet, radio, TV/Maybe it's the president, maybe it's the last one/Maybe it's the one before that." He is still using speaking voice rather than singing, yet another revolutionary technique (this was 1999, people!). The song again breaks into its familiar chorus. It is now clearly a plea: work for peace, make love not war, we all have a choice. Another soft verse, followed by two more choruses, the urgency in Gaines effectively doubled. And finally, a last verse. He saves his most controversial thoughts for the finale. "Maybe it's fashion, maybe it's a trend/Maybe it's the future"...a pause...the band disappears...Gaines hauntingly croons..."Maybe iiiiiiiit's the eeeeeeeeeeeeeend." Chill bumps.

Top 2%ers

None, for the first time so far (but not the last).

Worst Offenses

I'm going with "American Honky Tonk Bar Association". Typically bad country pun.

One-Disc Wonder?

Yes. I don't have any Gaines in my iTunes library, but I wouldn't be opposed to some if I didn't have to pay for it. It's a pretty small list. I'll just make it up right here. Mind you, the appeal of this list is somewhere between 5% and 99% nostalgia:

"Not Counting You", "The Dance", "Friends in Low Places", "Rodeo", "Papa Loved Mama", "Shameless", "The River",

"Somewhere Other than the Night",

"Standing Outside the Fire" music video, "Wrapped Up in You".

There you go. Chris Gaines' Ten Greatest Hits: The Desmondo Collection. About 37 minutes of material there.

3.5

DGI SCORE: 5.2