Garth Brooks takes questions from the media at his August 18, 2007 press conference in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Wendy Newcomer.
The limited-edition CD cover of Garth Brooks' new 3-disc set, The Ultimate Hits. Photo courtesy of Pearl Records.
The CD cover of Garth Brooks' new 3-disc set, The Ultimate Hits. Photo courtesy of Pearl Records.
August 18, 2007 — At a press conference in Nashville today, Garth Brooks announced plans for a new boxed set called The Ultimate Hits, addressed questions about a possible tour, and showed off his svelte, 40-lbs.-lighter shape.
Garth revealed that The Ultimate Hits will be in stores November 6 and the first single, "More Than a Memory," is expected to hit radio August 27. In addition to the 30 previous hits and the first single, fans will hear Garth's duet with Huey Lewis on Lewis' 1982 hit, "Workin' For a Livin'"; "Midnight Sun," a song which Garth co-wrote; and a bonus track, "Leave a Light On."
The 3-disc set is comprised of past hits, the four new songs, and also a DVD featuring videos for 33 of the songs. Garth is particularly excited about the updated video for his 1992 hit, "We Shall Be Free," which includes all-new cameos by current celebrities and sports figures.
Just before the press conference, Garth met with a large group of country radio programmers and deejays to unveil two different CD covers — and the reason behind doing that. He reflected on the first time he met Pat Quigley, the former head of Capitol Nashville, Garth's former record label.
"He says, 'You know what's wrong with your business?' I'm thinking, 'No, Guy from New York, tell me what's wrong with my business.'
"He said, 'If I can't go get your record today, I'll go get it tomorrow.' I hated the fact that he was right. What do we do for those people who, at that time, would sleep out in the Wal-Mart [parking lot] to get my album right when it came out? What would we do different for them that we wouldn't do for people that would wait six months to get it? So from that day on, the word 'limited' started to be around everything that we did. With every package now, we have the traditional album cover that we hope stands the test of time. And we have a 'limited' edition too, for those people who will [buy] it first.
As Garth unveiled the 'traditional' album cover, he added, "Airbrushed, of course — although the airbrush didn't take out as much gray as I wanted it to."
Garth noted that in both CD covers, he's looking back — appropriate symbolism for a greatest hits package. "That's why these were chosen. Also these were about the only two where I looked thin in them," he joked."
Regarding his 40-lb. weight loss, Garth commented, "I'm competing. Keith Urban is a beautiful guy, and he can play the hell out of guitar, he can sing his butt off and he's a great entertainer. Well, that's just one of about 50 out there that you're gonna go face to face with this fall, and if you're not gonna bring your 'A' game, you're gonna get run over. So I'm gonna do my best at 45 to try and represent myself the best I can."
The Ultimate Hits will be released on Garth's own label, Pearl Records, and promoted by Big Machine Records (the musical home of Garth's wife, Trisha Yearwood).
Since retiring in 2001, Garth has publicly stated that he would not tour again until his youngest daughter (who is now 11) turned 21. As for a tour to support the new boxed set, he said, "No. If I can't eat it and live it and breathe it, it's just not what I want to do. Will I tell you that, maybe as late as [next] February, you're going to see us everywhere? Yes, you will. It's going to be my job to do that, because Wal-Mart and the other retailers have bought in big to this. So it's my job to let people know it's out there. We'll be taping programs for different people that might be seen for the next year, throughout. I'm just finishing this promise that I made to [Wal-Mart]. Our youngest is 11, so we've got a stretch of about 10 years of just raising children and doing our thing."
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