In Pieces finds Garth at the height of his popularity--the album scored 5 hit singles--but in the basement of his admittedly considerable talent. This rise and fall coincided with Brooks's boldest movement yet away from traditional country. "Standing Outside the Fire," another Garth anthem to emotional risk, ends with bongo and rock guitar while "Ain't Going Down till the Sun Comes Up" is rock down to its "Subterranean Homesick Blues" melody. All of which would be fine if the songs were catchier, or if the lyrics--one song disses welfare recipients, another valorizes a father who beats up his boys--weren't such an annoying muddle. --David Cantwell