Garth Brooks Fans ‘Disappointed’ With Unfair Release Plan For New Album

Garth Brooks has announced the release of his brand-new 14th album, Time Traveler, but there’s a catch.

If you want to buy it, you have to purchase the new album as part of a CD boxset featuring his most recent albums: 2014’s Man Against Machine, 2016’s Gunslinger, 2019’s 3-disc Triple Live and 2020’s Fun.

“There are a lot of different eras on this album, thus the name,” Brooks said about the new album, per The Tennessean. “Country music’s core is sincerity; after that, you can dress it up a thousand different ways. I am so lucky to live under the flag of Country Music.”

The new album arrives on Tuesday, 7 November, and contains ten tracks. The physical release will be shipped in mid-November as part of Brooks’ third Limited Series 7-disc box set.

“Time Traveler - something from every era of country music! love, g,” Brooks wrote on Facebook yesterday (25 October). “Available 11.7 only at Bass Pro Shops included in The Limited Series”.

You can pre-order your copy of Time Traveler as part of the CD Limited Series box set here.

Not everyone approves of Brooks’ release method. “It is likely Garth Brooks will release Time Traveler separately at some point as well, but who knows when. As some fans are also pointing out, even though the Limited Series box set will be available at Bass Pro on November 7th, if you purchase it online from the retailer, it won’t ship until November 27th to December 4th,” Saving Country Music explained in a recent article regarding Brooks’ new album.

“Perhaps this is to push people toward going to the physical stores. But with only 200 Bass Pro locations, this is not a possibility for many Garth Brooks fans, especially ones that live in rural areas.”

Responding to the article on Twitter, user Justin Phillips wrote, “As a huge Garth guy, this is disappointing. Get with the times my man.”

On Twitter, user Farce The Music quipped, “Breaking News: Garth Brooks’ next album requires you to solve a cursed puzzle-box and offer up your eternal soul to hear it.”

The move to only release his album via a CD box set follows Brooks’ recent comments about his refusal to have his music on streaming services.

“I stick up for the songwriters because I’m freakin’ one of them,” he said in a March 2023 interview. “Everything I do for the songwriters, I do for myself.”

Time Traveler - something from every era of country music! love, g

Available 11.7 only @bassproshops included in The Limited Series https://t.co/b391ktYYTL pic.twitter.com/V8Yfl90Eux

— Garth Brooks (@garthbrooks) October 25, 2023