Fresh Horses was intended to creatively rejuvenate Brooks's career; it wound up as his biggest commercial disappointment, with sales of "only" four million. Brooks blamed his record label, but too many of the songs simply weren't as good as those on No Fences and Ropin' the Wind. The traditional country element is almost completely replaced here by uptempo rockers and folk-pop ballads. With its martial drums and droning bagpipes, "Ireland" sounds a lot closer to U2 than George Strait, and not as good as either.
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