No Fences

No Fences is the second studio album by the American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on August 27, 1990, and reached #1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. The album also reached #3 on the Billboard 200. On the latter chart it stayed in the top 40 for 126 weeks, only one week less than Shania Twain's Come On Over, the Soundscan era's record holder. No Fences remains Brooks' best-selling studio album to date with 17 million copies shipped in the US, and is the album that made him an international star. It was his first album issued in Europe (the original European release contained the four singles from his U.S. debut as bonus tracks).

No Fences
Studio album by Garth Brooks
Released	August 27, 1990
Recorded	Jack's Tracks Recording Studio, Nashville, TN, 1990
Genre	Country
Length	38:29
Label	Capitol Nashville
Producer	Allen Reynolds
Garth Brooks chronology
Garth Brooks (1989) No Fences Ropin' the Wind (1991)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com
Allmusic
Entertainment Weekly	A
Robert Christgau
The Rolling Stone Album Guide

Some of Brooks' most famous songs appear on No Fences, including: "The Thunder Rolls" (CMA's 1991 Video of the Year), "Friends in Low Places" (Academy of Country Music's 1990 Single of the Year), "Unanswered Prayers" and "Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House". A cover version of The Fleetwoods' "Mr. Blue" appears on the album. The album itself was named Album of the Year by the ACM in 1990. It reached Number 1 on the British country music charts (earning Brooks his first gold album in that country) and remained charted for over five years.

The track "Victim of the Game" was later covered by Brooks's friend and future wife Trisha Yearwood for her 1991 eponymous debut album.

Brooks later re-recorded the track "Wild Horses", and released the new recording as a single in early 2001, reaching #7 on the country chart.

Background

Brooks commented on this album, saying: "No Fences definitely, hands down would be the people's favorite album that we have done so far. It's by far our biggest selling album. With songs like Friends In Low Places, Two of a Kind, Unanswered Prayers, and especially The Thunder Rolls with all the attention it got with the video situation that it went through. It's probably not surprising that this is the biggest selling album of our collection. The number that we have sold surprises me to death, and this is a good time for me to say thanks to those people who have it. To those people who might be thinking about getting Fences, if you do, I hope that you don't feel like you've been let down. It's an album that I stand by, I'm very proud of. An album that I pull out from time to time and listen and hold my head up and say, yeah I'll still stand by it."

Track listing

1. "The Thunder Rolls" (Pat Alger, Garth Brooks) – 3:42
2. "New Way to Fly" (Kim Williams, Brooks) – 3:54
3. "Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House" (Bobby Boyd, Warren Haynes, Dennis Robbins) – 2:31
4. "Victim of the Game" (Mark D. Sanders, Brooks) – 3:06
5. "Friends in Low Places" (DeWayne Blackwell, Earl "Bud" Lee) – 4:18
6. "This Ain't Tennessee" (Jim Shaw, Larry Bastian) - 4:08^A
7. "Wild Horses" (Bill Shore, David Wills) – 3:08
8. "Unanswered Prayers" (Alger, Larry Bastian, Brooks) – 3:23
9. "Same Old Story" (Tony Arata) – 2:52
10. "Mr. Blue" (Blackwell) – 3:16
11. "Wolves" (Stephanie Davis) – 4:08

^AThis track was not on the original release of the album. It first appeared when the album was re-released as part of Brooks' first Limited Series box set collection, and remained part of subsequent releases of the album until 2014, when it was released digitally for the first time.

Chart performance

No Fences peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard 200, and peaked at #1 on the Top Country Albums selling 238,000 copies, his first #1 Country album.

Charts

Charts (1990 to 1994)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart	11
Canadian RPM Top Albums	49
Canadian RPM Country Albums	2
European Albums Chart	69
Irish Albums Chart	1
U.S. Billboard 200	3
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums	1

Sales and certifications

Region	Provider	Certification	Sales/Shipments
Australia	ARIA	Platinum	70,000
Canada	CRIA	7x Platinum	700,000+
Ireland	IRMA	5x Platinum	75,000
United States	RIAA	17x Platinum	17,000,000
World-Wide			17,845,000+

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard 200	4

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Country	US	CAN Country	UK
1990	"Friends in Low Places"	1	—	1	36
	"Unanswered Prayers"	1	—	1	—
1991	"Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House"	1	—	1	—
	"The Thunder Rolls"	1	—	1	—
2000	"Wild Horses" (re-recording)	7	50	—	—

Chart successions

Preceded by "Talk To Me" by Frances Black	Irish Albums Chart 7 April 1994 – 5 May 1994 (4 weeks) 26 May 1994 - 16th June 1994 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "Talk To Me" by Frances Black "Music for the Jilted Generation" by The Prodigy
Preceded by Killin' Time by Clint Black	Top Country Albums number-one album October 13 - November 24, 1990	Succeeded by Heroes & Friends by Randy Travis
Preceded by Heroes & Friends by Randy Travis	Top Country Albums number-one album December 1–22, 1990	Succeeded by Put Yourself in My Shoes by Clint Black
Preceded by Put Yourself in My Shoes by Clint Black	Top Country Albums number-one album February 9 - May 18, 1991	Succeeded by Eagle When She Flies by Dolly Parton
Preceded by Eagle When She Flies by Dolly Parton	Top Country Albums number-one album May 25 - September 28, 1991	Succeeded by Ropin' The Wind by Garth Brooks
Preceded by Killin' Time by Clint Black	Top Country Albums number-one album of the year 1991	Succeeded by Ropin' the Wind by Garth Brooks

Personnel

Musicians

• Garth Brooks - guitar, vocals
• Pat Alger - guitar, backing vocals
• Bruce Bouton - steel guitar, backing vocals
• Mark Casstevens - guitar
• Mike Chapman - acoustic bass, backing vocals
• Johnny Christopher - guitar
• Ty England - acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Dave Gant - keyboards, fiddle, backing vocals
• James Garver - electric guitar, backing vocals
• Rob Hajacos - fiddle, backing vocals
• Chris Leuzinger - guitar
• Nashville String Machine - strings
• Edgar Meyer - acoustic bass
• Steve McClure - electric and steel guitars
• Mike Palmer - drums, percussion
• Brian Petree - vocals, stage manager
• Milton Sledge - drums, acoustic bass
• Bobby Wood - piano, keyboards, backing vocals

Backing and harmony vocalists

Friends in Low Places

• Pat Alger
• Al "Shaggy" Barclay
• Dewayne Blackwell
• Bruce Bouton
• Tim Bowers
• Sandy Brooks
• Stephanie C. Brown
• Mike Chapman
• Bob Doyle
• The Englands (plus one)
• Dave Gant
• Rob Hajacos
• Joe Harris
• Dan Heins
• Rusty "Race Horse" Jones
• Steve King
• Earl of Bud Lee
• Pam "The Chick" Lewis
• Buddy Mondlock
• Steve Morley
• Mike "Palmerman"
• Brian Petree
• Dale Pierce
• Jim Rooney
• Tami Rose
• Lee Sartin
• Charlie Stefl
• Scott Stem
• Bobby Wood

Unanswered Prayers

• Wendy Johnson
• Jennifer O'Brien
• Hurshel Wiginton
• Curtis Young

Wolves

• Indian River
  • David McVay
  • Stephen Tolman
  • Neil Thrasher
  • Curry Worsham

Production

• Virginia Team - Art Direction
• Denny Purcell - Mastering
• Mary Beth Felts - Make-Up
• Beverly Parker - Photography
• Jerry Joyner - Design
• Mark Miller - Mixing, Engineer
• Dan Heins - Vocals, Audio Engineer
• Joe Loesch - Special Effects