Time Traveler is the twelfth[2] studio album by American country musicianGarth Brooks, released exclusively through Bass Pro Shops on November 7, 2023. The album completes Brooks' most recent Limited Series collection and is part of a box set along with the other releases since Brooks came out of retirement in 2014: Man Against Machine (2014), Gunslinger (2016), Triple Live (2018), and Fun (2020).[3] The album explores the history of country across ten tracks and has received positive reviews from critics.
Recording and release
Lead single "Rodeo Man" was a song presented to Brooks by Ronnie Dunn and the two recorded it as a duet for this album.[1] To promote the release, Brooks did in-person visits to Bass Pro Shops.[4] “St Paul/Minneapolis (A True Story)” was inspired by an actual encounter Brooks had with a stranger.[5]
Reception
At Stereogum, Chris DeVille called "Rodeo Man" "like a '90s country radio hit, raucous and line-dance-ready, as if the last three decades never happened" and compared it to Brooks & Dunn.[6]Steven Hyden of Uproxx reviewed the Limited Series box set and criticized the sales tactic, but stated that "Time Traveler is a lot better than a Garth Brooks album released exclusively to Bass Pro Shops in 2023 has any right to be" and praised the music for sounding like Brooks' 1990s output.[2] Writing for USA Today, Melissa Ruggieri chose "Only Country Music" and "Pleasure in the Pain" as standout tracks for the former's ability to show Brooks' devotion to the genre and the latter's subtle ability to make "a statement that sometimes, feeling bad is the only way to eventually feel better".[7]
Time Traveler became available for streaming on Amazon Music on September 6, 2024.[8]
