In... The Life of Chris Gaines is a way for Garth Brooks to indulge his rock-star fantasies without directly putting his country credibility on the line. This fictional greatest-hits album is supposedly a prequel to a movie (The Lamb) in which Brooks will assume the role of a mysterious Australian-born pop singer. The first single, "Lost in You," sounds like Kenny Loggins auditioning for a role in the Backstreet Boys. Gaines's other "hits" range from the funk-lite of "Snow in July" to the Prince-like "The Way of the Girl," the Beatlesesque "Maybe," and the blatant Wallflowers rip "Unsigned Letter." The tune on which Brooks most resembles the cat in the hat we all know is the melancholy ballad "It Don't Matter to the Sun." The most provocative tune is "Right Now," which interpolates (really) the Youngbloods' hippie classic "Get Together" with Cheryl Wheeler's antigun screed "If It Were Up to Me." As himself, Garth Brooks has sold almost 100 million albums. If he's lucky, many of those fans will forgive him for Chris Gaines. --Rick Mitchell
