Doug Stone Albums (12)
'Live at Billy Bob's Texas'
Release Date 1/1/2008
Tracks 18
Label Smith
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What The Critics Say
Doug Stone is a patient man. He was already past 30 when he got his first record deal. He made up for lost time quickly though; he scored a total of eight Top Ten hits before the end of 1992. Stone is one of those authentic country singers, equally at home with hard honky tonk or poetic love ballads. He delivers each song as if he authored it. And indeed, who could ever hear "Faith in Me Faith in You" by anyone else and believe it? This song is so inclusive and authentic it could have been part of President Barack Obama's campaign for election. Live at Billy Bob's Texas features Stone and his fine backing band playing the hell out of his hits and fan favorites. This is no mere color-by-numbers fan set, but a beautifully recorded, on-the-wire performance by one of the great singers in the country tradition -- even if the masses don't currently remember that. The ballad singers on the country charts owe plenty to Stone whether they admit it or not. Stone learned his ballad style from the best of them: George Jones and George Strait, Marty Robbins and Don Williams. The evidence is in his delivery of tracks like "Little Houses" and "Busy Being in Love," tough uptempo rocking country numbers like "That's How We Roll" and "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)," and even standard barroom weepers like "These Lips Don't Know." These are all here, as are "A Jukebox with a Country Song" and "In a Different Light." In addition, there is a newly recorded studio version of "Don't Tell Mamma." For fans of Doug Stone, this is a welcome addition to the catalog. For the uninitiated, this is a fantastic introduction. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Doug Stone scored 18 Top 20 country hits in the 1990s before he committed the unpardonable sin of aging into his mid-forties and being unceremoniously dumped off the rosters of the major labels. To his credit, he has not only continued touring, he has also continued to record. My Turn finds him producing himself for the first time, and the result is an album that contains several more potential country hits, or would if it had the promotional muscle it takes to score hits. "We're All About That" and "That's How We Roll," both written by the team of Rusty VanSickle, Terry Clayton, and Jeff Jones, are up-tempo stompers full of redneck pride. VanSickle, Clayton, and Jones also reflect on a man's tendency to learn his lessons "The Hardway," but they turn all sensitive and romantic on the ballads "Ain't That Just Like a Woman" and "She Always Gets What She Wants." "Don't Tell Mama," by Kim Williams, William Brock, and Jerry Laseter, is a cautionary tale about drinking, driving, and dying, while Williams and Tim Johnson's "Nice Problem" is one of those philosophical "stop and smell the roses" messages in which it takes a man's encounter with a beggar to make him appreciate his family, his mortgage, and his broken washer. Most of these songs could have come from any era in country music, from the halfway point on in the last century on, and some of the musicians who played on Stone's early hits join him to give the tracks a timeless country feel. For his part, Stone sings with as much fervor and sincerity as ever. Maybe these songs won't ascend the country charts like his music used to, but they will fit in well when he plays them in between the hits at his shows. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'In a Different Light'
Release Date 3/15/2005
Tracks 14
Label Lofton Creek
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'Jukebox with a Country Song'
Release Date 4/21/2003
Tracks 10
Label Platinum Disc
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What The Critics Say
After Doug Stone's career was curtailed for nearly seven years by health problems coupled with a pair of less than successful major-label releases in the mid-'90s, Stone came back on the new-country indie Audium Records with 2002's The Long Way, a somewhat scattershot but promising retrenchment. It's a bit disappointing for longtime fans, as over half of the ten songs here are re-recordings of previously released material, including acoustic remakes of Stone's biggest country radio hits and four re-recorded tracks from a barely released abortive attempt at a comeback from 1999, Make Up in Love. The arrangements this time out seemingly have an ear cocked toward the alt-country scene, as they're not nearly so suffocatingly slick as Stone's previous albums. However, Stone's vocal style, which mixes George Strait's quaver and Randy Travis' twang, is pure Nashville, as is his penchant for big ballads like the war-themed "POW 369." The Long Way shows that Doug Stone is pretty much back on top of his game, but unfortunately, his primary skills are out of step with what's successful both in alt-country and in post-Shania Twain country-pop Nashville. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Somewhere along the way, Doug Stone traded relatively straightforward honky tonk balladeering for mainstream country balladeering that leaned heavily toward country-pop. Since his voice has always been rich and sweet, not heavily country, the transition makes sense, but it's still sort of surprising how slick and radio-ready his sixth album, Make Up in Love, is. It's country in name only, simply because it has prominent acoustic guitars, steel guitars, and a bit of a twang, but the songs and performances are all adult contemporary pop -- it's quite remarkable that a cover of RB Greave's kitschy pop-soul classic "Take a Letter, Maria" is the closest this comes to hardcore country. Since Stone's voice is pleasant, the music is often pleasant, but it's hardly memorable. Perhaps if he had taken the leap into straight adult pop and worked with stronger material, Make Up in Love would be more than simply pleasantly forgettable, but as it stands, it's inoffensive, professionally made country-pop. Stone is capable of more than that, as his earlier records prove, but he does sound in his element here, even if the music isn't as effective as his albums from the early '90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Faith in Me, Faith in You'
Release Date 1/1/1995
Tracks 10
Label Columbia
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What The Critics Say
With "Addicted to a Dollar," balladeer Stone stakes his claim for "hot country" status alongside all his Nashville peers. ~ Dan Cooper, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Given the number of songwriters in Nashville, it's surprising the town hasn't produced more Christmas songs. The First Christmas gets a bunch of them, though. Songs like "An Angel Like You" play off Stone's romantic-balladeer image, and "When December Comes Around" would sound great any time of year. "Sailing Home for Christmas" depicts the irony of soldiers celebrating the coming of "peace on earth" while stationed on a battleship. ~ Brian Mansfield, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Song for song, Stone's third album is his strongest, lacking the peak-and-valley terrain of his debut and the incessant self-pity of I Thought It Was You. Stone's voice is at its pain-wracked best with "Warning Labels" and "This Empty House," and if you think he pulls the heartstrings with the sad songs, wait'll you hear what he does with "Made for Loving' You" and "Too Busy Being in Love." The heart references take on a special meaning given the open-heart surgery that preceded this album: in "Warning Labels," Stone gives a first-hand account of the serious damage those country tearjerkers can do. And here we figured it was all that Southern-fried food. ~ Brian Mansfield, All Music Guide
