Live At Billy Bob's Texas

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.