Live Acoustic

Normally the two words “Live Acoustic” sound good together when you’re stepping out for an intimate performance, but in the recorded music realm a live recording of acoustic music can often sound horrible. Good news. Somebody got it right on Stoney LaRue’s Live Acoustic album. The healthy blend of what plays like an acoustic pickup mixed with a microphone set near the guitar’s sound-hole produces a very natural and organic resonance, especially on the opener “I’ve Got That Old Feeling,” where fiddle and dobro step in to approximate the warm vibes of a front-porch jam. “Box #10” plays with the subtle Texas twang of an old Willie Nelson cut — speaking of which, LaRue gives the Red Dirt treatment to Fred Rose’s “Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain,” sounding like he somehow teleported the warbly and weathered voice of the Red Headed Stranger himself. LaRue really settles into his own signature country-folk style on the moving “Love You for Loving Me,” while simultaneously spawning a thick branch on the same family tree where Nelson, Kristofferson and the Flatlanders reside.