CHRIS STAPLETON

Let me preface this review by stating I am not much of a country music fan. Outside of the old school bad boys (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, etc) country music never enticed me. However, in the last few years I’ve grown to appreciate certain country artists who have mixed musical genres and through their music bared their souls. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s Southeastern and Something More Than Free started the conversion. Chris Stapleton and his first solo release Traveller (Mercury Nashville) sucked me in deeper. His heart felt vocals and strong songwriting are captivating. “Traveller”, “Tennessee Whiskey”, and “Parachute” are just a few songs from Traveller  that catapulted Stapleton to country music stardom. Traveller garnished well deserved accolades including the 2015 CMA awards for Album, Male Vocalist, and New Artist of the year. Stapleton started his career in the bluegrass band The Steeldrivers.
After the Steeldrivers he founded a rock band, The Jompson Brothers. Then he decided to go solo. In his recent release From A Room: Vol 1 (Mercury Nashville) Stapleton builds on the success of Traveller. The new album establishes Stapleton as a major artistic talent even though it’s only nine songs long. Country, Blues, R & B all mesh together to form a new amazing standard. The central theme though out From A Room: Vol 1 is lost and/or broken love. In each song Stapleton is either pining for or disfranchised with someone. In “I Was Wrong” Stapleton’s unwaving wail cries out for forgiveness. In “Either Way” , a slow R & B ballad, it doesn’t matter if she stays or goes. “Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning” Stapleton laments his life’s pitfalls. “Up To No Good Livin'” he tries to live down his disreputable past as he cries out, People called me the Picasso of painting the town. From A Room: Vol: 1  does have its deviations. “Them Stems” and “Death Row” , a bluesy dirge and my personal favorite, stray from the theme. Chris Stapleton’s soulful vocals uplifts the entire album. You feel every note and inflection. Stapleton’s band compliments him to a tee. From Derek Mixon on drums to J.T. Cure on bass and Morgane Stapleton (his wife) on backing vocals, everyone associated with this project is perfect. David Cobb’s production solidifies it all. From A Room:Vol 1  just makes the wait for Vol 2 unbearable. We need more.

CHRIS STAPLETON AND BAND

• Chris Stapleton————–Vocals,Guitar
• J.T. Cure———————– Bass
• Derek Mixon—————–Drums,Percussion
• Mike Webb——————-Keyboards,Piano
• Mickey Raphael————Harmonica
• Robby Turner—————-Pedal Steel
• Morgane Stapleton——-Backing Vocals,Tambourine
• Dave Cobb——————–Producer

From A Room: Vol.1 is Chris Stapleton’s second solo release

• Traveller———————-2015 Mercury Nashville
• From A Room: Vol.1——–2017 Mercury Nashville

Chris Stapleton is currently on tour and will be playing the XFINITY Theatre on Saturday, July 15th

Next post——————————–Spoon

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