
Chris Stapleton - Starting Over
As an album title, Starting Over can't help but carry connotations of an artistic rebirth, but three or four albums into his solo stardom, Chris Stapleton is in no position to rip it up and start again. Stapleton found his footing with 2015's Traveller and he's spent the years since digging deeper into his burnished groove, tying the binds between classic country, classic rock, and classic soul even tighter. A new beginning isn't in the cards for a singer/songwriter who has styled himself as an old-fashioned troubadour, an outlaw with a heart of gold singing sweet love songs as often as he kicks up dust. He's a traveler on a long road, not quite forging into undiscovered country as much as finding fresh routes through familiar terrain. Working once again with producer Dave Cobb, Stapleton underscores rootsy continuity not just with his own catalog, but with his idols. He takes the time to salute the pioneers who came before him by covering two Guy Clark songs here ("Worry B Gone," "Old