On Dec. 1 this past year, Chris Stapleton released his second studio album, From a Room: Volume 2 featuring both original and cover songs that touch on different genres including Southern rock and blues.
With only his second album debuting at number two on the US Billboard 200, Stapleton’s career has taken off, putting him with the likes of Luke Bryan and Shania Twain.
Stapleton’s music includes elements of Southern rock, bluegrass, rock and roll and outlaw country, emphasizing this in his three studio albums. Personal experiences bring out the emotion in his songs, although he does covers of ballads, sometimes poorly reviewed by music critics.
Stapleton is a soul singer, with a genuinely fooling baritone vocal range. Before going solo in 2013, he improvised on covers by a variety of artists.
He first made his career debut in Nashville, TN, and got signed shortly after moving there in 2001.
From 2007-2013, he toured with two separate bands, opening for country’s best in Luke Bryan and the Zac Brown Band. His bands focused on the traditional country styles found in bluegrass and the more heavier Southern rock, which he still incorporates into his songs today.
One of those songs used in his second studio album From a Room: Volume 1, “Hard Livin’” borrows the Southern rock elements that touch on the difficulty of a changed lifestyle. This would be Stapleton’s first original song in the album.
In 2013, Stapleton signed a deal with Mercury Nashville, debuting as a solo artist and releasing his groundbreaking first studio album Traveller, which won big at the Country Music Awards later that year.
He not only won album of the year, but took home male vocalist of the year, and best new artist.
Although Stapleton received all the credit, he was never alone.
What makes his voice incredibly rich is the accompaniment of his wife on harmony. The two sound one together, a duo that proves they cannot be reckoned with. Their songs follow their relationship, and are always a delight to hear, probably making them unearthed classics.
Traveller consisted of his roots in bluegrass, and Southern rock, a perfect mix for an old-school country record. Upon hearing the album, writer Randy Lewis had high praise for Stapleton, and the voices he brings back.
His singing recalls, “The note-bending style of country that traces to Merle Haggard and Lefty Frizzell and the gut-wrenching expressionism of blues and R&B perfected by Ray Charles,” while his guitar performances elicit “memories of Texas blues rocker Stevie Ray Vaughan,” Lewis said, in an article written for the Los Angeles Times.
Although he doesn’t touch on identical themes in his music, Stapleton has proven that his rugged voice can be compared to many of the greats who developed the genre.
Stapleton has achieved success on the charts, immortalizing himself as one of the greatest debut country artist in the 21st century.
Musical textures and themes within his albums are more nuanced: gun control laws, and the unusual search for a connection after a failed relationship.
From a Room: Volume 2 and its predecessor From a Room: Volume 1 received high honors from Entertainment Weekly, The San Diego Union Tribune, Stereogum, Variety and Vinyl Me, Please, appearing in their respective lists of the top 10 albums of 2017.
For folks trying to get into country music without the cliched messages, I recommend Chris Stapleton. Albums and songs of his are from the heart and never disappoint, which is to be expected from an artist of his caliber.
