Doug Stone - The Long Way (2003)

After Doug Stone's career was curtailed for nearly seven years by health problems coupled with a pair of less than successful major-label releases in the mid-'90s, Stone came back on the new-country indie Audium Records with 2002's The Long Way, a somewhat scattershot but promising retrenchment. It's a bit disappointing for longtime fans, as over half of the ten songs here are re-recordings of previously released material, including acoustic remakes of Stone's biggest country radio hits and four re-recorded tracks from a barely released abortive attempt at a comeback from 1999, Make Up in Love. The arrangements this time out seemingly have an ear cocked toward the alt-country scene, as they're not nearly so suffocatingly slick as Stone's previous albums. However, Stone's vocal style, which mixes George Strait's quaver and Randy Travis' twang, is pure Nashville, as is his penchant for big ballads like the war-themed "POW 369." The Long Way shows that Doug Stone is pretty much back on top of his game, but unfortunately, his primary skills are out of step with what's successful both in alt-country and in post-Shania Twain country-pop Nashville.