Chris Stapleton’s new record, Starting Over, is flawless, a master class in songwriting. He is deft with the rhyme and is expert at turning a phrase and making the cliched tropes of country songs feel both fresh and like your favorite sneakers.
His band is tight, the production crisp (strings on “Cold” set a mood that the guitar solo slices into — brilliant). It all lends muscle to one of the best and most muscular voices in contemporary music.
He is on par with Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.