Chris Stapleton has been sneaking around American scene as an author for a long time until he finally released his debut Traveller two years ago. Country, blues, soul and rock were impressively combined which is why the album was critically praised. Its successor is only half of it. Don't worry, not by quality, but in length.
Music, singing and production on From A Room: Vol 1 are similar to Traveller. In 32 minutes, Chris put eight original songs and one cover that was made famous by Willie Nelson on his record Always On My Mind. The song is called The Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning and it features Chris' wife Morgan Hayes Stapleton. Third song on the album Second One To Know is massively driven by riffs, but I found it to be the least convincing here.
On the other hand, Either Way is a soft but powerful folk ballad about coldness in relationships. In the chorus, the song burns like straight vodka. This masterpiece saw the light of the day back in 2008 on Lee Ann Womack's album Call Me Crazy.Chris gave his song to her, but now he delivered his glorious version of it. Broken Halos is another standout that talks about caution before calling an angel for a help, and it might be the only one that has a potential to be a radio hit.
Chris developed vocal interpretation that is both country-whiny and soulful. Songs are masterfully done, perfectly arranged, mostly suggestive images of life failures and painful breakups. Often, they are the images of finding hope after darkness.
