Though Stooksbury can carry a tune, the songs on this eponymously titled album would have been better off if left to others to sing. From beginning to end Stooksbury delivers all thirteen songs in an insipid fashion that is as monotonous as it is boring. The closest Stooksbury comes to breaking out is the albums second cut "Out of the Rain" in which he sounds like a tired Van Morrison.
   What Stooksbury does do well, however, is write. Twelve of the albums' songs were written or co-written by Stooksbury and all have a flavor of Americana style story telling.
   Unfortunately the good quality of the songwriting is lost when layered with the vocals, thus reducing the whole project to nothing more than pleasant music to read by.
   If the lyrical content of roots music is more important than the aural quality then Stooksbury may be worth your time and money, if not, save your money for another day.

-Wynn Hayden*