Stoney LaRue is a
singer/songwriter based in Stillwater, OK, one of the leaders of a local
outlaw country scene collectively dubbed Red Dirt, after the dominant topographical feature of central Oklahoma.
LaRue's debut,
The Red Dirt Album, is both a personal coming-out of a fairly gifted
singer/songwriter and the mission statement of an entire collective of bands, including
Cross Canadian Ragweed (led by
singer/songwriter Cody Canada) and
Jason Boland & the Stragglers, key figures from which appear here in vocal, instrumental, and songwriting roles. It's as if the
Elephant 6 bands had been heavily influenced by
Jerry Jeff Walker's
Viva Terlingua and the rest of the Luckenbach, TX, scene of the '70s. However,
LaRue's whiskey-smooth growl of a voice and his smart,
traditionalist songwriting are the focal points throughout
The Red Dirt Album, a twangy,
rock-influenced collection of solid two-steps,
ballads, and rockers.
LaRue wrote or co-wrote all but two of the songs, the ringers being a sensitive reading of
"Bluebird Wine," a
Rodney Crowell tune popularized by
Emmylou Harris, and a triumphant, sweet version of
Bob Dylan's
"Forever Young" that closes the album. Both sound like they could be originals, testament both to
LaRue's vocal skills and strength as a songwriter. ~ Stewart Mason
