Make Up in Love
With his first single, 1990's "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)," Doug Stone looked as if he might infuse modern country with a good strain of morose, and slightly gothic, dread. Alas, the Georgian turned out to be a little more than a radio guy--a singles artist with a light baritone and an easygoing delivery--who played to neglected housewives and their fantasies of gallant men who stayed enchanted on the morning after. Several years ago, Stone suffered an inability to sing after a series of heart attacks, strokes, and bypass surgery. He's back in fine form vocally, but as before, he aims no higher with his material than to revive his role as the tender, restless romantic. If "The Heart Holds On," a duet with Leslie Satcher, shows her to be not quite ready for prime time, Stone shines on "Take a Letter, Maria," a remake of R.B. Greaves's 1969 pop hit, and on "A Room Without a View," a lover's self-made prison.--Alanna Nash