Doug Stone - From the Heart (1992)

Song for song, Stone's third album is his strongest, lacking the peak-and-valley terrain of his debut and the incessant self-pity of I Thought It Was You. Stone's voice is at its pain-wracked best with "Warning Labels" and "This Empty House," and if you think he pulls the heartstrings with the sad songs, wait'll you hear what he does with "Made for Loving' You" and "Too Busy Being in Love." The heart references take on a special meaning given the open-heart surgery that preceded this album: in "Warning Labels," Stone gives a first-hand account of the serious damage those country tearjerkers can do. And here we figured it was all that Southern-fried food.