The first number, “Late for My Funeral”, brings the bold lead guitar work to the forefront along with Stinson’s witty lyrics and a very cool organ accompaniment. “May Have to Do It” rocks the bar and features some pretty nice Telecaster work by Dave Gonzalez. “Walking Home in the Rain” should be a lyrical Honky-Tonk classic with Ricky Davis swapping pedal steel licks with Lance Smith’s lead.

Mike Stinson lets the world know how he feels about his move to our fair town from Los Angeles, on “Died and Gone to Houston”. “Box I Take to Work” is a song of miscellaneous items strung together in a most musical and poetic fashion. “This Year” builds to a crescendo on the back of some excellent lead guitar work and a story of a man planning the course of his relationship for the next twelve months.

“Broken Record” features a fun poetic prank where Mike goes out of the way to avoid rhyming with the word “rhyme” by awkwardly singing “words that sound alike” and repeating the words “wrong end of a” in a perfect impersonation of a broken record. “Lost Side of Town” is a country tear jerker about life gone awry complete with pedal steel heartstring plucking.

“Got a Thing for You” fits into the country-rock mold with a “Marc Bolan-like” guitar rhythm and Stinson pushing his voice to the gruffness limit. “Put Me On” is a classic country lost love lament with accordion and Spanish acoustic guitar. The disc closes out rocking the honky-tonk again with “The Kind of Trouble I Need”.

Mike Stinson is quickly gaining well-deserved acclaim as a prolific song writer and a hard working performer here in South Texas. You can catch him playing someplace in Houston almost every week. “Hell and Half of Georgia” is a fun and creative addition to Stinson’s recorded resume and a welcome addition to my CD library. Houston is lucky to have Mike Stinson as an artist in residence.