Fri Jan 05, 2024
Robert Deaton and Dan Davis
Robert Deaton and Dan Davis

Stoned Cold Country is a tribute album commemorating the Rolling Stones contribution to and influence on country music. The project is the brainchild of Robert Deaton, a highly respected television producer and award-winning director, whose career has skyrocketed from launching a pioneering video production company, in which he created more than 500 music videos for a variety of chart-topping artists, to producing some of the most successful properties on network television. We caught up with Deaton who explained the genisis of the project; "I had this idea about 4 years ago to create a tribute to the Rolling Stones. I was having dinner in L.A. with the head of BMG, Hartwick Masuch, and we were going back and forth on what we could work on together. I said I always wanted to do a tribute to the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band of all time, The Rolling Stones but performed by Country artists. I started by going through Stones albums and thinking of which artist would best suit a particular song. It was important that each artist had the same spirit as the Stones.

Robert Deaton  Photo Credit John Shearer
Robert Deaton  Photo Credit John Shearer

And I wanted to create the sound the same way he Stones did, everyone in the same room at the same time, feeding off each other." And so was born “Stoned Cold Country: A 60th Anniversary Tribute to the Rolling Stones”.

The album starts with a searing take on "Satisfaction', masterfully handled by Ashley McBride. Pure rock ‘n’ roll with a country twang. Elle King delivers “Tumbling Dice” and Maren Morris does a great job on “Dead Flowers." Brothers Osborne teamed up with the duo the War and Treaty on “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll,” while Jimmie Allen took “Miss You” in more of an R&B direction than the original. One of the best artist choices was Brooks & Dunn for “Honky Tonk Woman,” a song that Ronnie Dunn could have written. Little Big Town with their beautiful four part harmony make “Wild Horses” sound like the country song it is. Lainey Wilson's strong Louisiana accent and her pronunciation of the word "c'ain't" turns “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” into a country rock anthem. Zac Brown Band "Paint It Black" is a highlight as is Steve Earle's " Angie". Eric Church delivers the goods on "Gimme Shelter" and Deaton takes us all to church to close the album with "Shine A Light" by Koe Wetzel.

BMG International Screener to watch is below:
watch.indee.tv/indee/screeners/room?screener_room_key=scr-01hc2yrdd37ds1zsh8742xbecmi44tjk

The Stoned Cold Country album is available now, as is a documentary of the album's in-studio creation. Watching the creation of this album is both entertaining and enlightening, showing you the inside of the studio process and the magic that is created with a mix of talent, passion and pride.

If you're a country music fan or a Rolling Stone fan I guarantee you by the end of the album you'll be both.

For more or to purchase visit:
stonedcoldcountry.lnk.to/StonedColdCountry
Or Amazon Vinyl: amazon.com/Stoned-Cold-Country-Various-Artists/