On his debut, Thad Cockrell captures the smooth, radio-friendly sound the Eagles popularized before they became a huge rock-and-roll band. Top 40 country has been mining this territory for years, but Cockrell understands that this approach doesn’t preclude slipping in some old-time country-music influences. He has a high lonesome voice and a smooth delivery with just enough rough edges — he’ll fall shy of the right note at the end of a phrase where the right note would have sounded wrong. Stack of Dreams never drives past mid tempo; there are no furious country-punk tributes here, just a bevy of comfortable-feeling songs about love, triumph, and heartbreak. "Burdens Rest Easy" bounces softly, pedal steel wrapping around a clicking Telecaster and ringing acoustic guitar. A fluid fiddle line pulls the beat along in "Why?", and simple voices in harmony and spare guitar accompaniment end the album with the gospel tune "He Set Me Free." Nothing too profound — just a peaceful, easy feeling.