A one-man band equipped with only a guitar and a hefty catalog of cover songs is the best way to describe what you get with Shane Douglas’ first album The Lonely 13.

Douglas has taken some very popular songs from many different genres and put a bluesy-country sound to them. He took songs from Aerosmith (“Sweet Emotion”), Jimi Hendrix (“Red House”), Chris Knight (“It Ain’t Easy Being Me”), Gnarls Barkley (“Crazy”) and several more artists and lent his unique voice to each one, drastically altering each song’s original sound.

The instrumentation of Douglas’ album is very simple. It’s merely him singing and playing his guitar, which he does in astounding ways. He has a very versatile voice, and he shows that by changing his range in each song. His ability to play the guitar is very impressive, and he never misses a chance to show his skill. This album showcases his talent for playing and singing rather than his talent for songwriting.

There are three songs, however, that are original numbers: “Can’t Stay Here,” “Damn It I Love You” and “It’s All Good.”

“Can’t Stay Here” is perhaps the best of his original works. It is beautifully written and performed, and it has a slightly similar sound to that of an un-polished Billy Currington. “It’s All Good” is the obligatory “good ol’ boy” song that most country artists include on their albums in an attempt to show where they came from. “Damn It I Love You” has more of a blues sound to it, and the instrumentation reflects that with the blues guitar sound.

As a first endeavor, Douglas’ album was not horrible. It has some good original material and some decent cover songs on it. However, a good philosophy for first albums: more original material and less remakes.