The Fabulous Superlatives: it's amusingly redundant and a great name for a band. Marty Stuart says he got it from a flower shop here in Nashville. But the band isn't quite the over-exaggeration (;-D) that the name implies--they are probably the greatest assemblage of pickers and singers within any band hailing from the Music City. They just released a new record this past Tuesday called Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions. I think it's the best record to come out of country music in a long time.
Marty Stuart, much like Ricky Skaggs, Emmylou Harris and Vince Gill, keeps reinventing himself and offers fresh installments of his talent every couple of years. In this day and age of American Idol, with half-baked offerings of producer-driven projects, the industry is trying to duplicate past success so much that the music begins to sound inbred. Stuart has brought fine songwriting together with stellar musicianship and old-fashioned styling in the vein of Haggard, Buck Owens, and other storytellers like Johnny Cash and Jimmy Rogers. The production even incorporates the smooth RCA Victor, mid-60's sound with his famous wife Connie Smith on the duet, I Run To You. There are some incredible dueling guitar solos on the record between Stuart and his virtuosic side-kick, "Cousin" Kenny Vaughan. The harmony supporting Marty's lead vocal comes from bassist Paul Martin and Nashville veteran/drummer Harry Stinson.
After being branded by his "hillbilly rock" hits of the 90's, Marty went back to his roots in 2002 and started over. He re-visited his grandfather's farm that he helped clear of overgrowth a decade earlier. Recalling the epiphany, Stuart says, "The air could pass through the trees again, and everything came back to life. You could see my Grandpa's signature on the land, the way he terraced his land. Then, when I was down there again last year (2002), something really incredible occurred. The same thing happened inside me. It had come time to clear out everything inside myself and plant a new crop."
Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives have a great show on the RFD-TV network which can be seen on Saturday nights at 8PM, Eastern time (new season to air soon). I think it's a fantastic show with top-notch guests even with the lacking video production. I look forward to seeing the boys kicking it again in the fall.
Marty Stuart is a true gem. He is helping to keep the glorious sounds of traditional country alive. God bless him for it. And by the way, look for my new CD on Inbred records with my new group, The Dangling Participles. Just kidding!
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