Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
Live at the Ryman (Superlatone)
Famed Nashville disc jockey Eddie Stubbs nails it when he introduces Marty Stuart as “country music’s Renaissance man” at the start of Live at the Ryman. Equally at home with country, gospel, rock, and bluegrass, Stuart is one of the best ambassadors country music has ever produced. While this is a bluegrass set, recorded in front of a sold-out Mother Church in July 2003, “or our version of bluegrass” as Marty calls it, Ryman presents his deep love for the music, where it’s been, and what it can be. With his Fabulous Superlatives – guitarist Kenny Vaughan, Harry Stinson on snare drum, and bass player Brian Glenn – and guests – fiddler extraordinaire Stuart Duncan, the masterful Charlie Cushman on banjo, and pioneering Dobro player Uncle Josh Graves – Stuart charges through a set of tunes both traditional and original with uncommon zeal. “Orange Blossom Special” and “The Great Speckled Bird” meet “The Whiskey Ain’t Working Anymore” and “Hillbilly Rock” and the results aren’t quite a renaissance, but rather what sounds like a night that was especially electric, even though only acoustic instruments were involved. (Thursday, March 16, 11pm @ Antone’s)
This article appears in March 17 • 2006.