Altitude

Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives, Marty Stuart

Released on 19/05/2023 by Snakefarm
Main artists: Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives Marty Stuart
Genre: Country

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Marty Stuart has always stood in awe of the history of country music, even as he's forged his own legacy within it. At age 12, he started playing mandolin and guitar in Lester Flatt's band; in 1982, his second album was a jam session featuring the likes of Johnny Cash, Doc Watson, and Earl Scruggs; and he's assembled one of the finest collections of country artifacts, with plans to set up a museum. Not long ago Stuart was out on the road with Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn for the 50th anniversary of the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, an endeavor that inspired his first album with the Fabulous Superlatives since 2017. Indeed, there are plenty of cosmic-country golden threads running through Altitude, including the searing guitar jam "Lost Byrd Space Train (Scene 1)," the easy harmonies and psych-lite vibe of "Sitting Alone,” and the rollicking, free-wheeling "Vegas," —an ode to the city that "sparkles like a diamond when the sun goes down," with guitar clear and piercing as a bell. "Country Star" matches the Byrds' "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" by stripping away the horns and layering on some honky-tonk badassery: "I was raised by alligators ... Fell in love with a woman who was half wild cat/ Wore a big diamond she stole from Lester Flatt." Near the end, Stuart's voice soars off the cliff as he sings his motto: "All I need is a motor in my car/ Crank it up, hit the road/ Be a country staaar." But Stuart's catholic country could never be confined to just one corner. So there's a wink at the snarling rockabilly of Carl Perkins on the revving "A Friend of Mine," and a take-your-sweet-time swagger for "Nightriding," with Chris Scruggs's (grandson of Earl) bass setting the cool pace and Stuart's guitar strutting like a bantam rooster. The excellent title track, a slow roll absolutely shining with twin fiddles and steel guitar, nods to Bakersfield and features piano from the legendary Pig Robbins who played with everyone from George Jones and Loretta Lynn to Neil Young and Sturgill Simpson; this would be one of his last recordings before passing away in 2022. 'The song is a reminder to me, and to anyone else still interested, that there's a few of us out here who still know how to make authentic country music," Stuart has said. He summons up his own Flatt days (and some outdated tropes) on the racing "Tomahawk," with its lyrical shrug of "There's absolutely nothing new underneath the sun.” "The Angels Came Down" is a Cash-like ballad of redemption, with goosebump harmonies, that shows how the eternally youthful Stuart's voice is only just starting to exhibit signs of his 64 years. And it's intriguing to hear his usual knife-edge delivery chill out and recline for the cosmic slow jam "Space," complete with harmonies that blow in on a breeze. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

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Altitude

Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives

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Lost Byrd Space Train (Scene 1)