The Grammy-winning rockabilly, country & surf rock star plays Van Andel Arena Oct. 17 with His Fabulous Superlatives, opening for Zach Top. Writer Ed Condran interviews him about his latest album & more.
‘Timeless Jangle’: Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives embrace everything from surf rock to country to the music of The Byrds. (Courtesy Photo)
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Not many country recording artists are releasing instrumental albums or are even sprinkling such tunes throughout their live sets.
But Marty Stuart isn’t like many of his peers. “Space Junk,” the latest album by Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, is a tip of the cap to the recording artists who crafted ’60s instrumental surf songs.
“I used to love watching films of The Ventures,” Stuart said while calling recently from Erie, Pennsylvania. “They would do a whole evening of instrumentals. This band is a little different.
“Everyone in The Superlatives can play their butt off, so I knew it would be fun to make an album that is full of instrumentals. ‘Space Junk’ is our love letter to all of the bands we grew up listening to. I don’t understand why there aren’t more instrumental albums out there.”
Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives open for country star Zach Top at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids at 8 p.m. Oct. 17. Tickets, $44-$169, available online here.
Stuart, 67, has been impacted by Johnny Cash, who he played with during the 1980s. That experience with the maverick icon clearly rubbed off since Stuart has been taking chances ever since he became part of Cash’s band.
“Johnny Cash is the most fearless soul I ever met,” Stuart said. “If he believed in a song or a concept, he would make that become a reality. He made a record about going to the Grand Canyon. He brought a tape recorder to the canyon and turned in what he recorded to his record company and he believed it was one of his finest works.”
Embracing the Music of Icons: Marty Stuart and band at Meijer Gardens in 2019. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
“The Lure of the Grand Canyon” was released by Columbia Records in 1961. The untraditional country record is a spoken-word and classical music concept album, which features actual field recordings from the canyon with a 13-minute spoken-word piece by Cash, who narrated his journey after spending a day exploring the canyon on a mule.
“Nobody made an album like that,” Stuart said. “Johnny did what he wanted to do.”
Stuart was offered the opportunity to perform with Cash after playing a gig in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with Vassar Clements and Doc Watson in 1980.
“I met Johnny in 1979 and the next year he was looking for me,” Stuart recalled. “The timing was perfect. It was the last day of my tour. I was asked to start with Johnny immediately. They were in Des Moines. All I had to do was get a rental car and drive from Cedar Rapids to Des Moines and that was the start of that experience with Johnny.”
The five-time Grammy Award winner accompanied Cash to Memphis in 1985 to play on the “Class of ’55 album that also featured Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis. At the end of the session Perkins presented Stuart with his guitar.
“It’s been a wonderful career with all kinds of amazing experiences like that,” Stuart said.
During the middle of 1985 Stuart left Cash’s band and landed a recording contract with Columbia Records. Stuart followed by releasing his eponymous debut, which featured his initial hit, “Arlene.”
MAKING THE FINEST ALBUMS OF HIS CAREER OVER THE PAST DECADE
Stuart enjoyed a great deal of success during the ’90s with such hit songs as “Little Things,” “Tempted” and “Burn Me Down.”
However, the Country Music Hall of Famer wasn’t pleased with his path by the end of the decade. “It goes back to my album ‘The Pilgrim,” which was released in 1999,” Stuart recalled. “I started chasing it in radio and I was a miserable soul.”
At the turn of the century, Stuart decided not to try to write hits and started performing with the Superlatives in 2002. Stuart got his groove back. That’s especially been so during his most recent years.
Stuart, who sometimes rocks a rhinestone-studded suit jacket designed by Nudie Cohn, has crafted some of his finest material over the last four albums.
The ‘Space Junk’ Album
“Way Out West,” which was released in 2017, is arguably the greatest project of Stuart’s 18-album canon. It’s an eclectic collection of songs about quirky rebels ranging from truckers to surfers to cowboys. Stuart’s unwavering love of The Byrds is reflected.
It’s “the timeless jangle of it all,” Stuart said of the Byrds’ appeal. “I see the past, present and future when I hear Byrds records.”
Stuart blasted out Byrds tunes during the COVID pandemic and spent considerable time working on his 2023 album “Altitude” while in seclusion during lockdown.
“The pandemic was directly responsible for songs like ‘Time to Dance,’” Stuart said. “‘Sitting Alone’ was written several months before the pandemic occurred and I didn’t know what the song meant when I first wrote it, but I liked it. While the world was locked down, “Sitting Alone” came into focus.”
Those are the finest songs from “Altitude,” and Stuart has happily followed with “Space Junk,” which is a stark contrast from his last few releases. But change is good for Stuart, who never figures to be one of those artists who rests on his laurels. The member of the Grand Ole Opry continues to morph.
“I think that’s healthy,” Stuart said. “But even if it isn’t healthy, I like to try new things and I like to play new songs in the set.”
Stuart believes songwriters improve with age. Bob Dylan wrote and recorded “Rough and Rowdy Ways,” at 79 and it’s one of his finest albums. “He may be the best writer on planet earth,” Stuart said.
“Bob is my pal and he’s my North Star. I love playing with him and I admire what he’s capable of at this point in his life. But people can do amazing things at an advanced age. We have it backwards in much of this country. Look to native Americans who have reverence for their elders.
“I have nothing against 25-year-olds who are filling stadiums. Go fill up your pockets. But at this point in my life, I look back at those who impacted me like Johnny (Cash), Merle (Haggard) and Tammy (Wynette). Those are my chiefs. It’s about making the best music you can. It’s about pursuing excellence.”
Stuart has a few songs in place for his next album.
“About seven or eight tunes are set for another album,” Stuart said. “I’ll get to those songs when we complete this run. I’m in a really good place now.” – By Ed Condran, Last Word Features
Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, “Graveyard” (from “Space Junk”)
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