Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives
Marty Stuart
In a career spanning over 50 years, dozens of albums, and too many shows to count, Marty Stuart still charts a course through new territory at every chance possible. Joined by his long>me band The Fabulous Superlatives, the five-time GRAMMY® Award winner, Country Music Hall of Famer, Congress of Country Music Founder and AMA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient cruises into another stratosphere with his first-ever full-length instrumental LP, Space Junk. The inimitable interplay between Marty, Kenny Vaughan, Harry Stinson, and Chris Scruggs fuels this cosmic cowboy trip with sun-kissed surf guitar, breezy California rhythms, soul stirring steel guitar, and fluid fretwork all-around. “We thought the world needed a fresh instrumental album by a pretty good band” laughs Stuart “so we composed twenty instrumentals and took them to the microphones.”
Space Junk sounds like country music’s preeminent band crash landing on a Malibu beach and performing the most epic jam you’ve ever witnessed by starlight…
“Instrumentals have always been a part of the Fabulous Superlatives repertoire, but this is the first completely instrumental album we’ve done, largely inspired” Stuart says “by two of my favorite bands from sixties, The Ventures and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. They did some dangerously cool instrumental records. We’ve done bluegrass, gospel, and country records. Our hearts just led us to this one. Space Junk turned us back into kids with our first guitars.” Ironically, the cover art of Space Junk is a painting by Stuart’s long>me hero and pal, Herb Alpert, who generously consented for use as part of this project.
Stuart’s deeper understanding of the instrumental form can actually be traced to the turn of the century. Marty took a year off from touring to focus on composing music for film and television. He notably scored All The Pretty Horses, garnering a Golden Globe® Award nomination for “Best Original Score” and earning GRAMMY® Awards in the category of “Best Country Instrumental Performance” for “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” and “Hummingbyrd.” The experience proved pivotal.
“Scoring required a cinematic way of thinking.” reveals Marty. “I had to make music for what the scene called for, which turned me into more of a visual player in an understated way. That kind of thinking followed me into the studio during the making of Space Junk. I knew the music had to be pretty, but it also had to say something without losing its drive.”
He and The Superlatives ventured to Hollywood and cut the bulk of what would become Space Junk at the legendary Capitol Recording Studios. The palm trees, sunshine, and energy of the world-famous room most definitely set the mood for the boys to blast off.
“Just walking in, you feel the weight of that room’s history,” Chris observes. “You can’t help but think of The Beach Boys, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, and Buck Owens walking down that ramp. It lifts you up and helps you take flight.”
“A place like Capitol makes you want to dress up and perform your best,” grins Harry.
“I started listening to rock ‘n’ roll before The Beatles came out,” Kenny chuckles. “There’s a mystique to Capitol; it’s still there too.”
“The creative atmosphere of California always gives me a feeling that the sky is the limit,” Marty muses. “Space Junk is California music. If you want a specific sound, you go to certain places in the world. For the California sound, it’s Capitol. You’ve got the blue skies, the legacy, the romance, and a lot of friendly ghosts. The atmosphere makes you do a little better.”
“California Part 1 (Bobbie Gentry Please Call Home)” channels this spirit. Captured live at Capitol, Marty played Clarence White’s famous Fender Telecaster guitar on this song. The dusty beat holds down a steady groove as a lyrical lead swoons and swerves towards an upbeat crescendo accented by pinch harmonics.
“It winks at me, because it’s purely California,” Marty goes on. “I close my eyes and see a Western sunset. Clarence played really softly. There was a magic bell tone to what he did. I finally found that tone on his guitar on this song.”
A dramatic drumroll gives way to ethereal guitar transmissions on “The Ballad of the Lonely Surfer.” Organic percussion quakes beneath delicately strummed chords. “I had a vague idea of the melody for a ballad,” recalls Kenny. “It fell right into place once I took it to the band.”
“Waiting on Sundown” alternates between tender low-string twang and echoes of sustained notes awash in waves of reverb. “The song is clearly under the spell of my romance with the Golden State,” Marty confesses. “It’s a reflection of the music, rhinestone fashion of Lankershim Boulevard, cars, the TV and movie heroes. In reality, it’s a love affair with the entirety of the landscape of California custom culture.”
The finale “Waltz of the Waves” revolves around a steel symphony performed with panache and poise by Chris. “Back in the day, the steel players were stars,” Chris adds. “I wanted to do a song with that voice. There are elements of exotica and Hawaiian music too, which is dear to me. You can say a lot without words and just music.”
“To me, ‘Waltz of the Waves’ is the moment you get in the rowboat, let the sun go down, and float off into the sunset,” Marty continues. “It was the perfect way to close the novel.”
The guys recorded just a handful of tracks in Nashville. Among those, “Graveyard” hinges on a quintessential surf guitar riff ushered forward by a dynamic beat and fast tremolo. “We recorded at the House of Blues studio,” Marty remembers. “Right behind it, there’s a big graveyard where people like George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Marty Robbins and Porter Wagoner are buried. The title worked.”
Then, there’s “Space Junk.” Steel drums thump, galactic chimes wail, and the guitar practically sings. It immediately evokes a big screen-worthy vignette topped off by a sample of the Sputnik signal. Kenny elaborates, “Sonically, it’s like you’re sidng in the window seat of a spacecraft and you’re seeing all of this stuff just drift on by.”
Over twenty years together and unparalleled musicianship enabled Marty and The Superlatives to reach such impressive heights. Often cited among the scene’s most elite players, the musicians leaned into their chemistry, conversing at a subconscious level after all of this time. “Each band member is a lifer, and we’ve all got a little bit of the frontman gene,” Chris reveals. “A connection to music is part of who we are.”
“Also, none of us has ever had a job other than music,” laughs Kenny.
“Harry and I made records in the nineties,” Marty remarks. “I saw Kenny for the first time at Austin City Limits with Lucinda Williams, and I knew he could do it all. The three of us have known Chris since he was a little guy, and there’s no end to his musical chain. These guys are all producers. When we get together, it’s a masterclass in music and fun. After our very first rehearsal, I remember saying, ‘This isn’t your ordinary band. We’re called at a deeper level’. It’s about standing and living for something, playing good music, and trying to make a difference.”
Marty’s light has only gotten brighter over the years. He has left an indelible mark on successive eras of country music and culture. He went from accompanying Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash to launching a storied solo career highlighted by classic albums such as the Gold-certified Hillbilly Rock and Platinum-certified This One’s Gonna Hurt You as well as GRAMMY® Award-winning anthems, including “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’” [with Travis Tritt] and “Same Old Train.” Recently, 2023’s Altitude incited widespread critical applause. Of the latter, Associated Press applauded how, “Guitarist Kenny Vaughan, drummer Harry Stinson and bassist Chris Scruggs match Stuart’s guitar virtuosity, with thrilling results,” and American Songwriter attested, “Altitude finds Stuart pudng his own stamp on a traditional vein of country.” NPR put it best, “For millions, Marty Stuart is the very image of country music— splendid jackets, musical mastery and his respect for country’s traditions and a good jolt of humor.” You’d be hard pressed to find a corner of country music he hasn’t impacted though. Speaking to his influence, he hosted longrunning fan favorite television series The Marty Stuart Show and notably remains a member of the Country Music Foundation and Grand Ole Opry. Moreover, the Country Music Hall of Fame inducted him during 2020. He also curated and launched Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country Music in Philadelphia, MS, preserving and celebrating the genre and its history.
Ultimately, Space Junk is another natural step for Marty and a worthy addition to his essential catalog.
“I hope Space Junk takes the listeners for a ride,” he leaves off. “It makes me forget my problems and remember why I play guitar and get to dress up in cowboy clothes. It reminds me I’m okay, and I want it to do the same for you. Mainly, I want to inspire some kid to go to the store, buy an instrument, and make a difference. This concept was passed down to us from the old heroes. If we can serve the same role, mission accomplished.”
