Marty Stuart is obsessed with country music and its various genre offshoots and particular culture. The Mississippi native started playing guitar in bands at age 13, which means he’s been doing it for more than a half-century. And he doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Stuart’s latest studio album, 2023’s Altitude, is more spirited than it has any right being from someone this deep in their recording history, 14 songs in 45 minutes that draw from the classic Bakersfield sound to the Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo. (Relevant side note: In 2018, Stuart joined Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman on a live tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the aforementioned Byrds’ album.)
“I’ve always loved songs that feel like old friends but still sound new and fresh,” Stuart said on the occasion of Altitude’s release. “The beautiful thing about country music is that the blueprint Jimmie Rodgers laid down — rambling, gambling, sin, redemption, heaven, hell — it’s all just as relevant now as it ever was. It’s the human condition, and if you’re honest about it and you’ve got a real band around you, you can make something that’s uniquely yours and stands the test of time.”
Sure enough, “A Friend of Mine” is a honky-tonk gem backed by chugging guitars and spry rhythms, topped with a sweet slide guitar solo that ices Stuart’s lyrics about life’s disappointments: “Just because your eyes are closed doesn’t mean it’s a peaceful sleep/Sometimes you get to plant the grapes but you never get to taste the wine/If you know what I’m talking about, you’re a friend of mine.”
On the other end of the spectrum is “Space,” a slow-burning rumination about being out of place in a world gone awry. Stuart’s voice conveys an authentic yearning as he pleads “I just need some space to be free” amid a cosmic, Eastern-flavored sonic backdrop that’s as poignant as it is haunting.
Let’s hope Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives find a way to include a few tunes from the inspired Altitude in a live set sure to draw from a vast catalog decades in the making.
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives play Memorial Hall on March 7 at 8 p.m. More info: memorialhallotr.com.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s Feb. 19 print edition.
This article appears in Feb 19 – Mar 4, 2025.
