What I admire about country singer, photographer, archivist and multi-instrumentalist Marty Stuart is how unpretentiously he attempts to bend country’s rules. Cut with his fine band, The Fabulous Superlatives, Stuart’s new full-length Way out West stands as his answer to The Byrds’ 1968 album The Notorious Byrd Brothers. The Mississippi-born singer creates a convincing simulation of The Byrds’ style circa Notorious or Younger Than Yesterday on the record’s “Time Don’t Wait.” Meanwhile, I wonder if the super-eclectic Stuart knows Painted Desert, Japanese percussionist Ikue Mori’s 1995 collaboration with guitarists Robert Quine and Marc Ribot — Stuart’s Way out West track “Mojave” bears comparison with Painted Desert’s opener, which is also titled “Mojave.” This year’s edition of Stuart’s long-running Late Night Jam features Stuart and the Superlatives along with legendary country singer (and Stuart’s wife) Connie Smith, neo-folk vocalist Rhiannon Giddens, Nashville rock band The Wild Feathers, singer Ashley McBryde and guitarist Tommy Emmanuel. EDD HURT
Marty Stuart's Late Night Jam
