Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
Altitude
Snakefarm
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives have really outdone themselves with their new album, Altitude. They not only pick up where they left off with the 2017 album Way Out West, but also push the limits of their sound all the way back to where it started. For Marty Stuart, that was a $2.99 copy of the Byrds’ classic album and the blueprint for countless artists since its debut, Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
While touring the 50th anniversary of Sweetheart of the Rodeo and opening for Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman, Marty recalled the beginnings of Altitude.
“Revisiting it on the road with Roger and Chris put me back under its spell all over again. I was writing songs in dressing rooms and soundchecks and on the bus, and then one day, I looked up and there was enough to make an album.”
The resulting inspiration is a mix of The Byrds, The Beatles, The Doors, The Mamas and The Papas, and Marty’s incredible ability to mold those inspirations into his own masterpiece of Cosmic Cowboy music.
“Lost Bird Space Train” is an instrumental that takes you on a sonic ride with some psychedelic chicken-pickin’ rock and roll, just warming you up for what’s to follow. “Country Star” plays like a mini-biography of Marty’s road to his legendary country star status before slowing the pace for the 12-string, layered, Byrds-esque, “Sitting Alone.” “Space” is aptly named, as it meanders alongside a sitar melody that could have been a tune penned by Jim Morrison.
But traditionalists fear not, tracks like “Altitude,” “Vegas,” “Lost Byrd Space Train (Scene 2),” and “Time to Dance” get back to the heart of that Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives sound with songs that just scream “Marty Stuart.”
The album is available to stream and purchase everywhere, including a few different versions of the vinyl through Marty’s website. Check his social media for tour dates, which are going through the end of the year.
