Marty Stuart at The Greenwich Odeum on March 5, 2022 - Highlights
Marty Stuart rolled into Rhode Island with his Fabulous Superlatives at the Greenwich Odeum on March 5, 2022. The band name is no joke as each of his supporting cast is worthy of their own marquee as phenomenal studio artists in Nashville having played and recorded with everyone in country music and beyond. Not only is their playing impeccable but their vocals, individually and in four part harmony is sublime. The band started with some blistering instrumental work with double guitar harmony leads not heard since the Allman Brothers. One thing that sets them apart is Stuart’s use of “Clarence” (Clarence White’s Telecaster designed and built for him with a B bender. White was the innovative guitarist with the Byrds before his untimely death. White’s widow believed Stuart to be the one most deserving of this historic iconic instrument - she was right!) Interestingly, Stuart’s lead player, Kenny Vaughan, is similarly anointed with indescribable guitar talent and skilled with the stylings of B bender work. Together these guys were off the chart!
The band was fun and offered a true show without overworking it. Stuart offers to spotlight to each of his players and they measure. The group played from every genre with country as their defining reference but superbly skilled in all that they tackled. They featured the bass player, Chris Scruggs (yep, Earl Scruggs’ grandson) on the vocals of the Bob Wills piece, Brain Cloudy Blues from 1947. They did a tip of the hat to RI “the surf capital of the world” by playing Wipeout as a bass solo for melody and the drum solo performed by hand on the drummer’s cheeks. I’d not heard the drummer, Harry Stinson play guitar before but he played the Martin 12 string beautifully on the Byrd’s song The Ballad of Easy Rider.
Stuart explains that when they formed the Superlatives they recognized that each had a foot in gospel music and shared 4 part vocal harmony as they developed the group. The Bill Monroe piece, Get Down On Your Knees And Pray, was known to each and they hit the ground running. Their delivery was delicious as they positioned around one microphone.
A high point for me is hearing Stuart play his mandolin on "Orange Blossom Special”, a fiddle tune about a luxury passenger train of the same name. The song was written by Ervin T. Rouse (1917–1981) in 1938 and was first recorded by Rouse and his brother Gordon in 1939. Often called simply "The Special" or "OBS", the song is commonly referred to as "the fiddle player's national anthem”. Marty Stuart begins with a train rhythm chucking on the strings as he tells the story of how he’d met Mr. Rouse and the evolution of the song. He rips through the verses, the melody on the mando and never loses tempo - break neck speed throughout. A real crowd pleaser ending with one big strum and crash on the pickup that sounds like an A bomb! Incredible!
The scheduled show finishes and the crowd beckons for more. The band returns as planned and plays one. As Stuart is about to announce the closing song someone shouts from the balcony “Johnny Rivers”. After some light hearted back and forth Stuart determine that the request is for “Poor Side of Town” by Johnny Rivers (and Lou Adler). On the spot, Stuart moves about the neck trying opening chords alongside his voice for a proper key. He asks the guy in the balcony if he knows what key he played it in. Once settled, he launches into the song, totally unrehearsed and the band, being superior musicians accompanied him perfectly. This was a huge statement to me particularly as I noted that the whole night was letter perfect execution to the note. This step off the rails only added to my respect.
The show finished with remarks concerning the pandemic and the impact upon a band that makes its living on the road. Stuart indicated he’d heard this song hundreds of times but it took on a new meaning in this context. Crystal Gayle had a hit with this song written by Allen Reynolds entitled “Ready For The Times To Get Better”. I’ll second that emotion.
Enjoy some of my images collected during the first 3 songs of the night. Thanks to the good folks at The Greenwich Odeum for making all of this possible.
Read MoreThe band was fun and offered a true show without overworking it. Stuart offers to spotlight to each of his players and they measure. The group played from every genre with country as their defining reference but superbly skilled in all that they tackled. They featured the bass player, Chris Scruggs (yep, Earl Scruggs’ grandson) on the vocals of the Bob Wills piece, Brain Cloudy Blues from 1947. They did a tip of the hat to RI “the surf capital of the world” by playing Wipeout as a bass solo for melody and the drum solo performed by hand on the drummer’s cheeks. I’d not heard the drummer, Harry Stinson play guitar before but he played the Martin 12 string beautifully on the Byrd’s song The Ballad of Easy Rider.
Stuart explains that when they formed the Superlatives they recognized that each had a foot in gospel music and shared 4 part vocal harmony as they developed the group. The Bill Monroe piece, Get Down On Your Knees And Pray, was known to each and they hit the ground running. Their delivery was delicious as they positioned around one microphone.
A high point for me is hearing Stuart play his mandolin on "Orange Blossom Special”, a fiddle tune about a luxury passenger train of the same name. The song was written by Ervin T. Rouse (1917–1981) in 1938 and was first recorded by Rouse and his brother Gordon in 1939. Often called simply "The Special" or "OBS", the song is commonly referred to as "the fiddle player's national anthem”. Marty Stuart begins with a train rhythm chucking on the strings as he tells the story of how he’d met Mr. Rouse and the evolution of the song. He rips through the verses, the melody on the mando and never loses tempo - break neck speed throughout. A real crowd pleaser ending with one big strum and crash on the pickup that sounds like an A bomb! Incredible!
The scheduled show finishes and the crowd beckons for more. The band returns as planned and plays one. As Stuart is about to announce the closing song someone shouts from the balcony “Johnny Rivers”. After some light hearted back and forth Stuart determine that the request is for “Poor Side of Town” by Johnny Rivers (and Lou Adler). On the spot, Stuart moves about the neck trying opening chords alongside his voice for a proper key. He asks the guy in the balcony if he knows what key he played it in. Once settled, he launches into the song, totally unrehearsed and the band, being superior musicians accompanied him perfectly. This was a huge statement to me particularly as I noted that the whole night was letter perfect execution to the note. This step off the rails only added to my respect.
The show finished with remarks concerning the pandemic and the impact upon a band that makes its living on the road. Stuart indicated he’d heard this song hundreds of times but it took on a new meaning in this context. Crystal Gayle had a hit with this song written by Allen Reynolds entitled “Ready For The Times To Get Better”. I’ll second that emotion.
Enjoy some of my images collected during the first 3 songs of the night. Thanks to the good folks at The Greenwich Odeum for making all of this possible.
