Live at the Ryman

1	Eddie Stubbs Intro 0:54
2	Orange Blossom Special 3:47
3	No Hard Times Blues 4:39
4	Homesick 4:52
5	Shuckin' the Corn 3:07
6	The Whiskey Ain't Workin' Anymore 2:44
7	Mr. John Henry (Intro) 0:14
8	Mr. John Henry, The Steel Drivin' Man 3:10
9	Uncle John's Intro 0:39
10	Train 45 3:58
11	Josh's Joke 0:40
12	The Great Speckled Bird 1:52
13	Sure Wanna Keep My Wine 3:26
14	Walk Like That 5:20
15	Hillbilly Rock 3:20

Barnes & Noble

In July 2003, in the midst of a crushing tour schedule, Marty Stuart put on a bluegrass show at the legendary Ryman Auditorium, and unbeknownst to him, the tapes were rolling. Fast-forward to February 2006, when the release of this knockout performance arrives, closely tailing Stuart's pair of 2005 releases (his moving gospel outing, Souls' Chapel, and his stirring tribute to the Lakota Sioux, Badlands). Playing "our version of bluegrass," Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives draw mostly from the venerable canon but also take time to retool a couple of his country classics in a way that would surely draw a smile from Mr. Bill Monroe, were he still with us. Heartbreakers, toe-tappers, and barnburners are present and accounted for, and the depth of feeling everyone brings to their moment in the spotlight is really something. Check out the old standard "Shuckin' the Corn" with its incendiary dialogue between Stuart on mandolin, fiddler Stuart Duncan, and banjo man Charlie Cushman, who tears off some speed-picked runs worthy of the young Earl Scruggs. "The Whiskey Ain't Workin' Anymore," a duet hit for Marty and Travis Tritt, is here transfigured into a loping, mid-tempo acoustic drinkin' song ascending on high harmony. The set closes with Stuart's "Hillbilly Rock" -- which is set up by Superlative guitarist Kenny Vaughan's cool boogie-woogie original, "Walk Like That" -- remade as a frantic breakdown with pronounced locomotive overtones and sparked by red-hot solos on mandolin (Marty) and banjo (Cushman). The set gains extra ballast when dobro master Josh Graves joins the band onstage, adding a plaintive cry to "Train 45," moaning atmospherics to "Great Speckled Bird," and some bopping commentary to "Sure Wanna Keep My Wine." What a night to be at the Ryman. David McGee

All Music Guide

After two killer, groundbreaking studio recordings in 2005 -- Souls' Chapel and Badlands -- about the last thing one would expect from Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives was a live bluegrass LP recorded at the historic Ryman Auditorium. To be accurate, Live at the Ryman was recorded in July of 2003. In addition to his regular band -- which includes guitarist Kenny Vaughan, Harry Stinson on snare drum, and Brian Glenn on bass (all of whom sing) -- guests that night are in the stratospheric category: fiddler Stuart Duncan, banjo master Charlie Cushman, and pioneering dobro boss Uncle Josh Graves. According to Stuart's liner notes, there was a 20-minute rehearsal before the gig to agree on tunes to play. That was it.. If he's not jiving, this is an even more astonishing record than its sound and contents give up. The set opens with a rollicking "Orange Blossom Special," with Duncan literally tearing up the middle, improvising on the theme with reckless abandon. Stuart then throws a curveball, letting his mandolin dig deep into the blues and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" riff on "No Hard Times." It slows down a bit for the wonderful old hillbilly blues tune "Homesick," with killer vocal harmonies. "Shuckin' the Corn" is a vehicle for Charlie Cushman, who tears it up from the inside and quotes "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" as Duncan kicks into high gear with a solo and Cushman comes back right at him turning the mode inside out. There is no stopping this band, who follow the twists and turns of the tune like jazzmen. Honky Tonk gets a nod here as well with "The Whiskey Ain't Workin' Anymore," though done in proper bluegrass fashion -- Jimmy Martin would be proud of the treatment of this tune. The read of "Train 45" has Josh Graves' signature technique all over it, and his sense of humor, as well. When it all comes to a romping close with Stuart's own "Hillbilly Rock," done in hardcore bluegrass fashion that unearths the true roots of the savage rockabilly played by Johnny Burnette, Gene Vincent, and Elvis in his earliest incarnation. Something special has happened in that these musicians have brought everything from the Mississippi Delta to the Carter Family to the Monroe Brothers and the Stanley Brothers to rock and roll out in rough-and-tumble display from the heart of mountain music. This one smokes. Thom Jurek

Billboard

Stuart is on a hell of a roll.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

[Grade: A] A virtuoso program of country and bluegrass, much of it necessarily familiar, played with back-porch spirit and exquisitely sung. Barry Gilbert