Ghost Train (The Studio B Sessions)

Marty Stuart | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sugar Hill Records
• ASIN: B003STL0B8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,177 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2010 release, a traditional Country album from the Grammy-winning American music icon. With his 14th studio album, Stuart steadily continues to lead the charge in preserving the roots, culture and history of traditional Country music. ''What inspires me now, is traditional Country music,'' says Stuart. ''It's the music I most cherish, the culture in which I was raised. It's the bedrock upon which the empire of Country music is built, the empowering force that provides this genre with lasting credibility. It's beyond trends and it's timeless. With all that being said, I found traditional Country music to be on the verge of extinction. It's too precious to let slip away. I wanted to attempt to write a new chapter.''

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's Another Classic From Marty August 28, 2010

By Michelle P. Anderson

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Marty Stuart is best when left to his own devices. Since the "no hat" days of the early nineties, Marty has taken control of his records, subsequently producing the masterpiece, "The Pilgrim", as well as classics, including "Country Music" and "Badlands".

I suspect even those who aren't fans of true (or traditional) country music can still appreciate that Marty is the "curator" of the legacy.

This album is no exception.

From the opening track, "Branded", with its sly homage to Merle Haggard, including Roy Nichols-like guitar licks, to a remake of the 1965 Warner Mack hit, "The Bridge Washed Out", to a lovely duet with wife (and legend) Connie Smith, "I Run To You", the 1960's country music sound is alive and well, just a bit more bright and shiny.

Standout tracks on this album, in addition to the aforementioned, include, "A World Without You" (my favorite). This track, folks, cannot be mistaken for anything BUT country music in its truest form. Also here is an instrumental version of Ralph Mooney's "Crazy Arms", featuring Ralph himself on steel. "Hummingbyrd", too, is a nice, ringing instrumental. Marty and Ralph collaborated on "Little Heartbreaker", a bouncy ditty that features some Wynn Stewart-like steel guitar licks.

Not everything works, but the minor nits I have with this CD do nothing to detract from this superior effort by Marty.

Be forewarned: If your idea of country music is dirty dishwater that's lost most of its foam, you probably won't like Ghost Train (The Studio B Sessions.)

If, on the other hand, you love music, and are able to discern between country music junkies and country music junk, you really can't go wrong surfing on over to Amazon and clicking the "buy" button.

[...]

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Stuart's "Train" Ride Not to be Missed August 24, 2010

By Timothy Yap TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:MP3 Music

Prime Cuts: Branded, I Run to You (with Connie Smith), Drifting Apart

If Stuart is to be faulted, he's definitely not one to be faulted for being chary. Ever since he has left the major recording labels, he has had spread his trawl to encompass a plethora of genres: from his tribute to the Sioux American Indian culture ("Badlands") to his worshipful excursion to soulful Gospel ("Soul's Chapel") to his live bluegrassy experiment ("Live at the Ryman"). As far as Stuart is concerned, he is never constrained sonically by genres. This time round he isn't temerarious either. "Ghost Train (The Studio B Sessions)" is a return back to tip back to the past -harkening back to the days where country music was melodically driven bolstered by heart rendering lyrics backed by a barricade of rustic instruments such as the banjo, fiddle, steel and guitar. In keeping with a rich heritage, these tracks were recorded in the historic setting of the legendary RCA B Studio where Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings, Eddy Arnold, Don Gibson, Donna Fargo and many other greats have had recorded there.

While Stuart has been known for his hillbilly rock, this disc uncharacteristically has a larger share of ballads. And those who have come to love Stuart's ballads will have much to rejoice here. A slice of brilliance comes with the Connie Smith's co-write "A World Without You" that is made even more gorgeous with the Jordanaire-esque backings. Stuart raises our social consciousness with the acoustic stripped down "Hard Working Man" where Stuart decries the fate of the blue collar in the midst of the today's faltering economy. "Drifting Apart" segues into some stone cold country moments: Stuart brings back those George Jones cry-in-the-beer saturated blues on this steel-laden ballad. "I Run to You" (not the Lady Antebellum song of the same title) is a heart flattering love song sung as a duet with Stuart's wife Connie Smith. "I Run to You" has all the hallmarks of greatness--romantic, moving and all so sweet.

Picking up the tempo, "The Bridge Washed Out" is a revived cover of the 1965 Warner Mack hit, this time with Stuart giving it a polished country rock feel. While vanguard single "Branded" is a homage to Merle Haggard's "Branded Man." "Branded" is a propulsive barn burner that finds its boast in its sturdy melodic line embraced with a 70s pop charm. Of historical value is "Hangman"--one of the last few songs co-written by the late Johnny Cash sometime before his death. Stark with a barebones blues feel, "Hangman" is an offbeat story song about forgiving a murderer that has a shocking introductory line: "I killed another man today."

Not everything works though. "Porter Wagoner's Grave" is a narration that has a Gospel message. Yet for the uninitiated such narration may be a little too left of center. The same goes with the couple of train songs "Mississippi Railroad Blues" and "Ghost Train Four-Oh-Ten" -they are a little too esoteric for mass appeal. Despite these bumps in the tracks, "Ghost Train" is still a historic ride of beauty, nostalgia, pain and love waiting for us to hop on to enjoy. This is a ride not to be missed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars MARTY STUART - GHOST TRAIN (THE STUDIO B SESSIONS) March 10, 2011

By Jared Ledbetter

Format:Audio CD

Marty Stuart is not only a fantastic musician but as anyone who was lucky enough to hear his series of shows broadcast on Sirius/XM radio can tell you, he knows how to put together a show that is fun, entertaining, and chock full of great American music. The same can be said for his latest release GHOST TRAIN (THE STUDIO B SESSIONS). Here is true-blue country music the way it is supposed to sound, blazing bluegrass and rockabilly, heart-wrenching ballads, in other words everything you need to turn your own living room into that honky-tonk you used to love but which somehow got replaced by a fast-food franchise.
Along with The Fabulous Superlatives (drummer Harry Stinson, bassist Paul Martin and the always exceptional guitarist Kenny Vaughan) Marty Stuart has created another timeless masterpiece and one that will make any true music-lover a very happy camper.
(Also worth mentioning for fans of real Country Music is his Telly Award winning TV program "The Marty Stuart Show" which is one of the few watchable country music programs on television, and a breath of much needed fresh air in the relentless cycle of bland corporate Country Pop that Nashville keeps trying to convince the rest of America it really wants.