Customer Reviews

Pilgrim

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a little biased when it comes to this album having spent six months of my life with Marty and his band recording and mixing it back in 1998 (when I was a scared 26 year old kid). This is simply a brilliant album and it will be a highlight of my career.

Marty spent several years creating the story and writing the music for the Pilgrim unlike most country records that are factory safe and produced by teams of executives that are as far removed from their audience as a Three Stooges short is from Schindler's List. In a world where Keanu Reeves is rewarded for his ability to say the word "whoa" I guess there's just no room on country radio for things other than fluff written by work-a-day songwriters churning out two or three songs a day while their fresh out of college publishers schedule their writing appointments all in an attempt to meet song quotas and make music that anyone under the age of four months could enjoy. Sounds like a perfect way to make art. HA!

Sorry about that. I feel better now.

Marty played all his famous guitars (the acoustic guitar was owned by Hank Williams, Sr. and Johnny Cash and is worth well over a million dollars). Such amazing tones and guitar playing are all over this CD. It's the kind of thing you can listen to under headphones and really dig into to uncover guitar parts.

There was a line of Marty's celebrity friends wanting to be a part of this album such as Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, George Jones, Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs, Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty's band) and Pam Tillis to name just a few.

Tracks of interest include Reasons, Hobo's Prayer, The Pilgrim (Act III), Crow and Harlan County. On a small technical note, Harlan County and Intermission were recorded live through a single microphone (a Telefunken U-47 through a Neve 1073 mic pre) and were nominated for several Grammy awards.

This is simply a brilliant album and everyone involved with its creation is proud to have been there. Buy this now before it goes out of print, never to be released again.

This is an album that makes you glad there is a Marty Stuart and makes you realize how far left of center country music has gone these days. This brings a reality check to country music fans and let's them know that what they are hearing on the radio these days is not what country music is all about. Hell, there's only one song that is actually getting air play these days that I would consider to be straight forward country and that's Pop-A-Top by Alan Jackson.

Buy this album and give it a spin, you'll be hooked from the first note.

Five stars plus!

No, I am not overdoing it. Marty Stuart's "The Pilgrim" is one of the best albums I have ever bought...and I am not generally a Marty Stuart fan. I do realize the fact that he is a great singer and player (guitar and mandolin), but I never imagined that he'd have the quality of talent that he expresses on this legendary-worthy CD.

One piece of advice: Don't stop. Listen to it when you're on a trip, or when you will not be disturbed. Because the ALBUM doesn't stop...it flows smoothly from one song into the next. And every song on here, whether it be twenty seconds of six minutes, tells a piece of the story of a man from Stuart's hometown. This man's wife fell in love with another man who didn't know she was married. The husband committed suicide, and the lover, finding out he'd been betrayed, left. This man is The Pilgrim.

The songs on this wonderful CD go from traditional country to honky-tonk to blues. There is no need to summarize the songs, as, like I said, all revolve around the afore-mentioned story. I can, however, mention the hilights. All the instrumentals are superb, and the guest recitations and diddlies (Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, George Jones, and Ralph Stanley) are well-worthy of being on this album. "Hobo's Prayer" and "The Observations of a Crow" ("blessed accomodations/for the daily observations of a crow") are songs of the highest caliber, while the others fall only slightly behind.

Marty Stuart knew what he was doing when he set out to record this album. It may not be a platinum-pending album, and it may not be "radio-friendly", but it is one of the best albums I've ever heard. Marty Stuart's voice will enrapture you, his mandolin playing will regulate the beating of your heart, and his songs will flood your ears with Pulitzer lyrics. Get ready..."The Pilgrim" is coming to town.

This album has got some real meat on its bones. While Marty Stuart's last couple of discs were good, with nuggets of genius in each, their entire collections were not exactly "great." But Marty Stuart really comes back and outdoes himself on this one! The song-writing here, for the most part, is nothing short of brilliant--the songs truly flow, one into the other--and carry the mood of the saga from the heartbreak of its tragic beginnings, through to the majesty of the hope that rises from the ashes at the end of fortysomething soul-searching minutes. On this musical pilgrimage, Stuart visits traditional country, honky-tonk, bluegrass, blues-y-funk, rock-n-roll, hillbilly rock, recitations, string sections, instrumentals, and folk-flavored finger-style. And he is accompanied by a number of the musical friends who've influenced the paths he has chosen along the way (namely Cash, Harris, Scruggs, Stanley, Jones, Tillis, and even Mike Campbell of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers), who collectively put the crowning touch on this incredible album. From "Reasons", the ultimate traditional country weeper--with its glorious steel guitar wailing front & center--and the super-infectious, rollicking, honky-tonk beat of "Red, Red, Wine & Cheatin' Songs" (both featuring the magical "milk & honey" vocal blend of Stuart & Tillis)--to the heart-stopping, soul-filling finger-style of Stuart on "Hobo's Prayer"--and the spectacular bluegrass--...to just about everything else on this album--this is a most-enthusiastically welcomed addition to my collection!! Highly recommended!!

Marty Stuart has deep roots in the kind of country music I used to hear. There's not much "radio material" for a single on this album and for that I am grateful. Marty isn't making music for top 40 country; he's giving you the history of country music every time he records a song and we reap the rewards with his latest effort. His showmanship on the mandolin shines on this CD and every feeling he can put forth into his music oozes out of your speakers. Sit back and be educated.

I cannot get enough of this album. The more I listen, the more I enjoy it. There is so much to listen to,from the backing vocal of Pam Tillis and Emmy Lou. To the traditional country of Ralph Stanley. And the fine mix of the classical strings with the traditional bluegrass instruments. One of the finest three act plays I have ever experienced. I've been waiting a while for some more music from Marty and he really came through on this album.

I was not especially a country music fan when I heard Marty Stuart on the Johnny Cash memorial concert a couple of months ago. I was intrigued by his performance though, and began scouting around Amazon to hear what else he'd done. WOW! This CD is one of the most amazing I've ever heard! Great musicianship, great guest stars, super songs and an interesting storyline make this a way-overlooked gem. GO FOR IT!

I bought this cd based on the other reviews.

Thank you everyone.

This is country. Simple, clean, killer tone, fine picken, soulful performing.

This work is a masterpiece. It's also one of the most underated albums of all time!

This is absolute perfection. I grew up on traditional country music in the late 60's and early '70's, and was the most grateful person alive when Marty, Randy, Dwight, and Miss Patty Loveless came on the scene. "The Pilgrim" has got to be in the top 3 albums of the '90's; and I'll go as far as saying it's the best Marty Stuart release. I cant recall ever hearing guitar picking and mandolin playing such as this. Imagine taking the top bluegrass pickers and throwing them together with Don Rich, Carl Perkins, and Lester Flatt. Then take the sounds of the mountains and trainyards and combine them with Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton, and throw in a little thunder and lightning for good measure. Then, you may start to come close to this album. The guest vocals of Ralph Stanley, Emmy Lou Harris, and George Jones are brilliant, but Marty's duet with Pam Tillis will knock your socks off. There should be a push to re-release this album and get it airplay. All I can say, is until you've heard this album, you haven't experienced genius in country music. My highest recommendation!