And while many casual music fans may not know about Stuart’s deep ties to country music that found him cutting his teeth playing with bluegrass legend Lester Flatt as a mandolin-playing teen prodigy or later getting hired to help anchor Cash’s band, Stuart is eager to spread the gospel of American roots music. With “Way Out West” out, Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives are out on the road. This record is one of my favorite things that I have ever been involved with.” “Great guitars, great grooves, great vocals-they just have it all. My role was easy, just set up the sound and let them play,” Campbell explains. “Working with Marty and the Superlatives was a blast and it was fast. It’s a collaboration that Campbell, who first played with Stuart on Cash’s 1996 album “Unchained,” enjoyed immensely. Equally impressive are a pair of obscure covers-a rollicking take on Benny Goodman’s “Air Mail Special” and the Johnny Cash-flavored title cut, which uses spoken vocals, an atmospheric production touch and meandering arrangements to paint a picture of one person going on a fever dream-soaked spiritual quest. It’s an infectious number that sounds like a recently discovered 1966-era Byrds outtake. One of Stuart’s best originals on this project, “Time Don’t Wait,” has Campbell joining the Fabulous Superlatives. This menacing vibe continues on the vocal-free “Quicksand,” which uses a militaristic cadence and boatloads of echo to form a spiritual connection with Link Wray’s “Rumble.”Įlsewhere, Stuart does yeoman’s work tapping into his country music influences, be it Bakersfield (the trucker’s ode “Whole Lotta Highway”) or Marty Robbins (the twangy waltz “Lost On the Desert”). With this kind of talent, Stuart and his compadres are firing on all cylinders, starting with the instrumental “Mojave,” which uses a combination of airy twang and dive-bombing chords to scale some of the soaring aural terrain traversed by the late surf rock god Dick Dale.
The Fabulous Superlatives are a solid anchor thanks to the efforts of guitarist Kenny Vaughan (Lucinda Williams), bassist Chris Scruggs (BR549) and drummer Harry Stinson (Steve Earle). I also knew that I’d have a better shot of getting that kind of cinematic sound that I was looking for in California that I wouldn’t be able to get in Nashville.”
It would reflect that kind of openness with a little bit of a psychedelic touch to it. “‘Way Out West’ started with a song called ‘Mexico’ and the idea was that I wanted to capture a mood that was cinematic and reflected the space you experience out in the Mojave Desert.
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