Album Review: Marty Stuart – Compadres: An Anthology Of Duets

Glancing over the immense amount of talent represented on the fourteen tracks to Marty Stuart’s Compadres album gets the mind wondering about the vast array of legends that must litter his little black book of addresses. Not only does the album feature performances from some of music’s greatest nobility, it also boasts writing credits from the likes of Bill Monroe, Buddy Holly, Earl Scruggs, the Louvin brothers, and Johnny Horton. Instrumentally, it’s not bad either.

On the third track Stuart reaches back over 30 years to pull a live recording of the Monroe original “Rawhide” with Lester Flatt. He was only fifteen years of age at the time and was already exposing his knack for greatness with his impressive mandolin picking. Every other number appeared on an album between 1990 and 2005 with the exception of the previously unreleased “Will You Visit Me On Sunday” with Loretta Lynn and “I Can See For Miles” with The Old Crow Medicine Show. The former is one of my favorites from the album along with “Crying, Waiting, Hoping” featuring Steve Earle and “Let Us Travel, Travel On” with Del McCoury.

Elsewhere Stuart joins his former father-in-law, Johnny Cash, on “Doin’ My Time” and current wife of ten years, Connie Smith, for a riveting performance on “Hearts Like Ours”. It’s easy to take this album for granted since each song comes from a back catalog of music, but it really is one of the best releases so far this year. Big & Rich could take a note or two from Stuart on how to make so called “music without prejudice” while maintaining quality.