I've been a fan of Marty Stuart for years. He's been a professional musician since age 12: Stuart did stints in Lester Flatt's band; he played with Johnny Cash in the late '70s; later, Stuart — along with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — played on The Man in Black's Unchained album. And if that's not enough, Stuart also had a string of country hits of his own in the 90s, like top-10 country single, "Hillbilly Rock," and he has partnered with Travis Tritt for several more.

Lately, Marty Stuart been making some really cool albums with his trusty band, The Fabulous Superlatives. The latest is called Way Out West, produced by Heartbreakers' guitarist Mike Campbell. The album gives Stuart a chance to show his love of some of the music from the West he grew up with, like Merle Haggard, Buck Owens and the Bakersfield sound, as well as surf music and the music of The Byrds.

It turns out Marty Stuart is an unabashed fan of The Byrds; he talked about it in my recent interview with him. In fact, Marty's favorite guitar once belonged to the late Clarence White, who was in The Byrds in the late '60s and early '70s.

My pick is "Time Don't Wait," which features that signature jangly Byrds sound, assisted by The Fabulous Superlatives' guitarist Kenny Vaughan using producer Campbell's trusty 12-string Rickenbacker guitar.

Marty Stuart plays the Fine Line on Tuesday, April 11.

Resources

Marty Stuart - official site