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The current best band in the world?

There is of course no such thing. There’s not even a best Blues band, or Rock band, or Jazz band, or Country band, or any other kind of band. But a lot of us probably have a "favorite" band, one we like so much it is our favorite irrespective of genre. And so it is for me.

A band is the combined talents of all it’s members, different bands having varying distributions of talent levels amongst it’s members. There is a band that has been playing together now for 16 years, and damn are they good. It’s Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, and they are my current favorite band. All four members are extremely talented, and they work together as only the very best bands do.

Marty Stuart went on the road in a Gospel group at age 12, playing mandolin for the Summer before returning to school. He was caught in class reading a Country music magazine hidden in a history book, and explained to the teacher he would rather make history than read about it. He was expelled, so looked for a job. Lester Flatt hired him, and Marty went on the road with him at age 13. He worked with Lester until Flatt’s failing health took him off the road in ’78, then kicked around a little with Vassar Clements and Doc Watson. In 1980 he was hired by Johnny Cash, with whom he worked for years. Marty got himself a record deal, and put out a bunch of albums on MCA and Columbia. I met him at The Palomino (the legendary Country music bar in North Hollywood, where Dwight Yoakam got his start) in the early 90’s, and a nicer guy you couldn’t find. He owns a bunch of historic guitars, including Pop Staple’s acoustic and Clarence White’s (The Byrds) Telecaster.

Drummer Harry Stinson is a superb musician and singer, long employed in Nashville studios in both capacities. Guitarist Kenny Vaughan is a Telecaster ace whom I first saw live playing guitar in Lucinda Williams’ band, on the Car Wheels tour. He’s also a real good harmony singer, with his own recent solo album. Bassist Chris Scruggs, Grandson of Earl Scruggs, is an incredible multi-instrumentalist (a first-call pedal steel player in Nashville) and, again, good harmony singer. Country musicians grow up singing as well as playing instruments.

All these guys are seasoned pros, talented not only on the instruments they play, but also as ensemble players; those are very different talents. Their latest album, Way Out West, was produced by Petty’s guitarist Mike Campbell, he also a big fan of Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. Great band name!

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ishis
6 posts
 
The Hadouk Trio or Khruangbin...depending on the mood I'm in!!!
bdp24's avatar
bdp24 OP
9,752 posts
 

Not at all Steve. Another detail: while the Evan Johns Moontan album was being mixed and mastered (by Rodney Mills, who worked with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Atlanta Rhythm Section, 38 Special, etc.), a tour was being set up to support the release of the album. One day Evan started not feeling well, and went to the emergency room up in Vancouver, B.C., where he was living. He was admitted to the hospital, where he lapsed into a coma; final stages of liver failure. That was the end of the tour plans.

The week we spent recording, Evan ate one meal, the rest of the time chain-drinking 12 oz cans of room-temperature Budweiser. The band arrived in Atlanta a day after he, and on the morning of the first day of recording there were two 18-packs of empty beer cans outside his hotel room. He ended up awaking from the coma a few weeks later, and we learned this had happened twice before. He said to me: "As long as you stay away from the hard stuff (whiskey, I presumed), you’re okay". Apparently not; he died in Austin, Texas last year, only 60 years old. Really interesting, funny guy, and a great guitarist. Both he and Danny Gatton (nicknamed "The Humbler" by Vince Gill) came out of the Virginia Rockabilly/Blues/Hillbilly scene, and were in bands together off and on for years. One of the songs on Moontan is entitled "Shoot The Merle" (a play on words, i.e. the Surf song "Shoot The Curl"), a tribute to Merle Travis, the very influential Hillbilly guitarist, loved by Scotty Moore (Elvis), Jeff Beck, George Harrison, Clarence White (The Byrds), and of course Marty Stuart.

rwwear
2,866 posts
 
bdp24 Marty and his band sound a lot like the Byrds. All members are great musicians and sang a few songs each. Of course they throw some humor in to the mix too. I talked to Marty at the western art museum before the show. He's very down to earth and quite the photographer. His art is on display there. He has the last portrait of Johnny Cash taken a few days before he died.
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snackeyp
455 posts
 
Have to agree with those who said Wilco.  With each album they make they get better, and their live shows are really great.  
I am also a Son Volt fan, but they have not taken the whole alt-rock/country thing nearly as far as Wilco IMO.  I try to see either band whenever they come to town.  
boxer12
8,656 posts
 
I can't choose 1.
A couple bands I've been listening to a lot of lately that have been around for a while are:
Low
The Magnetic Fields
They don't sound anything alike but what I like them mostly for is how they structure their songs. Rather unconventional and for different reasons. Low keeps a slow tempo (without being mellow) and seems to make the most of every note. The Magnetic Fields choice of instruments for their songs seems to vary as does the way they put them together. 
A couple bands I've been listening to for years that are great are:
Bardo Pond
moe.
Bardo Ponds music is pretty hard to describe. Very textured and often loud. Their lead singer (only singer) has a lovely voice & plays a flute. 
moe. Is a straight up jam band with very talented musicians in it. IMO they are the best jam band currently out there. I love to see them in concert. They can play a song for 18 minutes & you will not get bored. They find a groove & squeeze as much as they can out of it without letting it get old.  
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