Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions
Encyclopedia
Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions is the sixteenth studio album of country music
singer Marty Stuart
. The album was long-awaited by fans of Stuart, as most of the songs had already featured on The Marty Stuart Show, Stuart's country/bluegrass show on RFD-TV
. It was recorded in the historic RCA Studio B
in Nashville, which was being used by the Country Music Hall of Fame as a type of museum until Marty asked to use the "Home of a Thousand Hits" to record 'Ghost Train'.
who had a hit with the song 'Branded Man
' in 1967. The song is a reminder of 1970's country-rock. Stuart had the idea to write the song whilst in his dressing room at the Grand Ole Opry
, and had to "keep getting out of the shower" every time a new line came into his head.
tune by the group Reno & Smiley. Marty heard the song on the radio in his tour bus, and immediately fell in love with the tune, deciding that upon his next visit to the recording studio he would record an electric version with the Superlatives. The song is performed as a duet between Marty Stuart and his lead guitarist, "Cousin" Kenny Vaughan.
. He told her to take a pen and paper and write down as he dictated to her: "Our home is like a prison, where we're both serving time/I'm a stranger in your world now, and it's driving me out of my mind./Drifting apart, drifting apart, darling, we're drifting apart./Out of reach, out of heart, we're slowly drifting apart". Stuart later joked in an interview that he had to reassure his partner that the song wasn't about her.
in 1965. It would also be recorded a year later by country legend George Jones
. Mack's version spent a week at the top spot and all in all enjoyed twenty-two weeks on the chart. Stuart has often performed his rendition of this song on his TV show, and his choosing to record it for this album is symbolic of him tipping his hat to traditional country music, whilst still embracing modern methods of recording and playing.
, and performed on White's electric guitar, which White's wife sold to Stuart some years after White's death.
four days before his death, as a result making it the last song that Cash ever wrote. Stuart said that this was a prime example of Harlan Howard
's description of country music as being "nothing but three chords and the truth".
. In the liner notes Stuart talks about how he can often be found alone at the depot, simply thinking or daydreaming.
, and references one of Haggard's hits ("In better times, in old America/We sang the Working Man's Blues with such pride"). The song was inspired by a mixture of elements, one of which being the worldwide recession, another of which dates back to Stuart's childhood - his father was fired from his company that he had devoted his life to just before retiring, so that the company wouldn't have to pay him his benefits upon retirement. Stuart dedicated the song to his father, and said it was also meant for everyone else who has been a victim of "corporate greed".
As the song is written much in the style of Merle Haggard, Stuart decided to show it to him before recording it. He said that "Showing Hag a new song is like showing Mount Rushmore your rock collection... but he liked it, and he gave me his blessing".
, and has been recorded by many artists, including Ray Price, Webb Pierce
, Jerry Lee Lewis
and Willie Nelson
. Unlike previous versions, this recording is purely instrumental, with Stuart and his Superlatives playing alongside Mooney's steel guitar. The track also features a spoken introduction in the form of a conversation between Stuart and Mooney.
. Shortly before Wagoner's death, Stuart and his Superlatives helped him get back on top of his career by recording his final album Wagonmaster
. When he died, Stuart tried to ease the pain by writing. What started out as a piece of prose eventually became the song 'Porter Wagoner's Grave'. Stuart claimed that he never intended for the general public to hear any of it, but his bandmembers insisted that the song was too well-written to not perform.
The song is about a man who enters a cemetery for shelter at nighttime, and is visited by a silver-haired phantom, who advises him to go back to the one he loves before it is too late. The phantom was described as wearing a "long purple coat, covered in wheels/red leather boots, with sparkling heels"; an accurate description of Wagoner and his fondness of rhinestone suits.
instrumental composed by Stuart, and is a showcase for his talent on the mandolin.
and the Clubhouse at Inlight in Hendersonville, Tennessee
. Assisted by Josh Sumrall, Jake Jorgovan, Eric Thompson, Michael Hardesty, Stephen Turney and Matt Kraatz. Maria-Elena Orbea was the production coordinator.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart
John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
. The album was long-awaited by fans of Stuart, as most of the songs had already featured on The Marty Stuart Show, Stuart's country/bluegrass show on RFD-TV
RFD-TV
RFD-TV, or Rural Free Delivery TV, is a United States satellite and cable television channel devoted to rural issues, concerns, and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United States Postal Service's system of delivering mail directly to rural patrons...
. It was recorded in the historic RCA Studio B
RCA Studio B
RCA Studio B is a noted recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee. Situated at 30 Music Square W and originally known simply as RCA Studios, it became famous in the 1960s for being a part of what many refer to as the Nashville Sound...
in Nashville, which was being used by the Country Music Hall of Fame as a type of museum until Marty asked to use the "Home of a Thousand Hits" to record 'Ghost Train'.
Content
The album has a neo-traditionalist approach to country music, an indication from Stuart that he and his Superlatives intend to carry on with their more serious approach to recording, a direct contrast to Stuart's earlier days of performing.Branded
'Branded' is a song about a man who is constantly on the run; he has been jailed for vagrancy (amongst other crimes). He claims he "guilty of the crime of tryin' to get back home". The song is in sorts a tribute to Merle HaggardMerle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
who had a hit with the song 'Branded Man
Branded Man
Branded Man is an album by country singer Merle Haggard.In 2003, the album was ranked number 484 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.-Track listing:#"Branded Man" – 3:07...
' in 1967. The song is a reminder of 1970's country-rock. Stuart had the idea to write the song whilst in his dressing room at the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
, and had to "keep getting out of the shower" every time a new line came into his head.
Country Boy Rock & Roll
'Country Boy Rock & Roll' was originally a bluegrassBluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
tune by the group Reno & Smiley. Marty heard the song on the radio in his tour bus, and immediately fell in love with the tune, deciding that upon his next visit to the recording studio he would record an electric version with the Superlatives. The song is performed as a duet between Marty Stuart and his lead guitarist, "Cousin" Kenny Vaughan.
Drifting Apart
'Drifting Apart' is a song about two lovers who are, as the title suggests, drifting apart from each other. Stuart got the idea for the song whilst in the car with his wife, Connie SmithConnie Smith
Connie Smith is an American country music artist. She began her career in 1963 after winning a local talent contest near Columbus, Ohio, which attracted the attention of country songwriter Bill Anderson...
. He told her to take a pen and paper and write down as he dictated to her: "Our home is like a prison, where we're both serving time/I'm a stranger in your world now, and it's driving me out of my mind./Drifting apart, drifting apart, darling, we're drifting apart./Out of reach, out of heart, we're slowly drifting apart". Stuart later joked in an interview that he had to reassure his partner that the song wasn't about her.
Bridge Washed Out
'Bridge Washed Out' was originally written and recorded by Warner MackWarner Mack
Warner MacPherson , known professionally as Warner Mack, is an American country music singer-songwriter. Mack had many hits on the country charts from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, some of which crossed over to the pop charts....
in 1965. It would also be recorded a year later by country legend George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
. Mack's version spent a week at the top spot and all in all enjoyed twenty-two weeks on the chart. Stuart has often performed his rendition of this song on his TV show, and his choosing to record it for this album is symbolic of him tipping his hat to traditional country music, whilst still embracing modern methods of recording and playing.
A World Without You
'A World Without You' is a slow ballad-type song, co-written by Stuart with his wife. It is the type of song that Smith would be more expected to sing, as it requires a strong vocal ability; Stuart admitted on his show in 2010 "I can't sing like her... but she can't play the mandolin as good as I can!". In singing this type of song, Stuart demonstrates how his vocal talents have developed as he has grown older.Hummingbyrd
'Hummingbyrd' is an electric instrumental composed by Stuart. It is designed as a tribute to Clarence WhiteClarence White
Clarence White was a guitar player for Nashville West, The Byrds, Muleskinner, and the Kentucky Colonels. His parents were Acadians from New Brunswick, Canada...
, and performed on White's electric guitar, which White's wife sold to Stuart some years after White's death.
Hangman
'Hangman' is one of the more somber songs on the album. It tackles the inner demons of a hangman, trying to cope with being responsible for a countless number of deaths. It is also significant as it was co-written with musical icon Johnny CashJohnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
four days before his death, as a result making it the last song that Cash ever wrote. Stuart said that this was a prime example of Harlan Howard
Harlan Howard
Harlan Perry Howard was a prolific American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote a large number of popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists...
's description of country music as being "nothing but three chords and the truth".
Ghost Train Four-Oh-Ten
'Ghost Train Four-Oh-Ten', the title track of the album, is a twelve-bar blues song, about a mystical train that carries "sad souls, bound for nowhere". The idea for the song was inspired by an old train depot in Stuart's home town of Philadelphia, MississippiPhiladelphia, Mississippi
Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,303 at the 2000 census.- History :...
. In the liner notes Stuart talks about how he can often be found alone at the depot, simply thinking or daydreaming.
Hard Working Man
'Hard Working Man' is another song inspired by the legacy of Merle HaggardMerle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
, and references one of Haggard's hits ("In better times, in old America/We sang the Working Man's Blues with such pride"). The song was inspired by a mixture of elements, one of which being the worldwide recession, another of which dates back to Stuart's childhood - his father was fired from his company that he had devoted his life to just before retiring, so that the company wouldn't have to pay him his benefits upon retirement. Stuart dedicated the song to his father, and said it was also meant for everyone else who has been a victim of "corporate greed".
As the song is written much in the style of Merle Haggard, Stuart decided to show it to him before recording it. He said that "Showing Hag a new song is like showing Mount Rushmore your rock collection... but he liked it, and he gave me his blessing".
I Run To You
'I Run To You' is a duet featuring Marty Stuart and his wife Connie Smith; it was also written by the couple. The couple have written many songs together in the past "the most notable being 'Farmer's Blues', Stuart's duet with Merle Haggard), yet this is only the second time that they have recorded together (with 'Hearts Like Ours' being the first). This track has the largest arrangement on the album, with a heavy steel guitar presence alongside a string quartet, which was arranged by Stuart's drummer, "Handsome" Harry Stinson.Crazy Arms
'Crazy Arms' was written by steel guitar legend Ralph MooneyRalph Mooney
Ralph Mooney was a well known steel guitar player. He played with many country and western artists, including Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and played in Waylon Jennings' band for two decades....
, and has been recorded by many artists, including Ray Price, Webb Pierce
Webb Pierce
Webb Michael Pierce was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. His biggest hit was "In The Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one...
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
and Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
. Unlike previous versions, this recording is purely instrumental, with Stuart and his Superlatives playing alongside Mooney's steel guitar. The track also features a spoken introduction in the form of a conversation between Stuart and Mooney.
Porter Wagoner's Grave
'Porter Wagoner's Grave' is Marty Stuart's farewell song to his long-time friend Porter WagonerPorter Wagoner
Porter Wayne Wagoner was a popular American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. He introduced the young Dolly Parton near the beginning of her career on his long-running television show, and they were a well-known duet throughout the late 1960s and...
. Shortly before Wagoner's death, Stuart and his Superlatives helped him get back on top of his career by recording his final album Wagonmaster
Wagonmaster
Wagonmaster was released on June 5, 2007 on the ANTI- Records label, and is the final studio album by American country music artist Porter Wagoner, who died on October 28 that year. A music video was made for the album's only single "Committed to Parkview"....
. When he died, Stuart tried to ease the pain by writing. What started out as a piece of prose eventually became the song 'Porter Wagoner's Grave'. Stuart claimed that he never intended for the general public to hear any of it, but his bandmembers insisted that the song was too well-written to not perform.
The song is about a man who enters a cemetery for shelter at nighttime, and is visited by a silver-haired phantom, who advises him to go back to the one he loves before it is too late. The phantom was described as wearing a "long purple coat, covered in wheels/red leather boots, with sparkling heels"; an accurate description of Wagoner and his fondness of rhinestone suits.
Little Heartbreaker (The Likes Of You)
'Little Heartbreaker (The Likes Of You)' is a song co-written by Marty Stuart and Ralph Mooney. Stuart cites his co-writer in the song, in the line "Gonna call old Moon, get a little unwound/Go to Mississippi, then a Texas town".Mississippi Railroad Blues
'Mississippi Railroad Blues' is another instrumental track, and the final song on the album. It is a mandolinMandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
instrumental composed by Stuart, and is a showcase for his talent on the mandolin.
Track listing
Chart performance
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 46 |
Musicians
- Marty StuartMarty StuartJohn Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
- lead vocals, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - Kenny Vaughan - lead vocals (on track 2), acoustic guitar, electric guitar, high string guitar
- Harry Stinson - harmony vocals (on tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 13), drums
- Paul Martin - harmony vocals (on tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 9), electric bass, upright bass, TAC, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- Ralph Mooney - steel guitarSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
, spoken introduction on track 11 - Kayton Roberts - steel guitar
- Gary Carter - steel guitar
- Tommy White - steel guitar
- Hargus "Pig" Robbins - piano
- Karen Winkelmann - violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Pamela Sixfin - violin
- Sarighani Reist - celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Monisa Angell - violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
Production
The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Mick Conley at the historic RCA Studio B in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and the Clubhouse at Inlight in Hendersonville, Tennessee
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Hendersonville is a city in Sumner County, Tennessee, United States, on Old Hickory Lake. The population was 51,372 at the 2010 census. Hendersonville is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located 18 miles northeast of downtown Nashville. The city was settled around 1784 by...
. Assisted by Josh Sumrall, Jake Jorgovan, Eric Thompson, Michael Hardesty, Stephen Turney and Matt Kraatz. Maria-Elena Orbea was the production coordinator.