Marty Stuart’s Surf Guitar Album is Finally On The Way

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For years now the indomitable Marty Stuart has been teasing us mercilessly about a surf guitar album or some sort of instrumental work that he’s had in the can, but divulging only scant details and never giving a a solid answer about when it would finally be released. As a certified twanger among his many other attributes, we couldn’t wait to get more info on this elusive project.

Well ladies and gentlemen, here it is. Finally.

Let’s get the (somewhat) bad news out there first, which is you won’t be able to sit online waiting for midnight Eastern for this thing to populate on the release day. It’s being released exclusively as part of Record Store Day on April 12th via Snakefarm Records, at least initially. That means you’ll have to change out of your pnajamas, hoof it down to whatever passes for your Sam Goody these days, and push past someone looking for Gloria Estefan Live in ’85 or whatever other silly RSD exclusive to score your copy.

The good news is that all indications are that Marty Stuart’s double instrumental LP officially titled Space Junk will be completely badass.

“Instrumentals have always been a part of the Fabulous Superlatives repertoire, but this is the first completely instrumental album we’ve done, largely inspired by two of my favorite bands from Sixties, The Ventures and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass,” Stuart says. “They did some dangerously cool instrumental records. We’ve done bluegrass, gospel and country records. Our hearts just led us to this one.”

The “Fabulous Superlatives” are Marty Stuart’s legendary backing band of course, consisting most recently of “Cousin” Kenny Vaughan on guitar, Harry Stinson on the skins, and Chris Scruggs on bass.

“‘Space Junk’ turned us back into kids with our first guitars. We thought the world needed a fresh instrumental album by a pretty good band so we composed 20 instrumentals and took them to the microphones.”


Just like Marty Stuart’s last two releases, 2017’s Way Out West, as well as 2023’s Altitude, Space Junk is very much inspired by country music from the West Coast.

“The creative atmosphere of California always gives me the feeling that the sky is the limit,” Stuart said. “‘Space Junk’ is California music. If you want a specific sound, you go to certain places in the world. For the California sound, it’s Capitol. You’ve got the blue skies, the legacy, the romance, and a lot of friendly ghosts. The atmosphere makes you do a little better.”

True to his word, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives recorded the album at Capitol Recording Studios in Hollywood. Other tracks were recorded in Nashville at the House of Blues studio, which rests near the Woodlawn Cemetery where George Jones, Marty Robbins, and others are buried. Specifically, that’s where the song “Graveyard” from the new album was recorded.

And of course, Marty Stuart spent much of the time playing legendary West Coast country picker Clarence White’s famous 1954 B-Bender guitar. It’s the same guitar Stuart played on his 2010 song “Hummingbyrd” that went on to win a Grammy for Best Country Instrumental. So yeah, Stuart knows how to entertain folks without singing.

“I hope Space Junk takes the listeners for a ride,” Stuart says. “It makes me forget my problems and remember why I play guitar and get to dress up in cowboy clothes. It reminds me I’m okay, and I want it to do the same for you. Mainly, I want to inspire some kid to go to the store, buy an instrument, and make a difference. This concept was passed down to us from the old heroes. If we can serve the same role, mission accomplished.”

Only 1,700 of these puppies will be made according to Record Store Day, and peppered around at local record stores. Happy hunting!

Space Junk Track List:

  1. Graveyard
  2. All The Pretty Horses
  3. Catalina
  4. Over The Moon
  5. Slipnote Serenade
  6. Space Junk
  7. El Zorro
  8. Coastline
  9. The Ballad of the Lonely Surfer
  10. Bat Patrol
  11. Till We Meet Again
  12. Waiting on Sundown
  13. La Tingo Tango
  14. Rhapsidio Sangre de Cristo in E Major
  15. Showcake
  16. Jody the Fly (Romance in Laguna)
  17. Malibu Dawn
  18. The Surfin’ Cowboy
  19. California Pt. 1 (Bobbie Gentry, Please Call Home)
  20. Waltz of the Waves
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