What The Critics Are Saying About Marty Producing Kathy Mattea's Coal

"Mattea's artistic roots juggle the confessional storytelling ethos of folk and country, and this new CD, expertly produced by Marty Stuart, reflects this characteristic through unforgettable tales about the dangers faced by those trolling in the coal-mining world." -- Ron Wynn, Nashville City Paper

"She picked a stellar musician, Marty Stuart, to produce." -- GAC

"Dignity, not darkness, fuels Kathy Mattea's Coal, the stark Marty Stuart-produced roots project inspired by the 2006 Sago Mine disaster." -- Holly Gleason

"Coal, the latest from Grammy award-winning singer Kathy Mattea, may be one of the finest in her more than two-decade-long career. She wisely chose Marty Stuart as producer and chief instrumentalist. Mattea has created another stunning new work of classic American music." -- Eric Feber, The Virginian-Pilot

"The real question is, despite Mattea’s good intentions and impeccable credentials, is the album any good? The answer is a definite yes. What matters is the music, and the music is terrific. To begin with, Mattea had the good sense to choose Marty Stuart to produce the disc. Stuart’s an incredibly gifted country music talent whose poetic sensibility infuses Coal with a wondrous depth and luminosity. He puts Mattea’s voice in the forefront of the mix where it rings like a bell with the lyrics always clearly presented. Stuart also plays a vibrant guitar, mandolin, and mandola, and has assembled a crackerjack band that includes Stuart Duncan (fiddle, mandolin, banjo) and Byron House (bass) to assist Mattea’s regular backup group of Bill Cooley (guitar), John Catchings (cello), and Randy Leago (keyboards, accordion)". -- Steve Horowitz, Pop Matters

"Kathy Mattea took a batch of fine songs about the mining life by the likes of Jean Ritchie, Hazel Dickens (outright radicals you'd never hear on conservative Hot New Country radio!), Merle Travis, and others; grabbed Marty Stuart to produce and play on it; and made one powerful little bluegrass-soaked concept album." -- Steve Terrell, The New Mexican

"With production and mandolin performances courtesy of Marty Stuart, Coal shines." -- Jarret Keene, Tucson Weekly.

"In the choice of material by some of the greatest songwriters in country and roots music – Jean Ritchie, Billy Edd Wheeler, Hazel Dickens, Si Kahn, Utah Phillips, Merle Travis, and Darrell Scott – Mattea succeeds greatly, as she does in her choice in Marty Stuart as a producer as well as the musicians that accompany her, Byron House on upright bass, longtime collaborator Bill Cooley in guitar Stuart Duncan offers mandolin, banjo, and fiddle, John Catchings on cello, Mattea band member and studio veteran Randy Leago contributes keyboard and accordion accents, Marty Stuart pulling double duty on plays guitar, mandolin, mandola and legendary steel player Fred Newell makes a guest appearance." -- AltCountry.com

“Coal is a theme album about the coal miners she grew up around. Mattea worked with producer Marty Stuart, a refugee from Nashville. Together they turned out a stunning piece of work. Most of the instrumentation is acoustic, quartets or less, and the simple power of the songs shines through." -- Jay Miller, GateHouse News Service