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This One's Gonna Hurt You |
Gold
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This One's Gonna Hurt You |
Gold
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All Music Guide |
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Stuart starts by relating how he received Hank Williams Sr's blessing in a dream. With covers of Charlie Pride's "Just Between You and Me" and Ola Mae Belle's "High On a Mountain Top," he makes you believe. But the most retro stuff gets too hamfisted to keep This One's Gonna Hurt You on the same level as Tempted. By Brian Mansfield Rated: 2 |
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Columbia House |
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| On his new album This One's Gonna Hurt You, hillbilly rocker supreme Marty Stuart continues to make music that's true to its traditional roots while remaining completely contemporary. That may sound like a tall order, but for this talented singer/writer/multi-instrumentalist--who got his professional start as a teenager playing guitar and mandolin on tour with Johnny Cash and Lester Flatt--it's a piece of cake.
Marty makes his devotion to his musical mentors clear on the album's opening cut, Me & Hank & Jumpin' Jack Flash, in which the singer imagines himself in hillbilly heaven, consulting with the great Hank Williams, Sr. Stuart teams with another young star, Travis Tritt, for the honky-tonk heartbreaker "This One's Gonna Hurt You (For A Long, Long Time)," and joins forces with his one-time mentor Johnny Cash for the driving Doin' My Time. Elsewhere, Stuart demonstrates his mastery of the bluegrass idiom on the long-gone-and-lonesome High On A Mountain Top and assets his adherence to country basics with tunes like Hey Baby, Just Between You and Me and Down Home. For anyone who's ever had their heart broken, This One's Gonna Hurt You will be a painless experience indeed! |
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Country America |
October 1992 |
| Marty Stuart has rock 'n' roll hair but a country heart; no other "young buck" country star comes as well equipped or as eager to bridge the gaps between country's past, its present, and its future.
Stuart uses the mantle of his musical heritage as a springboard for his own creative fusions of the hallowed and the hip. Some of the music on This One's Gonna Hurt You is genuinely old-fashioned: "Just Between You and Me" was a Sixties hit for Charley Pride; "Doin' My Time," an old Jimmie Skinner tune, is presented here as a perfectly conceived duet with Johnny Cash, perhaps Stuart's most revered musical icon. And "High On A Mountain Top," which features harmony backing by Pam Tillis, is a tune that's been kicked around the bluegrass circuit by several performers since the Sixties. Equally as interesting as Stuart's forays into the past, however, are the seven original songs that he wrote or co-wrote. "This One's Gonna Hurt You (For A Long, Long Time)," an indulgently malicious duet with fellow no-hat act Travis Tritt reprises the two singers' success with last year's hit "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'." "Now That's Country," a declaration of Stuart's down-home credentials as a bona fide country boy--"I've got a pickup truck and a piece-of-nothin' farm"--swirls up a steaming brew of delta blues. "The King of Dixie" is Stuart's homage to Elvis Presley and country legend Hank Williams. The opening track, "Me and Hank and Jumpin' Jack Flash," is a talking-blues discourse in which Stuart relates a heavenly meeting with Hank, Sr. and an anointment to carry on the musical tradition. In Stuart's case, that's not merely fanciful thinking. He's doing just that with the passion of a purist, the insight of a scholar and the concentrated energy of a fireball. |
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Country Music |
September/October 1992 |
| I used to think of Marty Stuart as an eager, well-meaning fan with a great record collection. Which was a euphemistic way of saying that his own talents were slight, however good his taste in other artists was and however novel his ideas were. But with this new release, I've become convinced that Stuart is really onto something.
If he wants to couch it in highfalutin terms about how his music represents the past, present and future all rolled up in one, I guess I can indulge him no matter how pretentious or calculated or marketing-oriented his designation is. Because what we have here is a body of seamless music that can speak for itself and that's what impresses me most. It opens with the atmospheric sound effects of "Me and Hank and Jumpin' Jack Flash," a talking blues--emphasis on blues--about meeting Hank Williams in heaven. The song is built around a pounding riff that's anchored many a blues, and Marty's boast ("I'm country to the bone but I don't wear no hat") are squarely in that tradition. A routine weeper like the title song (with Travis Tritt) can leave me feeling still that Stuart is more enthusiast than artist, but he can change my mind just as quick with his reading of another weeper like Jack Clement's "Just Between You and Me," which was Charley Pride's first hit. What's most impressive is the way he and his producers (Richard Bennett and Tony Brown) can reshape a very straightforward country sound for added muscle--the way, for example, that the great chirping steel like of "Just Between You and Me" is played off against an ominous-sounding rhythm section. On the bluegrass "Down Home" and again on "Hey Baby," Stuart turns in the kind of country-rock that lends credence equally to both country and rock by doing much more than simply pushing two styles together. Instead, these are country-rock in the off-hand, uncontrived way that someone like Buddy Holly is (his "Peggy Sue," by the way supplies the rhythm pattern for "Hey Baby"). And for that, I have to give Marty Stuart a lot more credit than I have in the past. This One's Gonna Hurt You leaves me feeling no pain. By John Morthland |
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Country Music USA |
September 1992 |
| When Marty Stuart signed with MCA, he had a vision of a perfect musical world--one in which the work of the masters of hillbilly music lives on in the music of a new young artist. His first two MCA albums represented a personal crusade for hillbilly music. Now, with the release of This One's Gonna Hurt You, the hillbilly crusader has finally come home successful in his quest. "I finally got the past, present and future together on this album," he says, "and I'm real proud of it."
The album's first single, This One's Gonna Hurt You (For A Long, Long Time), features Stuart in a duet with Travis Tritt. Their collaboration on record is an outgrowth of their highly successful No Hats Tour, which includes more than a hundred dates stretching from 1991 and all the way through 1992. Stuart's crusade began with his debut MCA album, Hillbilly Rock, which yielded three hit singles (Cry, Cry, Cry, Hillbilly Rock, Western Girls), and continued on Tempted, which yielded four hits (Little Things,Till I Found You, Tempted, and Burn Me Down). Marty Stuart was born in Mississippi but he got his schooling--musical and otherwise--on the road with Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash. he likens the years with Flatt to a high school education and his stint with Cash to earning a university degree. He really did go to high school with Flatt, joining the band at the age of 13. His age may have made him somewhat of a novelty onstage, but his performance on mandolin and guitar was strictly professional quality. The roots of Stuart's musical integrity run back to his experiences with Flatt. "One show in particular made a mark on my career," he recalls. "We were playing Michigan State. The opening act was Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, then Lester, then the Eagles. That showed me you could play country music and just stand and do what you do. We were Martians to this audience, but they loved us. I never thought I would see country music go to college campuses again, but half of these No Hat shows we're doing are on campuses and we're selling out. In that sense, I do feel like a pioneer. I love being a part of that." The masters of hillbilly music are more than an element in Stuart's music. They are part of his life. On stage, he plays country-rock pioneer Clarence White's 1954 Telecaster with a steel guitar-like string bender on the B-string. He also plays a Martin D-45 formerly owned by Hank Williams, Sr. and a D-28 that was Lester Flatt's. His bus is Ernest Tubb's old bus where Stuart spent many a youthful hour learning how to play poker from the masters. He wears flashy rhinestone and Western suits made by Nudie and Manuel. Stuart produced his first solo album in 1982, Busy Bee Cafe on the independent Sugar Hill label. In 1986, he made his major label debut on CBS with Marty Stuart. When Stuart came to MCA, he teamed up in the studio with co-producers Tony Brown and Richard Bennett. For Hillbilly Rock, Stuart drew from Flatt, Cash and all the other highly individual country and honky tonk stylists. He put an extra kick into the music and called it hillbilly music--with a thump. The most important thing about the album, Stuart says, was not the hit singles or the popular videos, but the reaction of traditional country artists. "After Hillbilly Rock took off, they invited us out to the Opry and Hank Snow, Bill Monroe, Little Jimmy Dickens, Hank Thompson, Porter Wagoner, and all the old-timers were there. And Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins they were the main ones--they all gave me their seal of approval, like 'Stay with what you're doing. We're proud of you'." For the first time now, with This One's Gonna Hurt You, he feels ready to make his mark in the history of country music. "For the last two albums, there's been more to talk about from the past than for the future," he explains. "I have a peace about this album. I've been aching to make a deep, deep mark that will sound off around the world for country music. I love every note of this album. I feel like I've done by job." With This One's Gonna Hurt You, the former student of the masters emerges as a master himself, the creator of a new style of music that is solid, vital, and unique to Marty Stuart. |
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Country Sounds |
January 1993 |
| Riding high on the "No Hats" tour with Travis Tritt has done more for Marty Stuart's popularity than anything else he could have done. This collection, featuring Tritt, carries over that live excitement from their shows. The title cut is pure country tear-jerker. Now That's Country is an ode to great country stylists of the past. Stuart wrote most of the material here and has a keen ear for traditional country. Doin' My Time features vocal interplay with Johnny Cash. The King of Dixie and Hey Baby are other traditional tunes. The blues-influenced Me and Hank and Jumpin' Jack Flash is a strong leadoff track and sets the tone for the album. The old Charley Pride hit Just Between You and Me establishes Stuart's ability to relate the tale of a broken heart. Good third effort for MCA. | |
Entertainment Weekly |
July 24, 1992 |
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With his 1982 debut, Busy Bee Cafe, Marty Stuart set up tremendous expectations as both a guitarist/mandolin player and a songwriter. Past stints with Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash had made him a conduit between old-time hillbilly and bluegrass and progressive country music. But Stuart never again got the right stylistic mix. Until now. On This One's Gonna Hurt You, the record he was born to make, Stuart achieves a nearly flawless integration of Southern rock, pop, bluegrass, blues, honky- tonk, rockabilly, and boogie. His energy, wit, and soulful mandolin fills make up for any deficiencies in his soft-edged voice. The almost uniformly superlative material includes two star duets, ''This One's Gonna Hurt You (For a Long, Long Time),'' a barstool weeper with Stuart's No Hats tour partner, Travis Tritt, and the chain-gang autobiography ''Doin' My Time'' with Johnny Cash, who comes in growling like a junkyard dog. But Stuart is never finer than on the bloodcurdling bluegrass of ''High on a Mountain Top,'' where Pam Tillis' high harmony slices to the bone, and on ''Me & Hank & Jumpin' Jack Flash,'' a dream trip to hillbilly heaven that samples the speaking voices of Hank Williams, Lester Flatt, and Ernest Tubb to spooky resolve. Even when Stuart engages in self-mythology and melodramatic storytelling, he keeps it on the cutting edge. This record rocks like a roadhouse and moves like a mother on wheels. A - By Alanna Nash |
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Modern Screen's Country Music |
February 1993 |
| I put Marty Stuart right up there with Bocephus, Travis Tritt and Waylon as an American original. This one's gonna kill you; a country concept album wherein he "falls asleep" to a spacey Twilight Zone-type sound at track #1 to dream a 10 -song manifesto starting with a talkin' blues called "Me & Hank & Jumpin' Jack Flash," While "dreaming," he duets with Johnny Cash on Jimmie Skinner's prison saga ("Doin' My Time"), a song that distills musically many of the old Cash favorites; he duets with Tritt on the too-cool title track (Tritt's now the acknowledged master of the kiss-off song); and, especially with the last three tracks, stakes his territory solidly in the tradition of having one foot in the future and the other traditionally planted.
Songs like "Now That's Country," "The King Of Dixie," and "Honky Tonk Crowd" spare no expense to drive his point home. By the end of this thing, you KNOW he's putting that drive in his country and he's also not afraid to dig his heroes the most! Then he wakes up. By the way, of further interest are two early Stuart discs released by Columbia: Let There Be Country and Marty Stuart. They're not as good as this one but they both have some solid moments. By Mike Greenblatt |
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Music City News |
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| From the dramatic opening dream dialogue on Me & Hank & Jumpin' Jack Flash, one can be certain this will be no ordinary country project. But then again, Marty Stuart is no ordinary country artist. After many frustrating years of struggle, Marty Stuart has made an indelible mark on the country music scene, and his latest MCA project could only propel him to greater heights. On such rollicking numbers as Now That's Country and High On A Mountain Top (complete with a wailing Pam Tillis accompaniment), you can almost see the dynamic entertainer performing these live. | |
My Kind Of Country |
May 18, 2012 |
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By the summer of 1992, Stuart was finally in favor with mainstream country music. Released in late 1991, “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin,” the inaugural duet between him and Travis Tritt, peaked at #2, the highest peak Stuart would ever see. The duo would also go on to win a Grammy for Best Country Collaboration that same year, marking Stuart’s first such win. Capitalizing on his recent success, Stuart released “This One’s Gonna Hurt You (For A Long, Long Time),” another duet with Tritt in June. The title track for his third album with MCA Records, it would prove successful as well peaking at #7. Written by Stuart, it’s just as good, if not better, than their previous collaboration. The tale of love gone wrong is framed in a stone cold arrangement complete with steel and piano that helps accentuate the mournful and clever lyrics. I love how she’s the one who’s going to hurt, not him. Released next, the bluesy “Now That’s Country,” written solely by Stuart, would peak at #18. A honky-tonker complete with electric guitar and steel flourishes, it depicts the ways in which Stuart was raised:
The almost dirty production is very good and helps elevate the song. But with very little to hold onto lyrically, the tune isn’t particularly memorable. “High On A Mountain Top” came next, peaking at #24. Written by Alex Campbell and Ola Belle Reed, it isn’t to be confused with the Loretta Lynn song of the same name. This “High On A Mountain Top” is a rocker complete with accents of mandolin that details the story of a man reflecting on the journey that led to the current moment:
It’s too bad producer Tony Brown saw fit to create such a cluttered arrangement, as this could’ve been a wonderful song. The screaming guitars hinder Stuart’s vocal and nearly drown it out. Fourth and final single “Hey Baby” reached #38 in 1993. Thankfully more stripped down than its predecessor, the gently rolling arrangement is a perfect compliment to Stuart’s vocal. He sings of a man strong enough to come to the aid of a woman and her broken heart:
The rest of This One’s Gonna Hurt You finds Stuart showcasing his skills at hillbilly rock to fine effect. Written by Stuart and Paul Kennerley, “Down Home” has a nice electric guitar led production that allows Stuart to let loose vocally and show off the grit in his voice. I could’ve done without the background singers on the chorus, who sound as though they’re whispering, but it’s a very enjoyable track. “The King of Dixie,” written by Stuart and Allen Shamblin, wouldn’t be out of place on country radio today thanks to the mix of heavy electric guitars. But what nicely sets it apart from today’s country rock is obvious pedal steel, which is just as loud and prominent as the electric guitars in the mix. It rocks a little too hard for my tastes, but its still a good song. Like any great album from Stuart, This One’s Gonna Hurt You pays homage to country music’s rich past in new and exciting ways. “Me and Hank and Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” written solely by Stuart, begins with the voice of Hank Williams, Sr. seemingly from beyond the grave before Stuart goes into a reassertion framed by airy organ as though he’s floating through space. What could’ve come off as weird is actually very cool but daring for a mainstream country album in the early 90s. The resulting song, “Me and Hank and Jumpin’ Jack Flash” is bluesy and funky and features a somewhat sultry vocal from Stuart. As the most experimental moment on This One’s Gonna Hurt You, the song is an acquired taste. I like it but I don’t love it – overall, it just didn’t grab me. But I did love “Just Between You and Me,” a cover of the Jack Clement song Charley Pride took to #9 in 1966. The fabulous pedal steel grabbed me on the opening notes like a breath of fresh air from all the hard-hitting songs on the album. Stuart nicely stays true to the original recording yet keeps the track modern in execution. It’s my favorite song on the whole album by a wide margin. The final ode to the past, “Doin’ My Time” is a cover of Bluegrass singer Jimmy Skinner’s tune and a duet with Johnny Cash. The tune is very reminiscent of the songs Cash recorded for Sun Records back in the 1950s. His vocal is an added bonus for the song and he comes off as an authoritative figure in this piece about doing time in jail. I only wish this were my taste as I might’ve liked it more. But it’s still very good. In the end This One’s Gonna Hurt You is a solid album from Stuart. I applaud him for displaying his love for country music’s history on a mainstream recording. I only wish he had found more balance and instead of recording so many songs with a rock feel, he had gone deeper into his love of traditional country. But this is still a wonderful album and well worth checking out (from Amazon or iTunes) if you’ve never heard it. Grade: B+ By Jonathan Pappalardo |
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New Country |
April 1994 |
| Here the commercial and the credible join in a seamless union that provided Stuart with his first gold album. The title track, featuring Travis Tritt, is a bona fide country classic--just the kind of thing you'd bay at the moon after drinking/drop kicking your baby good-bye. And "Now That's Country" swaggers with all the cocky good ole boy charm that defines the attitude and lifestyle. [Four stars] | |
Rolling Stone |
Unknown |
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I'm country to the bone," Marty Stuart growls in "Me and Hank and Jumpin' Jack Flash," an update of the hokey hillbilly-heaven theme and the opening "spoken word" track on This One's Gonna Hurt You. He ain't joshin': Stuart played mandolin and guitar with the gospel group the Sullivans, bluegrass king Lester Flatt and hall of famer Johnny Cash - all before he could legally buy a bottle of whiskey. The native Mississippian's musical experiences and influences make This One's Gonna Hurt You, his third MCA release (and sixth solo effort), a lesson in traditional country sounds, from the old-timey, mandolin-driven "High on a Mountain Top" to the weepy pedal-steel-swept "Just Between You and Me" and the ball-and-chain classic "Doin' My Time," originally recorded by Cash, who joins in on this version. Stuart's no crooner, though; his earthy vocals are no-nonsense. As articulated in "The King of Dixie," a tribute to Hank Sr. and Elvis, Stuart's passion for the music is this album's overriding message - and he's one country picker who's got the goods to make his passion yours. |
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Unknown |
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| Want to hear the past and future of country music on one album? Check this one out. Marty blends a mixture of past legends in the form of tributes and duets and then introduces us to a style that will set the standard for future entertainers. Marty's recent induction into the Grand Ole Opry is only fitting for a guy who truly knows where his roots are. Marty's got a colorful past, but he's got an even brighter future. | |
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