The Pilgrim (Marty Stuart album)

The Pilgrim is the 10th studio album of country music artist Marty Stuart, released in 1999. It is a concept album, telling the story of a man (The Pilgrim) from Marty Stuart's hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi. Marty plays the role of the Pilgrim, as well as other roles. It was a significant move in Stuart's career, as before The Pilgrim he had been focusing more on trying to get a hit song instead of making the music that really mattered to him. With this album he demonstrates his songwriting skills (every track was written by Stuart) and his diverse instrumental skills. The album has many legendary country/bluegrass legends as guest stars, such as Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, George Jones, Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs and Marty's old boss, Johnny Cash.

Plot

The Pilgrim is based on a true story of a man from Stuart's hometown, named Norman. Everyone was surprised when Norman (described as "cross-eyed Norman" in the album's liner notes) married Rita, the town's beauty queen. As time went by Norman grew more and more possessive and jealous. Rita took comfort in the charms of a man she worked with at the hospital. That man was The Pilgrim, who came from a town 40 miles away, and did not know that Rita was married. She never responded to his affections, despite the fact that he begged her to marry him. She never told him she was married. Norman began to feel the distance between him and Rita at home, and knew she was on the verge of leaving him. One evening, Norman came home, and Rita wasn't there. He wrote her a letter, put it in his coat pocket, got his gun and went in search of his wife. He found her at the hospital - holding hands with The Pilgrim. He began making threats, and The Pilgrim, not knowing who Norman was, jumped up to defend Rita. She had to finally admit that she was married. Norman then regained control, and shook The Pilgrim's hand, saying "I just wanted to meet the man that tore up my home and let him see what it's done". The Pilgrim tried reasoning with Norman, claiming that he did not know Rita was married, but his words fell on deaf ears. Norman kissed Rita, told her that he loved her more than life, handed her the letter, and shot himself in the head. After Norman's funeral, Rita left town to escape the scandal, and The Pilgrim was in despair. He truly loved Rita. The only thing he was guilty of was falling in love with a woman that he didn't know was married. He left town, and began hitchhiking and hoboing all across America. He developed a drinking problem, and rode the rails until he reached the Pacific. It was at the Pacific where he decided that the love he had known had to be put back together. He tracked Rita down, and today the couple are happily married and raising a family.

Reception

The album fared poorly in the charts, but was popular amongst critics and Stuart's fans, receiving almost entirely positive reviews.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Marty Stuart	0:26
2.	"Sometimes The Pleasure's Worth The Pain"	Marty Stuart/Gary Nicholson	3:10
3.	"The Pilgrim (Act I)"	Marty Stuart	0:54
4.	"Harlan County"	Marty Stuart	1:32
5.	"Reasons"	Marty Stuart	3:31
6.	"Love Can Go To..."	Marty Stuart	0:31
7.	"Red, Red Wine And Cheatin' Songs"	Marty Stuart	3:12
8.	"Truckstop"	Marty Stuart	1:27
9.	"Hobo's Prayer"	Marty Stuart	3:37
10.	"Goin' Nowhere Fast"	Marty Stuart	3:11
11.	"The Observations Of A Crow"	Marty Stuart	5:27
12.	"Intermission"	Marty Stuart	0:31
13.	"The Greatest Love Of All Time"	Marty Stuart	3:29
14.	"The Greatest Love Of All Time (Reprise)"	Marty Stuart	1:54
15.	"Draggin' Around These Chains Of Love"	Marty Stuart/Mike Campbell	3:13
16.	"The Pilgrim (Act II)"	Marty Stuart	0:37
17.	"Redemption"	Marty Stuart	1:49
18.	"The Pilgrim (Act III)"	Marty Stuart	6:04
19.	"Outro"	Words: Excerpt from Sir Galahad by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Music by Marty Stuart	2:33
20.	"Mr. John Henry, Steel Driving Man"	Marty Stuart/Earl Scruggs	2:01

The Marty Stuart Show

Marty Stuart (alongside his Fabulous Superlatives) often performs tracks from this album on The Marty Stuart Show on RFD-TV. They have performed tracks such as 'Reasons', 'Red, Red Wine, And Cheatin' Songs', 'Hobo's Prayer', 'The Greatest Love Of All Time', 'The Pilgrim (Act III)' and with special guest Earl Scruggs, 'Mr John Henry, Steel Driving Man'.

Personnel

As listed in liner notes

Marty Stuart - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin

The Rock & Roll Cowboys

Steve Arnold - bass
Gary Hogue - Steel guitar
Brad Davis - Vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Gregg Stocki - drums, timpani, percussion

Personnel

Jamie Tate - Recording and Mix Engineer
Mike Campbell - 12-string guitar, electric guitar
Tony Brown - Piano
Barry Beckett - Hammond B-3 organ
Stuart Duncan - Fiddle
Larry Marrs - Background vocals
Johnny Counterfeit - voices
Earl Scruggs - acoustic guitar, banjo
"Uncle" Josh Graves - dobro
Carl Marsh - sound fx, calliope, organ
Rusty Golden - piano
Mike Bub - upright bass
Jim Brown - B3 organ, piano
Johnny Cash - vocals on 'Outro'
George Jones - vocals on 'Truckstop'
Emmylou Harris - vocals on 'The Pilgrim (Act I)' and 'Truckstop'
Pam Tillis - vocals on 'Reasons'
Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys - vocals, banjo, acoustic bass, acoustic guitar and fiddle on 'Harlan County' and 'The Pilgrim (Act II)
Matt Spicher - 2nd Recording Engineer
Hank Williams - Mastering

Chart performance

Chart (1999)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums	63
Canadian RPM Country Albums	21

Marty Stuart

Studio albums	Busy Bee Cafe Marty Stuart Let There Be Country Hillbilly Rock Tempted This One's Gonna Hurt You Once Upon a Time Love and Luck Honky Tonkin's What I Do Best The Pilgrim Country Music Souls' Chapel Badlands: Ballads of the Lakota Live at the Ryman Cool Country Favorites Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions Nashville, Volume 1: Tear the Woodpile Down Saturday Night / Sunday Morning

Compilation albums	The Marty Party Hit Pack 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection Compadres: An Anthology of Duets

Notable singles	"Arlene" "Cry! Cry! Cry!" "Hillbilly Rock" "Western Girls" "Little Things" "Till I Found You" "Tempted" "Burn Me Down" "This One's Gonna Hurt You (For a Long, Long Time)" (with Travis Tritt) "Now That's Country" "Hey Baby" "Kiss Me, I'm Gone" "Honky Tonkin's What I Do Best" (with Travis Tritt) "You Can't Stop Love"

Guest singles	"The Whiskey Ain't Workin'" (with Travis Tritt)

Related articles	Discography Columbia Records MCA Records Connie Smith "Honky Tonk Crowd" "I'll Love You Forever (If I Want To)"

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