Before “McGuinn & McGuire kept getting higher” in the 60s, there was no such thing as the now ubiquitous genre of what was then termed “country rock.” The interesting thing is that a good number of those progenitors (which included Richie Furay and Chris Hillman) ended up achieving the ultimate “high” in their Christian faith. Roger McGuinn, one of the founding members of the legendary Byrds came to well-heeled Malibu with country/gospel legend Marty Stuart and his rollicking band The Fabulous Superlatives and delivered a 90 minute concert that showed that melody, harmony and a good story still have an important place and message in this MTV age of anger and nihilism.
Dressed in baby blue suits (did they just come from a ‘70s wedding?), The Fab Sups provided rollicking honky tonking that made picker and grinner Marty Stuart sound like he was back at the old Palomino in North Hollywood. Dressed in Bakersfield black leather, Stuart opened with “Stop the World and Let Me Off” and a howling “Whisky Ain’t Working Anymore” that mixed foot stomping boogie with velvet vocal harmonies.
Entering stage left, Roger McGuinn looked like the minstrel that he actually is, as he delivered heartfelt renditions of material such as “My Back Pages”, “Chestnut Mare,” “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” along with the haunting JFK tribute “He Was A Friend of Mine.” Still showing his allegiance to all things Dylan, McGuinn delivered his patented vocals and stylings to “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue” before having fun with the lurking “Running Down A Dream.” His breadth and width of material ranged from material as recent from this year with “Grapes of Wrath,” and reaching as far back as King Solomon and Ecclesiastes with “Turn, Turn, Turn,” which had a message as timeless as Scripture. Pop hits like “Mr. Tamborine Man,” “Mr. Spaceman” and “So You Want To Be A Rock and Roll Star” have aged amazingly well, like the singer himself, and it’s not hard to take to heart McGuinn’s message on his encore song, “May God hold you in the palm of His hand.” Maybe that’s the secret that this evening’s guest wanted to convey during the entire fall evening, and it served the audience well.
For all you finger picking fans out there-Tommy Emmanuel, Martin Taylor and Andy McKee will be coming to the Smothers Theatre in January. Get your tickets now!