*** Marty Stuart

THE PILGRIM

(MCA Nashville)

Here's a concept: a country concept album. Three years after his last release, Nashville singer and renaissance man Marty Stuart, who has often met the gold standard with earlier outings, weaves a relatively simple tale of betrayal and love redeemed over a dozen or so original songs, livening it up with distinctive bells and high-profile whistles. Among the guest whistlers: George Jones, Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, Johnny Cash, and bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys. Among the notable bells: famous guitars like a 1955 Fender Esquire that belonged to Cash's original picker, Luther Perkins, a Martin that belonged to Hank Williams Sr., and another Martin owned by Lester Flatt. Beneath all that, Stuart -- a veteran of Cash and Flatt outfits before striking out on his own and now the president of the Country Music Foundation -- wraps a cohesive and pleasant platter around the story of a man who loved, lost, wandered, and wandered back. In between the mildly precious minute-long changes of scenery and a 31-second "Intermission" are several well-crafted cuts, ranging from a good old drinking tune and some thoughtful songwriterly pastiches to beautifully played hillbilly music and predictably polished pieces of Nashville pop rock.

-- Bill Kisliuk