Blake and Rice, the 1987 debut pairing Norman Blake and Tony Rice, is a quiet landmark in acoustic guitar music and one of the most musically honest records either man made. The two guitarists brought complementary but distinct approaches: Blake steeped in pre-bluegrass Georgia and Tennessee old-time tradition, Rice the foremost flatpicking virtuoso of the progressive bluegrass generation. Together they move through a repertoire of older folk pieces, traditional songs, and original material with a conversational ease that conceals considerable craft. "Last Train From Poor Valley" and "Ridge Road Gravel" capture Blake's Appalachian storytelling sensibility at its most unguarded. The album established a template for the acoustic duo format that numerous later recordings would attempt to replicate.
Tracklist
- 1 New Chance Blues Source Recording 2:15
- 2 Green Light on the Southern Source Recording 3:46
- 3 I’m Not Sayin’ Source Recording 2:17
- 4 Texas Gales Source Recording 3:39
- 5 Ridge Road Gravel Source Recording 2:27
- 6 Fiddler’s Dram Source Recording 4:42
- 7 Monroe’s Hornpipe alt version 3:00
- 8 Last Train From Poor Valley Source Recording 3:35
- 9 New River Train Source Recording 3:26
- 10 Stoney Point alt version 2:48
- 11 Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar Source Recording 3:33
- 12 Little Beggarman / Gilderoy 2:58
- 13 The Shipyard Apprentice 4:13
- 14 Medley: Fiddler's Dram/Whiskey Before Breakfast - Medley 4:42
- 15 I’m Coming Back But I Don’t Know When Source Recording 2:43
