Far Away, Down on a Georgia Farm, released November 16, 1999 on Shanachie, is one of Norman Blake's most emotionally raw records. Blake plays guitar, mandolin, six-string banjo, and Dobro, and sings, with Nancy Blake on harmony vocals and accompaniment; Norman produced. The eighteen-track set blends flatpicked instrumentals, traditional ballads, and six dark, personal new originals that abandon Blake's usual historical sweep for what No Depression called "bitterly personal" disaster. The record sits midway through Blake's Shanachie tenure, the label he had moved to after long runs on Rounder and Rounder-adjacent labels. The personal-narrative songs on this album anticipate the autobiographical strain that would carry through into his Plectrafone records of the next decade.
Tracklist
- 1 New Century Hornpipe 2:17
- 2 Whiskey Deaf And Whiskey Blind 3:44
- 3 Far Away, Down On A Georgia Farm 4:37
- 4 Going Back to the Blue Ridge Mountains alt version 4:19
- 5 Savannah Rag 5:55
- 6 Pasquale Taraffo's First Night In Leadville 2:42
- 7 The Winds Of Time Won't Change 4:39
- 8 Rag Baby Jig 3:46
- 9 Thelma Hatfield 4:16
- 10 Constitution March 3:14
- 11 Faded Flowers In Old Love Letters 5:06
- 12 And The Cat Came Back The Very Next Day 3:07
- 13 Just Another Faded Love Song 4:34
- 14 Give Me Back My Fifteen Cents alt version 4:09
- 15 Snowbird On The Ashbank 2:14
- 16 The Wandering Drummer 2:53
- 17 The Maple On The Hill 4:55
- 18 Headlight Reel 2:48