The Fields of November, originally released in 1974 and reissued on a 1992 Flying Fish double-CD with Old and New, is one of the central early Norman Blake albums — a deliberately quiet, acoustically pure record that helped establish the chamber-folk style Blake would carry through his late career. Blake plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and dobro across his original compositions; Nancy Short (who would soon become Nancy Blake) plays cello. The program mixes wistful original ballads with controlled instrumental material, all delivered in the unhurried, mid-tempo style Blake favored. Critic Jim Smith later called it "a thoroughly relaxed affair that did much to establish the sound he would follow throughout the rest of his career."
Tracklist
- 1 Green Leaf Fancy 1:55
- 2 Last Train From Poor Valley alt version 3:42
- 3 White Oak Swamp 2:16
- 4 Graycoat Soldiers 3:14
- 5 Southern Railroad Blues 3:16
- 6 Lord Won't You Help Me 2:51
- 7 Krazy Kurtis 1:26
- 8 Coming Down From Rising Fawn 3:34
- 9 Uncle 4:34
- 10 The Old Brown Case 4:01
- 11 The Fields of November 4:07
- 12 Widow's Creek 1:52
- 13 Bristol in the Bottle 2:05
- 14 Billy Gray 4:24
- 15 Forked Deer alt version 2:56
- 16 Cuckoo’s Nest alt version 3:31
- 17 Witch Of The Wave 1:28
- 18 My Old Home On The Green Mountain Side 2:59
- 19 Miller’s Reel alt version 4:30
- 20 Dry Grass on the High Fields 2:22
- 21 Harvey's Reel 2:18
- 22 The Railroad Days 3:41
- 23 Valley Head 1:48
- 24 Sweet Heaven When I Die alt version 2:09
- 25 Ajimina 2:09
- 26 Flat Rock 2:23