Late as Usual, released by Rounder Records in 1984, is Sam Bush's solo debut — recorded while he was still a working member of New Grass Revival, the band that had defined progressive bluegrass since the 1970s. The sessions were made at Studio By The Pond in Hendersonville, Tennessee, with collaborators including Béla Fleck, Jerry Douglas, and the Blake family; Emmylou Harris contributes vocals on the album's opener The River's Gonna Run. The program runs through EZ-pop-grass instrumentals, fiery traditional material, and intriguing modern songs — a generous early statement of Bush's range outside the New Grass framework. Within a few years New Grass would dissolve and Bush's solo career would become his primary working identity; Late as Usual is where it began.
Tracklist
- 1 Big Mon alt version 2:53
- 2 Last Letter Home 3:28
- 3 Norman And Nancy 2:47
- 4 Russian Rag 2:34
- 5 Leather Britches Source Recording 3:44
- 6 Diadem 3:22
- 7 Sailin' Shoes 3:39
- 8 Crooked Smile 6:45
- 9 Broadway 3:33
- 10 Samanda Lynn 3:38
- 11 Funk 55 4:26
