Manzanita, recorded by The Tony Rice Unit in 1979 for Rounder Records, stands as one of the most influential bluegrass guitar records ever made. Groundbreaking in its conception, the album carried no banjo player—a radical departure from bluegrass orthodoxy that shifted the center of gravity entirely to Rice’s flatpicking and the ensemble’s collective interplay. Rice assembled a tight unit around his singular guitar voice, drawing on chestnuts like Nine Pound Hammer and Little Sadie alongside less-traveled material such as Ginseng Sullivan and Home From the Forest. The playing throughout is precise and unhurried, Rice’s deep-toned Martin cutting through ensemble passages with uncommon clarity. Blue Railroad Train and Midnight on the Stormy Deep illustrate how far acoustic music could travel without abandoning its foundations. The album remains a benchmark for progressive bluegrass and a touchstone for any guitarist working in the tradition.
Tracklist
- 1 Old Train Source Recording 2:10
- 2 Manzanita Source Recording 4:48
- 3 Little Sadie Source Recording 2:46
- 4 Blackberry Blossom Source Recording 2:39
- 5 Nine Pound Hammer Source Recording 2:55
- 6 Hold Whatcha Got Source Recording 2:48
- 7 Blue Railroad Train Source Recording 3:31
- 8 Ginseng Sullivan Source Recording 3:10
- 9 Midnight on the Stormy Deep Source Recording 4:04
- 10 I Hope You Have Learned Source Recording 2:34
- 11 Stoney Point Source Recording 2:48
- 12 Home From the Forest Source Recording 4:19