Traditional Ties, released on Sugar Hill in 1985, was Hot Rize's first album for the label and a high-water mark in the band's catalog. The Colorado quartet — Tim O'Brien, Pete Wernick, Charles Sawtelle, and Nick Forster — had spent the early 1980s honing a sound that honored bluegrass orthodoxy while leaving room for O'Brien's distinctive songwriting and the sly humor the band carried onstage. The title names the record's stance: tradition held closely but not rigidly. The set ranges from the gospel standard 'Working on a Building' to 'Montana Cowboy,' with the ensemble's hallmark precision and O'Brien's tenor at its center. Critics counted it among the band's strongest efforts, and it helped cement Hot Rize's standing as one of the most admired groups of the bluegrass revival generation.
Tracklist
- 1 Hard Pressed Source Recording 2:36
- 2 If I Should Wander Back Tonight Source Recording 2:38
- 3 Walk the Way the Wind Blows Source Recording 3:38
- 4 Hear Jerusalem Moan Source Recording 2:54
- 5 Frank's Blues 2:37
- 6 Lost John Source Recording 2:32
- 7 Montana Cowboy alt version 2:43
- 8 Footsteps So Near 4:10
- 9 Leather Britches alt version 3:44
- 10 Working on a Building alt version 3:29
- 11 John Henry alt version 3:12
- 12 Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning Source Recording 2:46
