NORMAN BLAKE
Old Ties (Rounder)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Rounder has limited its Rounder Heritage series to 30 releases, in honor of the label's 30th anniversary, so for any artist in their extensive catalog of great music to get one all to himself is a significant tribute. No one in the Rounder catalog is more deserving of such a tribute than Norman Blake. With over a dozen Rounder and Flying Fish releases to draw from, putting this together couldn't have been easy, since every time Blake tunes his guitar something wonderful happens, but producers Ken Irwin and Joel Stein have done a remarkable job.

From his tenure with Flatt & Scruggs' Foggy Mountain Boys, his years with Johnny Cash and his appearance on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's seminal Will The Circle Be Unbroken, through his more recent success as part of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, Blake seems to have been everywhere that matters in American roots music for over 40 years, and the music on Old Ties provides an ample demonstration of the reason why. While he's a technically proficient musician, it's Blake's ability to find the emotional heart of a song and express it in clear, simple terms that makes him a master. There are flashier players, but no better musical communicators.

Rounder intends the Rounder Heritage releases to be essential music. This one fits the bill.

Track List:

Spanish Fandango * Church St. Blues * Sleepy Eyed Joe/Indian Creek * O'Malley's Tune * Fifty Miles Of Elbow Room * Down Home Summertime Blues * Blind Dog * Fiddler's Dram/Whiskey Before Breakfast * Old Ties * Lost Indian * Ginseng Sullivan * OBC #3 * Prettiest Little Girl In The Country * Uncle * Bristol In The Bottle * Billy Gray * The Fields Of November * Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar * Randal Collins/Done Gone

© 2002 - Shaun Dale