The Fields of November

Norman Blake | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 18, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder Records
• ASIN: B000000MD7
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,413 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chamber music from mysterious South, September 5, 2000

By 

Eddie Finn - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fields of November (Audio CD)

This recording, actually a compilation of two records released by Flying Fish Records in the 70's, provides the bridge between Norman's early solo work and his later efforts with the Rising Fawn String Ensemble. A marvelous mix of original songs (Graycoat Soldiers, Old Brown Case, Billy Gray, Last Train from Poor Valley) and traditional tunes (most interesting - a three-part Cuckoo's Nest) presented with understated elegance, mostly by Norman with Nancy Short (later Nancy Blake), Charlie Collins, Tut Taylor, and Sand Mountain fiddler James Bryan.

This one, by the way, drives guitar players crazy due to the fact that Norman doesn't always play in standard (A=440) tuning, preferring to tweak the strings up or down just a bit as it fits the song. Norman once said at a workshop "Sometimes I guess I just hear a song a little different than standard..."

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An American Classic, August 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Fields of November (Audio CD)

I've got a whole lot of records, and this is one of the desert island five. It is straight forward, unaffected country folk music played by an utter virtuouso. Norman Blake manages to sum up 200 years of rural American sensibility without descending into mawkish sentiment, or retreating into the pose of a folk historian. He has come in from outside, sat down, cleared his throat and blown you away without so much as a wasted gesture. It's just awesome.

On first or second listen, this record might fool you. You might say, "What's so special about this? It's dry and it's boring, and I've heard it all before." What you've heard before, though, are imperfect attempts to call forth the spirit that Norman Blake writes and sings about, and represents.

Traditional American music just doesn't get better than this record. It is a monument. If Fields of November was the only thing he ever did, Blake would be one of the great American originals. Make no mistake, this guy is the real thing.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fields of November - Norman Blake, March 10, 2000

By 

James H Arran (Outside Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fields of November (Audio CD)

I found Fields Of November in a used record store in Orlando, Fla. in 1992 after buying Home In Sulphur Springs (Norman Blake & Tut Taylor) the year before. Definitely a priceless part of my collection. It was the first time I'd heard Norman and Nancy together and was hooked on their blend of harmony. Nancy's cello is a perfect match for Norman's pickin'. There's a special feeling of comfort listening to their music. Fields Of November is a must for anyone interested in traditional American music. If you don't have it yet, check out Home In Sulphur Springs, and you'll see where his roots come from.