Back Home In Sulphur Springs

Norman Blake | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 31, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Western Jubilee Recording Company/Plectrafone Records
• ASIN: B000A7Q1RO
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,707 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. More Good Women Gone Wrong

2. Columbus Stockade Blues

3. He's Coming To Us Dead

4. The Girl I Left In Sunny Tennessee

5. We Parted By The Riverside

6. Ella Ree

7. Happy Little Home In Arkansas

8. Back Home In Sulphur Springs

9. The Marmaid

10. Take Me Home Poor Julia

11. Seaboard Airline Rag

12. Star Spangled Banner

13. The Empress Of Ireland

14. Katy Cline

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back Home Indeed!, February 23, 2006

By 

S. Johnson "a fan" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Back Home In Sulphur Springs (Audio CD)

Let me preface my remarks by saying that I've been listening to Norman Blake for over thirty years, so I'm a BIG fan. I say this because when I tell you how good--how right--this record sounds, you may think I'm just gushing over another Blake record. Not so! This is one of Mr. Blake's best records, I think, because you can hear it's credibility. When the character in "The Girl I Left in Sunny Tennessee" sings, for example, he sings with more saddness than he (Blake) did the first time around, back on Whiskey before Breakfast. And Nancy's harmony vocals are plaintive and fit just right. If you're more used to Doc Watson singing "Columbus Stockade Blues," listen to the Blakes slow this one down and sing it more like a dirge. I mean, this is great stuff! Like old blues singers, credibility is everything, and the Blakes define that on this record.

Buy this record not for flashy flatpicking--Blake gave that up years ago--but for its sincerity. You won't be disappointed.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars +1/2 stars...Yes, You Can Go Home Again, May 6, 2006

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Back Home In Sulphur Springs (Audio CD)

Thomas Wolfe said, "You can't go home again." But he never met Norman Blake. Thirty-three years after his critically acclaimed Rounder debut, BACK HOME IN SULPHUR SPRINGS, Norman and wife Nancy returned to record this 14-track album over the course of three days.

This is old time country music at its best. Nothing flashy or overproduced, just two musicians with acoustic instruments playing the music they love. Norman plays guitar, Dobro, fiddle and mandolin, while Nancy plays guitar, cello and mandolin. She also provides harmony vocals to Norman's understated vocals. Most of the songs are traditional, with a couple of Norman Blake originals (the title track and "Seaboard Airline Rag") and one track by good friend Patty Bryan ("The Empress of Ireland").

The only track that seems out of place is the uncredited bonus track, which bashes George W. on everything from the hanging chad debacle in Florida to the Iraq war. I don't disagree with his political views, it's just that as a general rule I don't like mixing politician-bashing and music-especially when it's not done with any degree of subtlety.

Overall, this is an enjoyable and very satisfying album. [Running Time - 53:44] HIGHLY RECOMMENDED