Customer Reviews

Tony Rice

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A Civil War tradition of playing music back and forth across night-filled encampments only needed a Tony Rice to totally occupy both sides with the power of music, and make them forget why they were really there. Rice's guitar and voice present themselves in seamless cooperation, leaving the bluegrass fan with a desire to hear more. Lovers of acoustic guitar will find an aggressive outrushing of phrases that just feels right. There's a spontaneous tonality of voice and guitar, along with merciless backhanded replies from the other instruments in the band. You'll want to replay your favorite parts several times at a shot...just to believe you weren't hearing things. Some of Rice's other albums have more angry licks and pyrotechnics, but for a good mix of that voice and the all-around killer acoustics, this album is a keeper.

This was the first Tony Rice album I picked up back in '77 (didn't know his name, but something about the juxtaposition of that polyester shirt and the old Martin told me this could be interesting). Shortly afterwards I got the first Grisman Quintet album (that shirt again!) and I've been a fan ever since. A lot of people regard "Manzanita" as Rice's high point of this period, but I never found that record nearly as satisfying as this one. "Rattlesnake" was the first Grisman tune I'd ever heard Tony play and it opened a door in my own playing. I'd heard "Plastic Banana" from the well-known Great American Music Band tape, but Rice seemed to reinvent the tune in such an effortless way. I'll admit I was first attracted to this stuff as a guitar player and wasn't that into ballads and the whole southern ethos, but "Hills Of Roane County" just floored me. To this day I find myself playing "Temperance Reel" and "Banana" and thinking of this record. For tone and timing, and just a sense of ease in playing, for all the complexity of his later Unit work, this record is still a sentimental favorite.

A Bluegrass performer recommended that I'd like Tony Rice. Not necessarily a Bluegrass fan, I did like this CD. Would recommend this CD to anybody who likes guitar, banjo and violin music.

It would be tempting to say that the most significant thing about Tony Rice's musicianship is his well-known legacy as an unparalleled master of the six-string. After all, he was the original guitarist in the original "Dawg Jazz" band - David Grisman's Quintet. He was also a flatpicker-for-hire on recordings ranging from Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris to Mary Chapin Carpenter and Stephane Grappelli. He was awarded "Guitarist of the Year" honors in every perturbation of this award for flatpickers: International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Guitarist of the year six times (with four other IBMA awards for his bands and recordings.) Frets Magazine gave him the award so many times in a row they finally declared him ineligible and made him the first inductee into their Hall of Honor.

But it is not his guitar playing alone that makes people like Ricky Skaggs and Alison Krauss speak his name with reverence. Tony brought his devilishly complicated guitar work along with a wonderful, earthy singing voice that harkened to some of the earliest traditions of American Roots music, but did not duplicate the nasal twang of the "High Lonesome Sound". Working with an endless line of musical geniuses, Tony Rice made music that was previously only heard as Appalachian echoes accessible to the most sophisticated listener. It would not be at all difficult to say that to trace the source of the amazingly popular music heard on the "O Brother" soundtrack - you would find a trail where Bluegrass Father Bill Monroe would be but a root of a mighty tree - with Tony Rice the sturdy trunk. Stated simply - Tony Rice not only made amazing music, he inspired others to do likewise.

Although his career has spanned more than 40 years, the two decades from about 1973 to 1993 was the period where he left an indelible mark on American music. He recorded the seminal J.D. Crowe & The New South with J.D. Crowe, Ricky Skaggs and Jerry Douglas in 1974, and although he had also recorded a couple of solo records, this eponymous album marked the beginning of a Bluegrass Renaissance. On "Tony Rice" the man begins an amazing string, bringing together the perfect blend of material and musicians. Although the band is almost the same personnel as the New South - future superstar Ricky Skaggs is replaced by mandolin wizard David Grisman, and the result is perfect for this blend of haunting traditional numbers like "Banks of the Ohio", "Mr. Engineer", "Don't Give Your Heart to a Rambler" and "Hills of Roane County", along with upbeat tunes like "Way Downtown" and "Eighth of January". Dawg Jazz numbers are well represented with "Rattlesnake" and "Plastic Banana" - and blended with traditional bluegrass instrumentals with "Stoney Creek" and "Big Mon" and "Temperance Reel". Dixieland standard "Farewell Blues" gets a rollicking treatment from Crowe and company and by the time Tony weighs in with his flaming flatpick, guitarists listen with rapt and awed attention.

In the mid 90s all of the IBMA award winners for a particular year were gathered on stage for a rollicking jam session. They were introduced one by one by emcee John Hartford - no musical slouch himself. He introduced Alison Krauss and Jerry Douglas and all of the winners of albums and bands and individual instruments. He paused for his big finish: "And the COOLEST man on stage - IBMA Guitar Player of the Year, TONY RICE!"
Tony Rice brought "cool" to music that was previously not even close. And in any room filled with any number of musicians of any ability, you can bet that the coolest guy in the room is Anthony Rice. This album gives you an idea why.

The tones achieved from this collaboration are completely representative of the epoch during which this this album was released...gentle attack but a strong tone...wow. I would definitely recommend this album to anyone who truly wants a good sampling of what Tony Rice has to offer.