Blake & Rice is an album of American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 Norman Blake

Norman Blake (American musician)

Norman Blake is an instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 50 years Blake has played in a number of folk and Country groups...

 and bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice

Tony Rice

Tony Rice is an American acoustic guitarist and bluegrass musician. He is considered one of the most influential acoustic guitar players in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz.Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from traditional bluegrass to jazz-influenced New...

, released in 1987. It is their first album together. They would team up again for Norman Blake and Tony Rice 2

Norman Blake and Tony Rice 2

Norman Blake and Tony Rice 2 is an album of American guitarist Norman Blake and bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice, released in 1990. It is their second album together...

in 1990.

Reception

In his Allmusic review, critic Jim Smith wrote of the album "There is some exceptional flatpicking here, but even the more manic passages are tempered by a softness that is striking, and perhaps even a little disappointing, in its modesty. Once the listener gets past the desire to hear hardcore chops, though, the album reveals its full beauty..."

Track listing

1. "New Chance Blues" (Norman Blake) – 2:15
2. "Greenlight on the Southern" (Blake) – 3:43
3. "I'm Not Sayin'" (Gordon Lightfoot
   Gordon Lightfoot
   Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
   
   ) – 2:16
4. "Texas Gales" (Traditional) – 3:38
5. "Ridge Road Gravel" (Blake) – 2:25
6. "Monroe's Hornpipe" (Bill Monroe
   Bill Monroe
   William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
   
   ) – 2:14
7. "Last Train From Poor Valley" (Blake) – 3:32
8. "New River Train" (Monroe) – 3:25
9. "Stoney Point" (Traditional) – 2:11
10. "Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar" (Alton Delmore
    The Delmore Brothers
    Alton Delmore and Rabon Delmore , billed as The Delmore Brothers, were country music pioneers and stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s...
    
    , Rabon Delmore
    The Delmore Brothers
    Alton Delmore and Rabon Delmore , billed as The Delmore Brothers, were country music pioneers and stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s...
    
    ) – 3:32
11. "Little Beggarman/Gilderoy" (Traditional) – 3:05
12. "The Shipyard Apprentice" (Norman Buchan, R. Campbell, Archie Fisher) – 4:13
13. "Medley: Fiddler's Dream/Whiskey Before Breakfast" (Traditional) – 4:40
14. "I'm Coming Back (But I Don't Know When)" (Traditional) – 2:43

Personnel

• Norman Blake – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , mandolin
  Mandolin
  A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
  
  , vocals
• Tony Rice – guitar, vocals

Production notes

• George Horn – mastering
• Bill Wolf – engineer, photography