Review of Norman Blake : Flower from the Fields of Alabama
Norman Blake is probably best known as a bluegrass guitar picker, but the music on Flower from the Fields of Alabama shows he is really a master of the early ballads, blues, and Appalachian fiddle tunes that Bill Monroe combined to create the high lonesome sound. On instrumentals like the fiddle tune "Texas Gales" and "Bonaparte's Grand March," which despite its bombastic title is played as a delicate mandolin solo, Blake demonstrates his instrumental virtuosity by emphasizing taste, tone, and phrasing over rapid-fire picking. Blake is a singer in the "ragged but right" tradition, and his dry delivery is well suited to a wide range of material from the slightly lewd "Salty Dog" to the wistful "Chasin' Rainbows" and the maudlin pieties of "The Dying Gambler's Last Words." The music on Flower from the Fields of Alabama doesn't push the envelope, but that's exactly why it's so charming. You get the feeling that Norman Blake released this music on CD only because he couldn't find a record company to put it out on a 78-rpm record. --Michael Simmons

Users's Reviews - Norman Blake : Blake in a better humor
In a general way of speaking, Norman Blake CDs are predictable: good songs, exceptional picking, spare, tasteful. Closer listening, though, reveals a unique personality in each. His previous Shanachie release, Far Away, Down on a Georgia Farm, was sometimes unsettlingly personal, the clear product of hard times in Blake's life. Though there were moments of humor, the despairing (and brilliant) title song and the acid (and equally moving) "Whiskey Deaf and Whiskey Blind," both Blake originals, set the tone. Flower from the Fields of Alabama, perhaps reflecting happier times, is a good deal more cheerful. There's even an uncharacteristically chirpy vintage pop tune, "Chasin' Rainbows," to underscore the fact. Nearly everything else is more or less traditional. Especially affecting is the seldom-covered "The Burial of Wild Bill," based on a 19th-Century verse by the U.S. Army's "poet scout" Capt. Jack Crawford and a 1929 record by Frank Jenkins' Pilot Mountaineers. The mandolin-driven "Bonaparte's Grand March" is another standout, a genuinely lovely piece which, though it's long, this listener never quite wants to end. On the other side, the original songs aren't among Blake's most memorable. "Radio Joe," in fact, is close to uninspired, and "The Slopes of Beech Mountain" demonstrates little more than Blake's gift for making songs that sound as if composer credit ought to go to A. P. Carter. Still, small gripes aside, this is a fine and eminently listenable CD, from a great folk artist and guitarist whose recordings never wear out their welcome.

Your latest reviews - Norman Blake : An absolute gem of old-time folk
With splended intrumental work, a perfectly-suited vocal style, and little unnecessary adornment, Norman Blake captures the heart of old-time folk music in the beautiful melodies of traditional North Georgia and further afield.

Already an accomplished session musician, Norman Blake launched his long and distinguished solo career with this treasure of an album. After nearly thirty years, Back Home in Sulphur Springs stands up beautifully to the test of time. Indeed, the record is arguably the equal of anything that Blake has put together since. Those new to Norman Blake would do well to start here; long-time fans who have yet to hear this album will be delighted to hear the record that started it all. A number of songs which have since become classics - Randall Collins, Crossing No. 9, Ginsing Sullivan, When The Fields Are White With Daisies - were first recorded here.

As is perhaps rare with an artist's first album, there is little that one would want to change about this gem. Back Home in Sulphur Springs is about as close to a perfect record as anything in my collection.