If you need a last minute Christmas gift for the flatpicking guitar nerd on your list, David Grisman’s Acoustic Disc and Acoustic Oasis Downloads may have just the thing.
They have just released a live set by The Rice Brothers, recorded in 1991 in Fairfax, VA, entitled The Rice Brothers – Live for the First Time. It includes all four brothers, Tony, Wyatt, Larry and Ronnie, which Wyatt tells us was the first time the four of them had appeared together on stage, this in a special concert for WAMU-FM in Washington, DC, which used to broadcast bluegrass music as a major part of their programming.
With Tony and Wyatt on guitars, Larry on mandolin, and Ron on bass, the band was supplemented by Bill Emerson on banjo, Rickie Simpkins on fiddle, and Rice uncle Frank Poindexter on reso-guitar.
Tony was in fine voice for this set, which was brilliantly recorded.
The track list includes a number Rice Brothers favorites, plus instrumentals from Emerson and Simpkins.
- Teardrops in My Eyes
- If You Only Knew
- Jared’s Rag
- Band Intros
- Walk On Boy
- Four Wheel Drive
- Washington & Lee Swing
- Keep the Lamp On Sadie
- Reynard in the Canebreaks
- Grapes on the Vine
Acoustic Disc has been kind enough to share audio for two of the tracks to give readers a listen to the high quality audio that was captured more than 32 years ago.
First up, Walk On Boy…
… and also Emerson’s Reynard in the Canebrakes.
It really is a walk through the past to when we could actually hear these performers live. Well done Acoustic Disc!
The Rice Brothers – Live for the First Time is available for download purchase only directly from the AD web site, in either MP3 or FLACC audio formats, and for only $10.
