July 12, 2006
Norman Blake
About four years ago I was somewhat convinced that I would never find another songwriter who was so great that I would want to buy all of his/her albums. I felt that I had tapped the well of those that I could love as much as a Bob Dylan, a Paul Simon, or a Bruce Springsteen.
Since then however, I have found out about guys like Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, and Norman Blake. I got on a huge Van Zandt kick about two years ago and it hasnt stopped since. My obsession with John Prine quickly followed. For the past couple days I have been listening to a lot of Norman Blake.
Now I feel like Im on the verge of a new musical obsession. Ive enjoyed Norman Blake for a few years now, but I might be at the point where I need to start buying his albums. Ive been listening to his album The Fields of November at pretty much every possible opportunity, and Im loving it. The song "Billy Gray" which was introduced to me by my friend Robert the other night is one of the saddest songs Ive ever heard. Robert also introduced me to Blake's song "Church Street Blues" a few years ago, which is a favorite and what initially made me a fan of his music.
Now most people are going to remember Norman Blake for doing "Man of Contant Sorrow" on the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. That was my first exposure to him as well, although he really didnt register with me as an individual until I heard Robert sing "Church Street Blues." There is another O Brother soundtrack alumnus that I am looking to start getting into as well, a guy a lot like Blake named John Hartford. He has some pretty great stuff as well.
Something that really sticks out to me about Blake though is that he is somewhat of a Chattanooga local. He apparently lives not too far from here in Rising Fawn, GA (that might be sketchy info, but I think Im right) and he sings about Chattanooga sometimes, most notably the song "Chattanooga Sugar Babe" That can only make me like him more.
Posted by todd at July 12, 2006 03:03 PM