NORMAN BLAKE
Day By Day SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS
Folk-country treasures from octogenarian flatpicker
7/10
Having worked with Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Plant & Krauss over his storied career – plus soundtrack duties for O Brother, Where Art Thou? – Blake’s legendary status has long been assured. Here the veteran guitarist and banjo player negotiates a bunch of weathered folkcountry ballads with consummate aplomb, aided by cellist wife Nancy and members of the Rising Fawn String Ensemble. Blake’s timeworn tones are perfect for “The Dying Cowboy” and the almost Biblical “Montcalm And Wolfe”, while a choir of voices guides “My Home’s Across The Blue Ridge Mountains”.