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The Tony Rice Unit | Unit Of Measure

CD, Rounder/Continental

Tekst: Jeff Wall

Publicatiedatum: 29 maart 2001

It's been too long since the last Tony Rice Unit record. For those of you unfamiliar with music that doesn't suck, Tony Rice is a genuine certified legend. Many years ago, he was just a snot-nosed little kid in California, hanging out at the Ash Grove and watching Clarence White. Since then, he's played with the Bluegrass Alliance, JD Crowe and the New South, the David Grisman Quintet, and just about everyone else in acoustic music. He has taken what Clarence and Doc Watson started and carried it further than any mortal human being could ever have been expected to. He's THE flat-picker. Every kid who picks up a Martin guitar wants to play like Tony Rice.
'Unit of Measure' is a welcome return of this genius. Joined by the Simpkins brothers, Ronnie and Rickie, his brother Wyatt, and mandolinist (and fellow Crowe alumni) Jimmie Gaudreau, Tony proves that he still has lights in his fingers. The neat thing about this record is that there are no new songs on it. That doesn't mean that it's just another lame compilation of classics. Instead Rice has thrown his unique stamp and made these songs new again. The disc's first track is a reworking of 'Manzanita', the title track of the Tony Rice Unit's classic first album from almost 20 years ago. This time, the arrangement has a jazzier feel. It's a wild ride that threatens to lose control at any second, yet is perfect in timing and tone. 'House of the Rising Sun' was lifted from a version the great Jerry Reed (a person who has not received near the credit he is due as a guitar slinger) did. 'Shenandoah' is performed with chords that I never knew existed. Tony follows the melody pretty closely, yet really allows one to hear the tone and beauty of the vintage Martin D-28 that he plays (which previously belonged to Clarence White). 'Gold Rush' is a song that is required learning for any flat-picker. At the World Flat-Picking Championships in Winfield Kansas, 'Gold Rush' is one of the required tunes for each contestant. I've heard this tune at least 2000 times over the years, but I've never heard it like this. The first time through it's played pretty straight. I'm not sure if Tony or Wyatt is playing that break. The second time through it's pure Tony. The melody is just hinted at, instead of followed exactly. You know what it is he's playing, but you also know he's playing it differently. The most amazing part, however, is the rhythm that he is playing behind Rickie Simpkins' fiddle and Gaudreau's mandolin. Tony Rice is quite possibly the best rhythm guitar player alive.
There are other chestnuts on this record as well. 'Jerusalem Ridge' (which I've never heard without a banjo to help carry the melody), 'Sally Goodin', and 'Beaumont Rag'. The original lead guitarist Djanjo Reinhardt's 'Swing 42' and 'Danny Boy' are covered as well. Hopefully, one day soon, Tony's voice will be recovered enough to give us another vocal album. But until then, his D-28 does enough talking and singing to make anyone happy.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/the-tony-rice-unit/unit-of-measure/112/
Meer The Tony Rice Unit op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/the-tony-rice-unit