Product Description Norman's profile is higher than ever as he is prominently featured on Johnny Cash's upcoming release, he contributed significantly to the soundtrack for the upcoming Coen Brothers feature film O Brother, Where Art Though? and recently he's also been collaborating with Michelle Shocked. Norman Blake is one of the most talented and celebrated musicians performing traditional American music today, his last 5 albums have all received Grammy nominations. One of folk and bluegrass music's greatest string players, Norman Blake can play just about anything with strings, be it guitar, fiddle, Dobro, banjo, or mandolin. Bob Dylan put Blake's talents to use on 1969's Nashville Skyline, and more recently Steve Earle called on his gifts when he made his great Train a Comin' album. Here Blake presents a typically low-key solo collection of bluegrass originals ("Whisky Deaf and Whiskey Blind") and rearranged covers (Alton Delmore's "Goin' Back to the Blue Ridge Mountains," Gussie L. Davis's "The Maple on the Hill"). His craggy voice sounds fine and his fingers are as fleet as ever. Guitar aficionados will appreciate the liner notes, which list new and vintage guitars that appear on Far Away. --Robert Baird