Peter Rowan & Tony Rice – Quartet
Acoustic guitar god Tony Rice and bluegrass vocal stylist Peter Rowan teamed with mandolinist Sharon Gilchrist and bassist Bryn Davies — Rowan’s longtime touring partner — to create an album that sounds at once ancient and timeless.
Contemporary material from Patti Smith (“Trespasses”) and Townes Van Zandt (“To Live Is To Fly”) blends seamlessly with standards such as “Shady Grove”, “Sunny Side Of The Mountain” and “Cold Rain And Snow”. The group also explores several classic Rowan originals, including “Walls Of Time”, “Moonlight Midnight” and “Let The Harvest Go To Seed”. “Perfection”, a newer, uptempo gospel number, exemplifies a spiritual quality that runs throughout the record.
Each member of the quartet makes a unique contribution to the fabric of this project. Rice’s fluid playing is the perfect complement to Rowan’s earnest falsetto. But it’s the brilliant harmonies and understated instrumental flourishes of Gilchrist and Davies that make this a truly cohesive work.