Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen – Running Wild
By now, with three collaborations under their belts, it should be clear that the quartet of Herb Pedersen, Chris Hillman, and Larry and Tony Rice don’t feel compelled to produce “supersession” blockbusters. Gently turning aside whatever expectations fans might have in respect to pioneering or pyrotechnics, they offer instead a pleasing mix of new originals and old favorites, knit together by the relaxed good spirit of friends who’ve known each other for decades and don’t get together quite as often as they’d like.
As before, newcomers to the foursome’s work are most likely to be happily surprised by the contributions of its least famous member, Larry Rice. Though he’s kept a lower profile over the years, he’s got the talent in all three departments — picking, singing and writing — to hang in with the rest, and his moments in the spotlight are well-deserved and memorable.
This latest set is distinguished from the earlier two mostly by the way the originals of Hillman and Larry Rice are offset by a slightly greater number of covers (drawn from sources including the Louvin Brothers, Buck Owens, Stephen Stills, and Jim & Jesse). Similarly, there’s a mild loosening of the “acoustic only” reins: Steel player Jay Dee Maness turns up on four songs, and drummer Robbie Magruder on five.
With dobro player Fred Travers, fiddler Rickie Simpkins and his bass-playing brother Ronnie reprising their roles on the earlier albums, this is a fine, loose ensemble with just the right combination of finesse and easy energy — and the same can be said for the album as a whole.