America‘s music is built on the sound of the train, and in few places is that more evident than in the guitar playing of Tony Rice.
He is not a “steam locomotive, rolling down the track.” His right hand is a powerful turbo-charged engine, driving one of the greatest guitar sounds that has ever existed. It’s the sound of the train modified for the modern era. It’s played on tracks called frets in pure explosive glory and nobody rides the rails like Tony’s left hand.
I first caught the train in 1977 at the Bluebird Café in Santa Barbara.