Search - Rice Rice Hillman & Pederson :: Running Wild

Superlative & Satisfying Bluegrass and Country From The Best

Alan Rockman | Upland, California | 11/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This third album by the Rice Brothers (Larry and Tony), Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen goes a bit beyond bluegrass into more countrified territory, but without the infernal twang, nor a really rock beat. The music is subtle, but oh-so-satisfying.Chris Hillman brings it on board with the Tex-Mex flavored "San Antone" one of his more recent collaborations with his chief co-writer Steve Hill. He also scores nicely with the gospel-tinged "Just Passin' Through" which has become a staple of Hillman-Pedersen shows in Southern California. Not taking anything away from the Hill-Hillman compositions is the fact that the covers on this album are well chosen and nicely done. The first is Hillman's simple yet emotive cover of Stephen Stills' "4+20"...As Tony Rice points out in the liner notes, Hillman backed Stills many times on this song in the Manassas days, and Chris gives it his finest. Larry Rice scores on the lead vocal on the Beatles' "Things We Said Today", and while I might have originally preferred either a Pedersen or Hillman lead vocal here, Rice's effort is plaintive, yet solid and clear.The title track, "Your Running Wild" was (along with "My Baby's Gone") a trademark of the Louvin Brothers sound, and the Hillman-Pedersen melancholy duet vocal does it simple justice (interestingly enough, I originally heard this song done by the Beland-Guilbeau Burritos several years back). This rendition features the brilliant and sweet steel guitar of the great Jay Dee Maness.Maness' also scores on at least three other songs on this album, his steel guitar is especially tasteful on the vocal blend led by Pedersen on Buck Owens' "Take Me Back Again" (I originally heard Hillman and Pedersen sing "Under Your Spell Again" with conviction in the Desert Rose Band), and this similar Owens composition is sung with that same energy and effort.Indeed, fans of Desert Rose Band who have lamented their passing will find something to cheer about when listening to this album, for as Larry Rice comments: "Our first two albums had been acoustic, and I wanted to do some stuff like the Desert Rose Band on this album. I like their western type of country"...
And who led Desert Rose but none other than Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen - a nice tribute from their talented partner.Add to the vocal blend and Maness' steel expertise the sparkling guitars of Tony Rice and Bob Warford, and this album is nothing short of being a Country Rock-Bluegrass WINNER. So...If you loved the first two Rice Rice Hillman Pedersen albums, or if you love Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen's blended vocals and excellent harmonies, this album is definitely for you."

Bluegrass For Boomers

Kevin Cook | McDonough, Georgia USA | 04/15/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Don't let the law office name fool you. Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen is a bona fide supergroup whose collective resume reads like a who's who of bluegrass, New Grass and country rock. California natives Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen and transplanted brothers Larry and Tony Rice have been seeding bluegrass and its many permutations with a Left Coast vibe since the early Sixties and paid their dues with the likes of The Byrds, The Dillards, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Dave Grisman Quartet and J. D. Crowe and the New South, among others. As RRH&P, these not-ready-for-retirement baby boomers make fit and trim, confident, middle-of-the-road bluegrass that goes down easy and respects its roots. The old dogs have some new tricks to show off, too. Beatle songs done bluegrass style are old hat these days, but RRH&P's cover of Lennon/McCartney's semi-obscure mid-tempo ballad "Things We Said Today" is brave and inspired. Bucking tradition, RRH&P have the audacity to slow the song down, flaunting Larry Rice's achingly wistful vocal and instruments that drip with longing and loss. The gamble works brilliantly. This is one of the best Beatle covers, bluegrass or otherwise, I've ever heard. The voice of sentimental favorite Herb Pedersen - a sunny, friendly tenor that I like to call the "Hi, lonesome" sound - is unmistakable on "Two of a Kind" and Buck Owen's "Take Me Back Again". He also teams with Chris Hillman to produce lush "brother harmonies" on many cuts. Pedersen's sojourn with The Dillards on their essential albums "Wheatstraw Suite" and "Copperfields" had monumental impact, and it's gratifying to see he's still teaching the angels to sing. (He's no slouch on the banjo, either.)Not to pick on Larry Rice, an excellent mandolinist with an appealingly old-time country voice, but the album could do without two of his compositions. "About Love" is maudlin, overlong and out of tune with the rest of the record, but "The Mystery That Won't Go Away" is without question the album's nadir. I wish I were kidding, but "Mystery" is a creepy elegy for murdered child Jon-Benet Ramsey, matching an unaccountably sprightly melody with earnest lyrics that are laugh-out-loud funny in their absurdity. When looking for folk heroes to enshrine in song, bluegrass ought never to turn to the tabloids."

Pure harmony, classy production, great songs

Preston Bealle | Darien, CT | 08/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is pure harmony close to Everly quality, coupled with great song selection and writing, and sterling production. It's work that deserves much more attention and should not be missed by anyone who likes bluegrass with an updated sound. Chris Hillman's writing and lead singing are particularly excellent."