Backwaters is the 1982 album from the Tony Rice Unit. Led by the bluegrass guitar master, Tony Rice, the Unit explores the intersections of jazz, country, new wave, and more, creating a truly unique listen. The all-instrumental album features both originals and the band's rendition of widely known tunes such as 'My Favorite Things'. This pressing has been newly remastered all analog.

• Remastered audio cut from the original master tapes
• Cut all analog (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
• Pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, FRP USA
• First ever analog mastering of the album

First reissue of the Tony Rice Unit’s 1982 album. Led by the bluegrass guitar master, Tony Rice, the Unit explores the intersections of jazz, country, new wave, and more, creating a truly unique listen. The instrumental album features both originals and the band’s rendition of well-known tunes such as “My Favorite Things.” This pressing features newly remastered audio cut from the original master tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and has been pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing.

Tony Rice (1949–2020), a flatpicking guitar virtuoso, pioneered "new acoustic music" after stints with J.D. Crowe and the New South. Forming the Tony Rice Unit in 1980, he fused bluegrass roots with jazz improvisation, classical elegance, and subtle new wave edges—coining "spacegrass" for their boundary-pushing sound.

Backwaters (1982) exemplifies this: an all-instrumental gem blending originals like the title track's jazzy-to-bluegrass shifts and "Just Some Bar in the French Quarters" with covers such as "My Favorite Things" (Rodgers & Hammerstein) and "On Green Dolphin Street" (Kaper & Washington). Virtuosic solos stretch over acoustic grooves, evoking prog-rock fluidity without electronics.

Personnel: Tony Rice (guitar), Richard Greene (violin), David Grier (guitar), Jimmy Gaudreau (mandolin), Todd Phillips (bass), Alan Munde (banjo). All masters on wood—impeccable, exploratory bliss.

Track Listing:

Side A
1. Common Ground
2. Just Some Bar In The French Quarters
3. Backwaters

Side B
1. My Favorite Things
2. A Child Is Born
3. On Green Dolphin Street
4. Mobius Mambo

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫