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If Richard Dobson never wrote another song, Piece Of Wood & Steel would guarantee his immortality. There's not a better song about a man's relationship with his guitar. Fortunately for us Richard has a full bag of songs about all sorts of relationships, characters & outlandish circumstances. - Larry Monroe, DJ, KUT, Austin, TexasHis words are precise and never wasted. He's one of my favorite songwriters. - Townes Van ZandtWhenever I hear some of Richard Dobson's songs, I think they're the greatest George Jones hits ever written. Pity for him George never recorded them, especially as they're just the tip of a golden iceberg of great songs, too few of which have been recorded by anybody but Dobson himself. But hey, that's OK too. Nashville's loss, our gain. - John Conquest, Music City Texas/Freelance LondonDobson is a thoughtful songwirter & a moving interpreter of his own material. - Billboad MagazineThe man can write songs - plain & simple. - Cash Box MagazineRichard Dobson is one of the best songwriters in Nashville, make that the whole United States. - John PrineIn June 1993, Richard Dobson and his State of the Heart Band - Mark Sergio Webb and Susie Monick - recorded a live CD at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studio outside Austin. Called 'Mankind,' only a few copies were pressed, and the CD went into obscurity. Now after more than 20 years Richard and producer Harold Eggers approached Bear Family to issue the CD, so Richard added a couple of Bonus tracks. Here are some of the recording details:

Richard plays a 1970 D-18 Martin, the original 'Piece of Wood & Steel'.

Multi-instrumentalist Susie Monick, a founding member of Buffalo Gals, the first all female Bluegrass band, plays a 1950 Gibson RB-250 Mastertone banjo, a Castagnari button accordion, and a 1912 Gibson A-model mandolin.