Ralph Stanley II keeps bluegrass legend’s band alive on new album
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 27, 2017
“Ralph Stanley II &The Clinch Mountain Boys,” Stanley Family Records
Ralph Stanley, one of the pioneers of bluegrass and mountain music, died in June 2016 at age 89.
But he didn’t want his 70-year-old band — The Clinch Mountain Boys — to die with him.
So he asked his son, Ralph Stanley II, to keep the band alive.
Last month, the self-titled “Ralph Stanley II &the Clinch Mountain Boys” hit record stores.
And the name continues.
Alex Leach stepped into Ralph Sr.’s banjo slot. John Rigsby plays mandolin and fiddle and Noah Brown handles the bass.
So, how does the album sound? Well, nobody sounds like Ralph Sr., but it’s good, solid traditional bluegrass album.
Ralph II, who became lead singer in his father’s band when he was 16 years old, has his own sound. And it’s a good one.
He wrote three of the tracks on the album — “Henry Brown,” a hard-charging song about a man who drank himself to death; “Raining In My Heart,” a ballad about a man missing a woman and wishing he could die; and “Goin’ Round This World,” another hard-driving song about a man traveling the world in a boxcar.
One of the highlights — somewhat eerily — is “Mary, Merry Christmas,” a song his uncle, Carter Stanley. wrote for his wife shortly before his death Dec. 1, 1966.
Can’t find it in stores? Try http://www.ralph2.com/music.html
Lonesome River Band, “Mayhayley’s House,” Mountain Home
The Lonesome River Band has come a long way since its formation in 1982 — and seen a lot of personnel changes.
But the banjo of Sammy Shelor has defined the band’s sound for its entire 35-year history. And despite the occasional drums and pianos in its albums, the band’s sound is still mostly traditional.
The new album, “Mayhayley’s House,” takes its title from a song about Amanda Mayhayley Lancaster, a self-proclaimed oracle, lawyer and farmer who died in 1955.
“Old Coyote Town,” a country hit for Don Williams in 1989, tells the story of an old man who’s settled into a Texas town that’s slowly dying.
“Blackbirds and Crows” is a murder ballad about a man who kills his wife before she can leave him.
“Wrong Road Again,” a country hit for Crystal Gayle in 1974, gets a bluegrass treatment here.
“Diggin’” tells the story of a man fighting to keep his head above water financially.
“It Feels Real Good Goin’ Down” finds a man drinking wine and trying to forget a woman.
It’s another good album by a band that’s had a lot of success since Ronald Reagan was in his first term in the White House.
Can’t find it in stores? Try http://lonesomeriverband.com/www/merchandise/
— Keith Lawrence
