There’s no denying Missy Raines & Allegheny’s ties to tradition. Their new album, Love & Trouble, on Compass Records, sounds like a trip that was taken through the backroads of Appalachia where a slice of history was uncovered, and tall tales once told on the front porch were reinvented or revisited. Nearly every song shares a chapter that could have originated in those early environs, whether it’s in the form of the rousing album opener, Yanceyville Jail, a song inspired by by a Jimmy Martin story, Eula Dorsey, a moving Appalachian ballad about a young woman living in colonial West Virginia, or Anywhere the Wind Blows, a nimble confluence of blustery banjo and sprightly fiddle work featuring guests Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick.
Of course, Raines need not stand on anyone’s shoulders. The most awarded bass player in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Association, she’s made her mark as an important and iconic artist in the modern bluegrass world. Allegheny, the band that backs her — consisting of Tristan Scroggins (mandolin, vocals), Ellie Hakanson (fiddle, vocals), Ben Garnett (guitar, vocals) and Eli Gilbert (banjo, vocals) — are outstanding musicians in their own right, a fact that becomes all too evident courtesy of the powerful performances that are picked, plucked, and strummed throughout.
Produced by Alison Brown — naturally, an outstanding artist in her own right — Love & Trouble combines classic covers with authentic-sounding originals, all of which are shared against the backdrop of a traditional tapestry. The music is mined from the rich roots of a bluegrass background, as spawned from Raines’ early beginnings in West Virginia, and the music that influenced her early on in the ’60s and ’70s. That imprint is never far from the surface, as songs such as Scraps From Your Table, Cold Black Water, and Claude Allen clearly convey at the outset.
Nevertheless, given the stellar performances and the obvious enthusiasm, the music never seems dated or lacking the luster needed to entice a contemporary crowd. Both rollicking and riveting to the greatest degree, Love & Trouble offers the best possibilities that can be culled from each of its offerings.
