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Melvin Goins & Windy Mountain - Bluegrass Blues

(Hay Holler HH-CD-1346) 1999

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After Ray Goins' retirement in 1997, Melvin carried on performing as the Goins Brothers, with Dale Vanderpool taking over from Ray on banjo. Dale had regularly filled in for Ray while he was recovering from his heart attack in Dec. 1994 and subsequent skin cancer diagnosis.^[1] A similar band photo, with the same line-up to that on the CD was also used in festival adverts for the Goins Brothers up until Jan. 1999 and also for events listed as 'The Melvin Goins Band' and 'Melvin Goins & His Bluegrass Band'.^[2] In June 1999 the 'General Store' section of 'Bluegrass Unlimited' noted that "... Melvin Goins has renamed his group Melvin Goins and Windy Mountain..." and goes on to list the band members and mentions the old Lonesome Pine Fiddlers song which Melvin had used for the new band name.

The CD follows a similar pattern to the later Goins Brothers albums, with a number of old tracks given a new lick of paint, and new songs written and sung by the younger band members. Melvin sings lead on seven tracks, six of which had been previously recorded by the Goins Brothers / Lonesome Pine Fiddlers (Bluegrass Blues, Windy Mountain, Why Do You Treat Me The Way That You Do, He Showed Me The Way, I'll Never Change My Mind and Death Came Creepin' In My Room). The seventh song is Let Those Brown Eyes Smile At Me, which Flatt & Scruggs had recorded in 1957.

Of the six re-hashed tracks: Bluegrass Blues was originally recorded in 1973 for a Jessup LP, but only released as a single until the cassette Bluegrass Blues came out in 1984. The Goins Brothers then re-cut the song on Sweet Sunny South in 1985. The CD version here is at a slower tempo than the other two; Windy Mountain - From the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers back catalogue, had been previously re-cut on the Goins' Bluegrass Country and their Tribute To The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers LPs; Why Do You Treat Me The Way That You Do - Another Lonesome Pine Fiddlers' number had been re-cut on Bluegrass Country. Live versions also appeared on the Live In Concert and Live at The Chicago Folk Festival cassettes; He Showed Me The Way - had been previously cut by the Goins on God Bless Her She's My Mother, On The Way Home and He Showed Me The Way albums; I'll Never Change My Mind - Another Lonesome Pine Fiddlers chestnut which the Goins featured on their Tribute To The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers LP; and finally Death Came Creepin' In My Room - yet another Lonesome Pine Fiddlers track which the Goins had previously cut on Bluegrass Hits Old And New, God Bless Her She's My Mother, Wandering Soul, He Showed Me The Way and Live at The Chicago Folk Festival releases.

Fiddle/mandolin whizz, John Rigsby sings lead on Talk To Your Heart and his own One More Time, My Darlin'. On Charlie Monroe's We'll Love Again, Sweetheart he also sings lead on the verses swapping parts with John McNeely on the chorus. Rigsby is also featured on the fiddle led instrumental version of Bill Monroe's Pass Me Not and concludes the CD with a lovely old-time fiddle/clawhammer banjo original Mouse Tracks In The Bacon Grease. He went on to rejoin the CMB's later in 1999, after recording his Forks Of The Ivy CD with the help of fellow Windy Mountain members Jason Hale, John McNeely and Dale Vanderpool.

John McNeely sings lead on his My Home In The Mountains, which is a pleasant enough mid-tempo piece with good mandolin/banjo. The song was also previously cut on the Goins Brothers cassette Bluegrass My Home In The Mountains with the Shed House Trio.

Jason Hale likewise sings lead on his overly sentimental Worry No More. The instrumental Stokes Run meanwhile is a decent enough banjo piece with Dale Vanderpool getting to strutt his stuff on the ol' five string and John Rigsby taking nifty breaks on mandolin & fiddle.

Ray Goins makes a guest apppearance on two tracks, playing banjo on Why Do You Treat Me The Way That You Do and singing tenor on He Showed Me The Way. Melvin's vocals on the latter are slightly out in places...

This album is arguably the best of Melvin's later 'solo' work and is worth picking up if you can find a copy at a reasonable price...

• Melvin Goins: guitar, vocals
• Ray Goins: banjo, vocals (a)
• Jason Hale: bass, vocals
• John McNeely: guitar, vocals
• John Rigsby: mandolin, fiddle, vocals
• Dale Vanderpool: banjo, vocals

NB: (a) Ray appears on two tracks playing banjo on (6) and singing tenor on (7).

^{[1] eg the audio recordings from Withlacoochie Bluegrass Jamboree, Dunnellon, Fl 3rd Nov 1995. Part One: https://youtu.be/8n6To6RubE4 and Part Two: https://youtu.be/Y-IFMbHIee4
[2] eg advert in Oct. 1998 'Bluegrass Unlimited' (p.7) for the New Year's 23rd Annual Bluegrass Festival at Jekyll Island, Ga 31st Dec 1998 - 2nd Jan 1999, featuring The Goins Brothers.
The first advert to mention 'The Melvin Goins Band' was for 'An Evening Of Bluegrass featuring The Melvin Goins Band' 30th Jan. 1999, 'Bluegrass Unlimited' Jan. 1999 (p. 88)
The Mar. 1999 issue of 'Bluegrass Unlimited' included the same photo as 'Melvin Goins & His Blue Grass Band' in the festival ad for Doyle Lawson's festival in Denton NC 7-9th May 1999 (p. 51)}