Magnolia Drive: Timeless
Song List: Lonely Side of Goodbye, The Girl On Sugar Pie Lane, Going Back in Time, Your Tender Loving Care, I Will Always Be With You, I Won’t Call You, It’s Me Again Lord, Mountain Rose, Sweet Country Girl, Going Home, Walk the Way You Talk.
As its Magnolia name might imply, this fine traditional band calls Mississippi its home state. Started in 2010, the band members have been playing together and refining their sound. They have deep roots in traditional bluegrass and the fine vocal harmony trios and crisp instrumentation are classic examples of the 60s and 70s sound. Band members are Don Robinson on banjo and vocals, brothers Steve Nowell on bass and vocals, Mike Nowell on guitar and vocals, and Cory Burton on mandolin and vocals. All four musicians have been with the band since the beginning so they have had time to refine their own special sound.
That sound is solidly in the traditional vein with banjo propelled instrumental rhythms and smooth as silk vocal harmonies. There are six original songs in the collection along with some classic songs including “Your Tender Loving Care” from Buck Owens. The love songs are filled with the sentimental sweet lips and kisses, and promises of forever love from grade school sweethearts. “The Girl on Sugar Pie Lane” needs a ring on her finger, and all will be well. Steve Nowell’s “I Will Always Be With You” celebrates a love and devotion that will always “be under every rock, and round every bend.” Men often left the old mountain home places to seek work in the big cities, and the longing for those sweethearts left behind is found in “Mountain Rose,” “Sweet Country Girl,” and “Going Home.” The memories of children playing in the yard and the mother making bread dough makes this life idyllic, but “Going Back In Time” is more realistic with the singer left alone after his love left. “I Won’t Call You” is Donald’s reply to a lover who want to return and he admonishes that he’s found a new love and purpose with a young child. Regardless of the sentimental viewpoint if some of the songs, the heartfelt delivery and instrumental blend of mandolin, banjo, fiddle, and dobro make the album a delightful listening experience.