Cedar Hill: New Chapter
Song List: How Deep Is the Lonesome, That Stanley Sound, Are You Born Again, Hold Onto My Heart, Tend To My Flowers, Leavin’ Egypt, The Art of Love, Number One at the Bottom, I Can’t Settle Down, This Old Guitar, Smilin’.
Frank Ray started Cedar Hill in 1967, and over the years the band has had changes in personnel, but the strong vein of traditional bluegrass remains. The band has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, and Frank was inducted into the SPBGMA Hall of Greats in 2019. Joining Frank in the band are Dalton Harper on guitar and lead vocal, Bill Cross (baritone vocal) on banjo, dobro and guitar, Pete Brown (baritone vocal) on fiddle, and Patti LaFleur (high baritone vocal) on bass. Frank is the mandolin player and tenor vocal in the band.
The band’s instrumental range is highlighted in Frank’s original instrumental, “Leavin’ Egypt.” The mandolin introduction is quickly underscored by guitar rhythm and a high fiddle solo. Bill’s banjo provides sparkling melodic passages followed by a robust guitar solo. The strong instrumentation continues throughout all the songs with banjo providing the strong bluegrass vibe.
The songs show a wide range of themes from the history and tools of bluegrass, the fading memories as one ages, and the hope of new love and the memory of the old. “How Deep Is the Lonesome” opens the collection with a hard driving banjo and the feelings now that a love has gone. “That Stanley Sound” is a tribute to Ralph and Carter Stanley and several guitar licks interspersed in the song are drawn from Carter’s work, and lyrics from their most popular songs are woven into song’s dialog. Dalton’s “This Old Guitar” is a tribute to the Martin guitar that has become the standard sound in bluegrass and grandfather’s gift to a young boy who grows up to play the guitar on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium at the Grand Ole Opry. “Tend To My Flowers” is another song that makes an impression. An elderly lady returns to her memories of her garden and joining her Henry while the rest of her reality disappears. “Number One at the Bottom” is an amusing song from Patti and Steve with the singer wanting to be the #1 sweetheart but is instead one at the bottom. “I Can’t Settle Down” has an old timey rhythm with the fiddle and banjo taking the lead. Great collection of songs to mark a “new chapter” in the story of this 55 years and counting band!