Linda Lay
Song List: The Happiness of Having You, The Jingle Hole, Imagine That, The Mountain, Lightning, White Line, I’ll Be Here in the Morning, Blue Blueridge Mountain Girl, Standing in My Way, Lost in the Shuffle.
Linda Lay may not be a household name, but her music will certainly fill your home with some enchanting melodies. She’s been called the singer’s singer, and her voice ebbs and flows with the story line of each song, and has an emotional draw that envelops the listener into the story of the song. Some of the songs on the album come from well-known bluegrass writers, some from country stars, and some closer to rock and roll. Regardless, Linda makes them her own.
Joining her are several bluegrass all-stars: David Lay on guitar and harmony vocals, Bryan McDowell on fiddle, Darren Beachley on dobro and vocals, Sammy Shelor on banjo, and Aaron Ramsey on mandolin, guitar, slide guitar and vocals. The polished presentation makes you think that they’ve been playing together for a long time.
Living conditions were not always easy in the South, and “The Mountain” and “Lightning” focus on two occupations: coal miner and moonshiner. Steve Earle’s “The Mountain” flows with the easy rhythm of the banjo and the lyrics tell of life tied to the mountain and the seam of coal that marks a home and a lifestyle. In contrast, “Lightning,” celebrates the life of a outlaw/moonshiner who was still a family man. A Blueridge Mountain Girl raises her child in the city but her dreams of home and the “boy who didn’t want to be a man,” surround her daughter with love. Strange happenings in the mountains are revealed in the mysterious “Jingle Hole” with Linda’s vocal paired with a spare instrumental backdrop.
Songs have lovers coming and going, and Emmylou Harris’ “White Line” has one departing and Townes Van Zandt’s “I’ll Be Here in the Morning” holds the gentle promise of a love that remains. “The Happiness of Having You” is almost a reply to the van Zandt song as the singer awakens to the joy of finding her lover curled up beside her. Linda Lay is a great storyteller, and you’re sure to be enchanted by her tales of life and love.