Living here in southwestern Virginia, the musical legacy of the Lost & Found is almost a palpable entity in the bluegrass community. Their 35 year career has influenced players, songwriters and performers worldwide, but their impact on the vibrant bluegrass scene near their home base in Ferrum, VA is especially deep and profound.

Many contemporary bluegrass fans think first of Lonesome River Band when southwest Virginia is mentioned, and rightly so. But before there was LRB, Lost & Found was schooling future Lonesome River boys in how distinctive, original bluegrass music was played. Sammy Shelor has long claimed original L&F banjoist Gene Parker was a primary mentor, and Ronnie Bowman spent time as a guitarist and lead singer with them before joining Lonesome River.

Lost & Found saw their greatest popularity in the 1980s, touring throughout the United States and turning out popular recordings along the way. The band launched in 1973 with Allen Mills on bass, Dempsey Young on mandolin, Roger Handy on guitar and Gene Parker on banjo. Over the years, a number of banjo pickers and guitarists/vocalists have come through the band, but Mills and Young managed to retain the band’s trademark style – a relaxed, easygoing sound with sparse accompaniment on simple, plainspoken songs, presented with wit and enthusiasm on stage.

Their new Rebel release, Love, Lost and Found, shows what a 35 year dedication to quality music and an enduring style can produce. It includes a number of songs that will be familiar to long time fans – staples of their live shows – and one reworked song from their debut 1975 album. It also serves as a testament to the artistry of Dempsey Young, who passed away in 2006, while this project was being recorded. He is featured on mandolin and vocals, along with Scott Napier, who has stepped into Young’s large and very impressive shoes.

Let me get the superlatives out of the way… This is a fabulous recording, one I can heartily recommend to anyone who appreciates bluegrass music. The song choices are universally strong, the performances spot on, and the elusive “feel” just right. It may not end up having the influence and impact of their groundbreaking early records, but it strikes me as their most polished and thoroughly satisfying album yet.

I spoke with Mills about the new CD, and he deflected all the praise for the way it turned out to his current band – Scottie Sparks on guitar and lead vocals, Ronald Smith and banjo, and Napier on mandolin.

“I can’t say enough about these guys who let me play with them. Their commitment to the sound that Gene and Dempsey and I started so long ago is humbling. These guys can play any way they want, and I don’t have to ask them to play a certain way.

There ain’t no hot dogs in our group – each man is an individual. I’m so thankful and so proud of these guys.” (more…)