Melinda Hagan – Back In Town EP
Alabama native Melinda Hagen’s vocals are what nourish these songs & preserve the music stylistically from an earlier era — the essential standards of the true origins of today’s Americana music. 6 tunes take us Back In Town (Drops March 20/Root 40 Records/18:17) produced & recorded in Nashville, TN & Denver, CO by Clark Hagan.
Instead of starting the set with a knee-slapping, foot-stomping rousing piece, Melinda takes listeners down a mellow road with harmonies, expressive guitars & old-fashioned ballad dazzle on her original “Mountain Top” written with Clark. Track 2 is more of an upbeat traditional country tune closer to the hayseeds of old-world country & western. “Letting Love Grow” is in the Dolly Parton-Porter Wagoner duet style. She sings with Merlin Gene & continues this with the fine “If Teardrops Were Pennies,” which is a little more commercial. Done well.
Not quite deep in the Dolly Parton tonality, Melinda takes the old Jimmie Rodgers classic “Mule Skinner Blues” into a vibrant level with a fine, abbreviated yodel over superb steel guitar. Melinda never goes into the Minnie Pearl-type of country margins. It’s an exciting rendition performed with lots of impressive & enthusiastic vocal gusto. Melinda has gone back to the abandoned musical mine, cleared away the dust, straw, dried dynamite sticks & chisels & found another vein of C&W wealth.
Merlin Gene has a warm duet vocal tone, mindful of Buck Owens & Sonny James, with a tonal tint of Willie Nelson & he joins Melinda on several songs. On Nat Stuckey’s “Sweet Thang,” the duet has the makings of a fine pair of contrasting voices.
The classic “Viva Las Vegas,” a Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman song made famous by Elvis Presley & later Z.Z. Top is arranged differently, more as a ballad than an upbeat celebration of the desert gambling showplace. Is it wrong? No. Melinda reinterprets it. This is more of Las Vegas not as a “what are we going to do there” song, but “had a good time & it’s good to be home reminiscing” version. She sings it with sincerity, with sophistication & those elements alone give the song its new dazzle. Quite lovely.
I liked these songs. It’s what country & western once was. It may be nostalgic, but it isn’t “old.” Hopefully, these will find an audience. They are all done respectfully of the genre. No novelty, no “hee-haw” silliness. All performed to embody music once embraced by many.
Highlights – “Mountain Top,” “Letting Love Grow,” “If Tears Were Pennies,” “Mule Skinner Blues,” “Sweet Thang,” & “Viva Las Vegas.”
Musicians – Eddie Bayers (drums), Dan Dugmore (acoustic, pedal & lap steel guitars), Eugene Moles (electric guitar), Tim Atwood (piano/Wurlitzer), Jimmy Carter (bass), Michael Lusk & Diane Berry (bgv).
Color image courtesy of Melinda’s website gallery. CD @ https://melindasmusiccorner.com/