Listeners with an ear for a sweet yet powerful voice and with a good memory may recall Patty Mitchell as the singer whose talent earned her an upgrade from scratch vocalist to featured duet partner with Ralph Stanley on his award-winning Clinch Mountain Sweethearts album. Before that, she was a self-described interim member of the Dixie Chicks (in their pre-Natalie days), and then a founding member of the Domestic Science Club with Sarah Hickman and fellow Chicks alum Robin Macy; after that, she could be found recording harmonies with Gail Davies and Emmy-lou Harris. Now, after a couple of aggravating delays, shes finally released a gem of an album that wanders pleasingly around whatever fuzzy line there might be between bluegrass and country music.
A supple stylist whose plaintive voice may remind a listener of Patty Loveless, Mitchell did a fine job producing the disc herself. The songs are distinctive and varied, including the rip-snorting minor-key opener, Roller Coaster Run; the Stanley Brothers Youre Still To Blame; a well-crafted, deliciously melancholy waltz, Now, Thats Lonely; and How Was I To Know, a meditation on the passage of time thats balanced by the optimism of the title track.
Mitchells choice of musicians is equally assured. Bassist Missy Raines, mandolin player David Harvey, guitarist Jim Hurst, and harmony singers Robert Gateley and Keith Little the latter pulling frequent double duty on banjo make notable contributions, but theyre all good, with a combination of subtlety and strength that fleshes out Mitchells vision and makes These Are The Good Old Days one impressive solo debut.
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