Final Chapter
It’s fitting that the 50th anniversary project for Lost & Found is literally an album that’s been lost for more than a decade. In 2013, the seminal group was working on a project for Mountain Fever Records when health issues for Allen Mills put the project on hold. The “lost” hard drive was recently found by the label’s owner, Mark Hodges.
And now Lost & Found fans have Final Chapter. It is the most Lost & Found-type project that could be expected. There are eight tracks and “Dreamer’s Hill” sets the tone. However, perhaps no song on the album better embodies the half-century sound of the band than one that Mills co-wrote, “Mountain Folks.”
As with any classic bluegrass album, there is a gospel number, “How Great Thou Art,” but this version is an instrumental. The last cut, “Put It Off Until Tomorrow,” written by Dolly Parton, pulls a lot of sentimental strings. It features mandolin player and original band member Dempsey Young and Scottie Sparks on guitar.
Guitar/vocalist Dan Wells wrote two songs for the project. He’s joined by banjo player/vocalist Ronald Smith, mandolin player Scott Napier, as well as Mills. The album also features the late Jason Moore on bass.
It’s been a long ride for Lost & Found, and a long wait on this album that appeared it might never see the light of day. Thankfully, the band and the label saw the value of Final Chapter as the perfect way to mark a half century.
