Lost And Found
Love, Lost and Found
Review By Steven Stone
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  For over thirty years Lost and Found was known as mandolinist Dempsey Young's band. When he passed away in late 2006 the band's future looked bleak. But rather than disband Lost and Found added Scott Napier on mandolin and soldiered on. Love, Lost and Found documents the band's rise from the ashes to create a new musical entity. This newest iteration of Lost and Found retains connections to its original identity while continuing to musically evolve.

Lost and Found was formed in 1973. The original lineup consisted of bass player Allen Mills, banjo player Gene Parker, mandolin player Dempsey Young and guitarist Roger Handy. By the mid ‘90's only Dempsey Young and Allen Mills were still with the band. Through out the years Lost and Found has had many talented members, including guitarist, singer and songwriter Ronnie Bowman, mandolinist Shane Bartley, and banjo players Greg Luck and Jody King. On the latest album only Allen Mills is left from the original roster. Current members include Ronald Smith on banjo and vocals, Scottie Sparks on guitar and vocals, and Scott Napier on mandolin.

The band had begun to record a new album, the first in seven years, when Dempsey Young became ill and passed away. Two of the tunes on Love, Lost and Found feature Young on mandolin. His solos on "Waltz Medley" display a unique combination of homegrown lyricism and rhythmic innovation. His replacement, Scott Napier acknowledges that Young was an important early influence on his own playing. "I was honored and humbled to get a call from Allen Mills of the Lost and Found, asking if I could play those first shows after Demsey's passing." Napier's mandolin solos display a similar single-string style and syncopated phrasing.

Allen Mills and Scottie Sparks share lead vocals, and while Lost and Found does include two and three part harmonies on choruses they aren't as vocally precise or as tightly wound as many bluegrass bands. The arrangements and pacing is more laid back than many modern bands and harkens back to the sound of Bill Monroe's late ‘50's and early 60's bands. The fastest tune on Love, Lost and Found barely approaches 120 beats per minute. Instead of relying on breakneck speed and vocal pyrotechnics, Lost and Found goes with mature and assured musicality. Love, Lost and Found proves that bluegrass isn't merely speed and flash, but instead heartfelt emotion and soul. 

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