Something Tells Me Everything Will Be Alright
Amy Melissen and Lee Stivers revisit classic covers and originals in their premier album, "Something Tells Me Everything Will Be Alright." Conjuring beautiful memories from Augusta Heritage Center’s blues and bluegrass weeks and a whole era of gigs performed by the former band "Amy M and the Coattail Riders," this album is a celebration of music, memories, friends and love. The album was independently produced by Lee Stivers and Amy Melissen, with production assistance from Christopher Henry, and recorded and engineered at Christopher Henry’s Noya Mountain Music studio. Amy (guitar) and Lee (mandolin and upright bass) offer powerful vocal harmonies throughout the album. A remarkable array of top-notch guest musicians from bluegrass, blues, old time, and folk music are also featured.
It’s a Porch Party! A sense of gathering on the porch to jam along with others on songs drawn from traditional American music, particularly African-American roots music, runs through the album, reflecting the strong influence of their Augusta Heritage Center experiences. The album title is drawn from the beautiful blues song “Going Down to the River” by Carla Deruda, a standard jam song during Augusta’s blues week. This version features the powerful sounds of Eleanor Ellis on Piedmont guitar, Roddy Barnes on piano, and Mark Panfil on harmonica, all beloved Augusta instructors over the years.
Genre boundaries blur in covers such as “In My Girlish Days” (also featuring Eleanor Ellis, Roddy Barnes and Mark Panfil), “You Got Me Runnin’” (with Smith Curry on lap steel guitar), “Blues Stay Away from Me” (with Roddy Barnes and Mark Panfil), “Can’t You Hear Me Calling” (featuring Jason Carter on fiddle, Christopher Henry on banjo, and Mark Panfil on dobro), “Cornbread and Butterbeans” (featuring Victor Furtado on clawhammer banjo, and Mark Panfil on harmonica), “Why Don’t You Do Right?” (with Roddy Barnes, piano), and the deeply irreverent “Plastic Jesus” (with Andra Faye on fiddle and Roddy Barnes on piano).
“Half Acre” is a luminous version of a more contemporary song, with Amy’s shimmering vocals backed by a blend of ethereal notes from Smith Curry’s pedal steel guitar and Lee’s mandolin. “$2.83” is the only original on the album, written by Amy in a humorous nod to her days as a server in restaurants. “Daisy a Day” is a testament to the power of love that lasts a lifetime and longer. Tatiana Hargreaves provides beautiful fiddle accompaniment for both songs. The album is bookended by acapella versions of “Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor”, a song whose origins trace directly to early African-American blues, and Gillian Welch’s “Orphan Girl”.
Credits:
Sound Engineer and Assistant Producer: Christopher Henry
1. Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor
Amy Melissen: vocals
Lee Stivers: vocals
Original song by Virginia Liston
2. Can’t You Hear Me Calling
Lee Stivers: vocals, mandolin, upright bass
Amy Melissen: vocals, guitar
Jason Carter: fiddle
Mark Panfil: dobro/resophonic guitar
Christopher Henry: banjo
Original song by Bill Monroe
3. Blues Stay Away from Me
Amy Melissen: vocals, guitar
Lee Stivers: vocals, mandolin
Roddy Barnes: piano
Mark Panfil: harmonica
Original song by Alton Delmore, Rabon Delmore,
Wayne Rayney, and Henry Glover
4. Half Acre
Amy Melissen: vocals, guitar
Lee Stivers: mandolin
Smith Curry: pedal steel guitar
Original song by Daniel R. Messe
5. Going Down to the River
Amy Melissen: vocals, guitar
Lee Stivers: vocals, mandolin, upright bass
Eleanor Ellis: guitar
Mark Panfil: harmonica
Roddy Barnes: piano
Original song by Carla Deruda
6. Daisy a Day
Amy Melissen: vocals, guitar
Lee Stivers: vocals, mandolin, upright bass
Tatiana Hargreaves: fiddle
Original song by Jud Strunk
7. Cornbread and Butterbeans
Lee Stivers: vocals, mandolin, upright bass
Amy Melissen: vocals, guitar
Victor Furtado: clawhammer banjo
Mark Panfil: harmonica
Original song by Donald K. Whitson
8. Why Don’t You Do Right?
Amy Melissen: vocals, guitar
Lee Stivers: mandolin, upright bass
Roddy Barnes: piano
Christopher Henry: percussion
Original song by Joe McCoy
9. Plastic Jesus
Lee Stivers: vocals, mandolin, upright bass
Amy Melissen: vocals, guitar
Andra Faye: fiddle
Roddy Barnes: piano
Original song by Ed Rush and George Cromarty
10. In My Girlish Days
Amy Melissen: vocals, guitar
Lee Stivers: vocals, mandolin
Eleanor Ellis: guitar
Roddy Barnes: piano
Mark Panfil: harmonica
Christopher Henry: percussion
Original song by Minnie Lawlers (aka Memphis Minnie)
11. You Got Me Runnin’
Amy Melissen: vocals, guitar
Lee Stivers: vocals, mandolin
Smith Curry: lap steel guitar
Christopher Henry: upright bass, percussion
Original song by Jimmy Reed
12. $2.83
Amy Melissen: vocals, guitar
Lee Stivers: vocals, mandolin, upright bass
Tatiana Hargreaves: fiddle
Original song by Amy Melissen
13. Orphan Girl
Amy Melissen: vocals
Lee Stivers: vocals
Original song by Gillian Welch
Interview with Christopher Henry on the Recording Process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyFdEeK3K2Q&t=8s
Webpage with backstory: www.somethingtellsme.net