Bill Napier - Hillbilly Fever

(Old Homestead OHS-80059) 1984

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This is Bill Napier's first album to be released under his own name and sees a return of him to playing the mandolin. His vocals are a bit rough at times, especially on the title cut Hillbilly Fever, but the album still has some interesting tracks, and the sound is reasonably well mixed.

Highlights are Bill's take on Stuck Up Blues, a number popularised by Roy Acuff & written by Jim Anglin, with it's catchy chorus "Hey hey hey, Don't pull that stuff on me, I'm just a country boy - plain as I can be, I'm not so very smart - dumb as any ol' mule, But show me a hundred stuck-up folks, and I'll show you a hundred fools...". The song is however mis-titled on the LP as Don't Pull That Stuff On Me...; Also noteworthy are Jimmy C. Newman's cajun Alligator Man which is quite catchy and utilises harmonica to good effect; and a version of Moore & Napier's Twilight Swamp which is performed as a slow mandolin / fiddle / banjo piece, which sounds much more atmospheric than the lead guitar on the original, although the banjo part is a bit weak.

In total Bill revisits four old Moore & Napier numbers on the LP with versions of: Lonesome Wind Blues and Twilight Swamp (both of which appeared on Folk 'n Hill); Praise God, I'm Ready To Go (Grand Ole Opry Hymnal); and Shout And Sing (Gospel And Sacred Songs).

The album also features a young Audie Blaylock on guitar and tenor vocal. Audie was I think with Jimmy Martin's band around this period, and went on to release a number of fine bluegrass albums as Audie Blaylock and Redline.

Steve Carroll sings lead on the majority of the LP tracks, and has quite a pleasant style, particularly on (I'm) Going Back To Old Kentucky, I Long To See The Old Folks and Lonesome Wind Blues.

The album also includes another mid-tempo instrumental Roaring Creek which is sequenced back-to-back with Twilight Swamp. This has some interesting mandolin work, but at 3:25 mins it a tad too long.

• Bill Napier: mandolin, baritone & lead vocal
• Audie Blaylock: guitar, tenor vocal
• Charles Boyd: banjo
• Steve Carroll: guitar, lead vocal
• Brad Hudson: bass
• Dennis Nelson: harmonica

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