Old Crow Medicine Show | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Grammy Award-winning mountain music revivalists Old Crow Medicine Show spin traditional folk and bluegrass yarns with a rock & roll attitude. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, the band may specialize in rags, hollers, and pre-World War II blues, but they were weaned on Nirvana and Public Enemy. Since forming in the late 90s, the band has released six acclaimed studio albums, including 2014s Remedy, which took home the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album. They have been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry Hall of Fame, toured with Merle Haggard and Marty Stuart, played on NPRs Prairie Home Companion, and logged multiple appearances at high-profile festivals like Bonnaroo, MerleFest, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and Newport Folk Festival. Critter Fuqua (vocals/banjo/resonator guitar), Kevin Hayes (guitjo), Morgan Jahnig (upright bass), Ketch Secor (vocals/fiddle/harmonica/banjo), and Willie Watson (vocals/guitar/banjo) -- who are all from different states -- met in New York, hit the road, played before an impressed Doc Watson in front of a North Carolina pharmacy, and were promptly scheduled to play the folk icons Merlefest. Old Crow Medicine Show then relocated to Nashville, where they found themselves gracing the stage at the Grand Ole Opry, opening for the likes of Dolly Parton and the Del McCoury Band. They signed to Nettwerk America in 2003, began crafting their own compositions among the jug band standards and reels that had become the backbone of the group, and went into the studio to make a record with Gillian Welchs other half, guitarist David Rawlings, at the helm. Their self-titled debut, which was recorded in RCAs legendary Studio B (Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings) as well as Woodland Sound Studios (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), arrived the following year. The groups second album, Big Iron World, was produced by Rawlings and appeared in August of 2006. The band then switched producers, going with Don Was for 2008s Tennessee Pusher. Carry Me Back, produced by Ted Hutt, was released four years later in 2012. In the summer of 2013, the band (now an octet) released the three-song EP Carry Me Back to Old Virginia, which consisted of the title track, a newly recorded version of "Aint It Enough," and a cover of Alabamas "Dixieland Delight." Hutt returned to produce the groups 2014 effort, Remedy, an album heavily influenced by folk music that would go on to earn a Grammy Award for Best Folk Album of the Year. Over the next few years, Old Crow Medicine Show continued to tour, and in early 2017 they released the compilation The Best of Old Crow Medicine Show. Not long afterward, they announced they had signed with Columbia Nashville. The first record the band released for the label was 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde, which consisted of Old Crow Medicine Show performing the legendary Bob Dylan album in its entirety at the Country Music Hall of Fame in May 2016. It appeared in April 2017. Coinciding with Old Crow Medicine Shows 20th anniversary, they recorded their sixth album, 2018s Volunteer, at Nashvilles famed RCA Studio A with producer Dave Cobb. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 16 Title: Greetings From Wawa Released: 2000 Tracks: 23 Duration: 59:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Rubens Train (05:10) 2 Kitty Clyde (02:46) 3 Gospel Plow (04:33) 4 Beech Creek Dirge (02:35) 5 We Followed Girls (00:08) 6 Elkhorn Ridge (03:41) 7 Daisy on the Porch (00:28) 8 Harley in the Ballroom (04:37) 9 A Little Number (00:04) 10 Old Red (03:49) 11 Oh My Love (03:14) 12 When Dey Wud No Crawfish (02:08) 13 Wow That Is Diverse (00:05) 14 Black Eyed Susie (03:04) 15 Waiting for Al (00:46) 16 Greasey Coat (02:49) 17 Granny Does Your Dog Bite (01:48) 18 Pour It On, Dock (06:19) 19 Worried Mary (03:04) 20 Goodbye Sweet Daisy (00:34) 21 Oh My Little Darling (03:55) 22 Six Rainbows Over Wawa (00:17) 23 Cumberland Gap (03:40) |
 | Album: 2 of 16 Title: Eutaw Released: 2001 Tracks: 12 Duration: 40:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Raise a Ruckus (02:15) 2 Tear It Down (02:54) 3 Hesitation Blues (03:38) 4 Lonesome Road Blues (03:38) 5 Thatll Be a Better Day (02:57) 6 Boll Weevil (02:43) 7 Down South Blues (03:51) 8 Cocaine Habit (04:07) 9 The Silver Dagger (04:06) 10 Trouble That Im In (03:10) 11 Goodbye Booze (03:58) 12 Shack #9 (03:19) |
| Eutaw : Allmusic album Review : Old Crow Medicine Show is an all-acoustic quintet from four states whose members met in New York City and moved to Nashville. Their storied beginnings include a North American cross-continent ramble while they learned their instruments and how to play together, eventually ending up playing on the street in front of the Grand Ole Opry before being asked to the stage some weeks later. Their self-titled debut album is equal parts Woody Guthries dust bowl weariness and Cisco Houstons rambling code of the road, Phil Ochs view of a passing America, the Kingston Trios wide-eyed enthusiastic earnestness, the New Christy Minstrels sense of community, Doc and Merle Watsons home-grown blues as informed by Bill Monroe, Beat Generation lamentations, forlorn 1960s idealism, and the musical mindset that fueled Americas original folk revival from the 1950s as it moved toward rockabilly. In other words, this record is informed by ghosts but executed in flesh, blood, sweat, and laughter. Whether the tunes are covers from antiquity ("CC Rider," "Poor Man," "Tell It to Me") or originals by fiddler and vocalist Ketch Secor and his songwriting and singing partner, Willie Watson ("Trials & Troubles," "Hard to Tell," "Were in This Together"), the feel is the same: passion, humor, and a relentless drive to get to the heart of a tune and put it across. There is so much enthusiasm, willingness and fire here, that it would be hard to do anything but want to sing along. Thoroughly enjoyable, wonderfully raw and sinewy, Old Crow Medicine Show may be evoking the sounds of the old string bands, but they do it with a crackling rock & roll energy. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 16 Title: Troubles Up and Down the Road Released: 2001-10-24 Tracks: 6 Duration: 22:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Rub Alcohol Blues (04:35) 2 Big Sciota (04:09) 3 Blue-Eyed Girl (03:05) 4 Darlin Corey (03:21) 5 Little Sadie (02:46) 6 Wagon Wheel (04:30) |
 | Album: 4 of 16 Title: O.C.M.S. Released: 2004-02-24 Tracks: 11 Duration: 36:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Tell It to Me (02:47) 2 Big Time in the Jungle (02:49) 3 Poor Man (03:35) 4 Tear It Down (02:11) 5 Hard to Love (02:30) 6 CC Rider (03:50) 7 Trials & Troubles (02:57) 8 Hard to Tell (03:15) 9 Take ’em Away (03:35) 10 We’re All in This Together (04:50) 11 Wagon Wheel (03:52) |
 | Album: 5 of 16 Title: World Cafe Released: 2004-11-16 Tracks: 5 Duration: 20:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 CC Rider (04:37) 2 Wagon Wheel (04:04) 3 Tell It to Me (03:00) 4 Wrecking Ball (05:32) 5 Odds and Ends (03:03) |
 | Album: 6 of 16 Title: Down Home Girl Released: 2006-07-26 Tracks: 3 Duration: 09:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Down Home Girl (03:47) 2 James River Blues (03:06) 3 Fall On My Knees (02:14) |
 | Album: 7 of 16 Title: Big Iron World Released: 2006-08-29 Tracks: 12 Duration: 36:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Down Home Girl (03:47) 2 Cocaine Habit (02:42) 3 Minglewood Blues (02:51) 4 My Good Gal (04:18) 5 James River Blues (03:06) 6 New Virginia Creeper (02:21) 7 Union Maid (02:36) 8 Let It Alone (03:01) 9 Gods Got It (02:38) 10 I Hear Them All (03:03) 11 Dont Ride That Horse (03:04) 12 Bobcat Tracks (03:03) |
| Big Iron World : Allmusic album Review : Similar to their first album, Big Iron World sees Old Crow Medicine Show draw upon the spirit of old-timey American string band music, adding a surprisingly refreshing and youthful flair that breathes new life into whats traditional as well as harnessing a sound of their own. The group once again teamed up with David Rawlings who produced and performed on the album, co-writing five of its 12 songs. Rawlings musical other half, Gillian Welch also appears here, trading in her guitar and signature vocals for a pair of drum sticks. The first single from Big Iron Worldis an upright bass and harmonica-heavy, moaning ballad called "Down Home Girl" -- written by Arthur Butler and Jerry Leiber (the latter being responsible for such hits as "Yakety Yak," "Hound Dog," and "Jailhouse Rock"). Of course, Old Crow Medicine Show makes the tune their own, with slide guitar and Willie Watsons nasally mountain-style vocals, accentuated perfectly by the close harmony range of his bandmates. Big Iron World is a flourishing a mixture of backwoods crooners, bluegrass-tinged rockers, and crooning backwoods bluegrass-tinged rockers. Theres the Highway 61 Revisited-era Dylanesque "Bobcat Tracks" and the jumping "James River Blues" both with irresistible fiddle breakdowns and perfectly executed vocal harmonies. Just as the songs "CC Rider" and "Poor Man" from Old Crow Medicine Shows debut showcased their unique vocal abilities, here they exhibit an ability to kidnap their listeners from the hustle and bustle of modern life and take them back to the good old days that neither they, nor the band, were born early enough to know. Big Iron World has its fair share of songs that offer bleak and bittersweet atmospheres. The ominous yet weary "Dont Ride That Horse," and the spiritually reverent "Gods Got It," could carry themselves even if they were sung a cappella. The albums overall rainy autumn day feel isnt without its upbeat moments and humor, though. "Cocaine Habit," much like the debut albums "Tell It to Me," is a catchy harmonica-driven ode to cocaine abuse. Its followed by the rollicking "Minglewood Blues" which shows the genius achieved from melding bluegrass and blues -- not to mention the genius of Watsons distinctive howl that sets it apart. What it proves is that Big Iron World is no less worthy of praise than their debut, and furthers the bands position as one of the better neo-traditionalist string bands of the early years of the 2000s. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 16 Title: Tennessee Pusher Released: 2008-09-23 Tracks: 13 Duration: 52:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Alabama High-Test (02:25) 2 Highway Halo (03:42) 3 The Greatest Hustler of All (07:04) 4 Methamphetamine (05:27) 5 Next Go Round (03:38) 6 Humdinger (02:29) 7 Motel in Memphis (04:25) 8 Evening Sun (03:43) 9 Marys Kitchen (02:43) 10 Crazy Eyes (04:17) 11 Tennessee Pusher (05:30) 12 Lift Him Up (03:57) 13 Caroline (03:33) |
| Tennessee Pusher : Allmusic album Review : Calling Old Crow Medicine Show a bluegrass band is really a bit of a stretch, since they actually sound more like a prewar jug and string band filtered through Uncle Tupelo than they do, say, Bill Monroe, and the groups attitude and themes are all rock & roll, which gives the band, when its at its best, a wonderfully fresh vitality with a little bit of wounded cowboy angel pathos tossed in for good measure. Old Crow Medicine Shows previous two albums for Nettwerk Records, 2004s Old Crow Medicine Show and 2006s Big Iron World, were both produced by Gillian Welchs creative partner, David Rawlings, who had an instinctive feel for the groups ragged glory take on what a string band whose members listen to Nirvana could sound like in the 21st century. For Old Crow Medicine Shows third Nettwerk album, Tennessee Pusher, theyve elected to go with producer Don Was, who, although he follows the same basic sound template as Rawlings, manages to take the edgy energy of the band down a slight notch, which isnt a good thing at all. Not that Tennessee Pusher is a huge fall off from Big Iron World, its just not a great leap forward and upward, although there are plenty of striking tracks, including the perfectly voiced "Methamphetamine" (co-written by Rawlings and the bands lead singer, Ketcham Secor); the haunting and eerie "Motel in Memphis"; and the bright, radio-ready first single, "Caroline." The one cover here, an effective version of Blind Alfred Reeds "Lift Him Up," is also well worth noting. The drop in energy from Big Iron World is so slight that most fans of the group either wont care or wont notice, but one cant help but wonder what this set of songs (and there are some really good ones here) would have sounded like with Rawlings producing. Old Crow Medicine Show have the musicianship, songwriting chops, and creative vision and attitude to be something really special, and truthfully, they already are, as long as they dont paint themselves into a corner. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 16 Title: Caroline Released: 2008-09-28 Tracks: 3 Duration: 11:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Caroline (03:33) 2 Next Go Round (03:38) 3 Back to New Orleans (04:17) |
 | Album: 10 of 16 Title: Carry Me Back Released: 2012-07-17 Tracks: 12 Duration: 37:01 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Carry Me Back to Virginia (02:40) 2 We Dont Grow Tobacco (03:54) 3 Levi (02:50) 4 Bootleggers Boy (03:26) 5 Aint It Enough (03:59) 6 Mississippi Saturday Night (03:00) 7 Steppin Out (02:15) 8 Genevieve (02:28) 9 Country Gal (02:43) 10 Half Mile Down (03:01) 11 Sewanee Mountain Catfight (02:25) 12 Ways of Man (04:20) |
| Carry Me Back : Allmusic album Review : Old Crow Medicine Show sound like a prewar string band filtered through Uncle Tupelo via Nirvana, and if they arent bluegrass by any stretch of the imagination, they are every bit as energetic as a breakneck bluegrass combo. They also write most of their material, so while the groups songs sound old and traditional, they are more facsimiles than anything else, with an attention to narrative and lyrical detail that the old string band tunes, which were often made up of lightly linked floating verses drawn from old country blues and fiddle reels, seldom had. It isnt easy straddling two different centuries with ones sound and style, but Old Crow Medicine Show pull it off once again on their fourth studio album, the Ted Hutt-produced Carry Me Back, a ragged, breakneck romp that crackles with more energy than a thrash band on Red Bull. The old string bands were dance ensembles, but its difficult to imagine dancers keeping up very long to tracks like "Carry Me Back to Virginia," "Mississippi Saturday Night," and "Sewanee Mountain Catfight," all of which are unhinged speed shuffles that roar by faster than a NASCAR race. "We Dont Grow Tobacco," which flies on its own fast rails, is a well-written saga that starts off detailing the woes of working in the tobacco fields and ends bemoaning the loss of jobs in those same fields in the 21st century, while "Aint It Enough" is a beautiful, poetic, and melodic love song, so Old Crow Medicine Show arent just about rapid-fire speed shuffles. Thought and care are in these songs, and they all fall together in a nice flow. This isnt a one-trick pony band, and so far at least, Old Crow Medicine Show havent painted themselves into a creative corner, managing somehow to sound both old and refreshingly new at once. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 16 Title: Carry Me Back to Virginia Released: 2013-08-06 Tracks: 3 Duration: 11:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Carry Me Back to Virginia (02:43) 2 Aint It Enough (alternate version) (04:05) 3 Dixieland Delight (04:55) |
 | Album: 12 of 16 Title: Remedy Released: 2014-07-01 Tracks: 13 Duration: 42:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Brushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer (03:50) 2 8 Dogs 8 Banjos (02:51) 3 Sweet Amarillo (03:22) 4 Mean Enough World (03:19) 5 Dearly Departed Friend (04:26) 6 Firewater (03:14) 7 Brave Boys (02:40) 8 Doc’s Day (03:20) 9 O Cumberland River (03:21) 10 Tennessee Bound (02:49) 11 Shit Creek (03:24) 12 Sweet Home (02:49) 13 The Warden (03:28) |
| Remedy : Allmusic album Review : Old Crow Medicine Show, Virginias modern string band, has come a long way since 2006s self-titled debut album and breakout track "Wagon Wheel." Originally an unfinished Bob Dylan demo from the Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid sessions, it was completed by Ketcham Secor and has become a 21st century Americana standard. Produced by Ted Hutt, Remedy is the bands fifth album and most polished recording -- but that doesnt mean slick. The organic instrumentation that felt lacking on 2012s Carry Me Back returns here, with tighter arrangements, closer harmonies, and better dynamics. That thumping upright bass is mixed right up front with banjos, fiddles, and mandolins. Dylan sent them another demo -- from the same sessions that produced "Wagon Wheel" -- but "Sweet Amarillo" is a more formal co-write. Secor sent his finished version back to Dylan, who made further changes before it was recorded. This song is where Virginia mountain music meets Texas hill country-dancehall waltz. Its driven by an accordion with fiddles, bass, and snare upfront, as the banjo and guitars support the rhythm; it feels like something from the Basement Tapes. The rolling, rocking hillbilly blues in the humorous opener, "Brushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer," swaggers like something from the first half of Bringing It All Back Home with a dobro played in Josh Graves or Ferrell Stowes old-school style. The ragtime blues "Docs Day" is a tribute to Doc Watson, translated through the inspiration of the Memphis Jug Band. "Cumberland River" is a stomping fiddle tune that weds reel to bluegrass to folk blues shuffle in a midtempo stomper. Bluegrass gets its own turn in "8 Dogs 8 Banjos" and "Tennessee Bound," the former, with its charging rhythm and banjo, reworks the sound of Flatt & Scruggs, while the latter, with its locked-on harmonies, careening fiddles, and mandolins is inspired by the Delmore Brothers. Yet OCMS put their own distinct, modern spin on both. This isnt your grandpas bluegrass. The minor-key "Shit Creek," with its banjo breakdowns, is as adrenaline-drenched as the Bad Livers. "Brave Boys" is hardcore mountain music done with punk rock energy. "Sweet Home" fuses gospel to swing and old-timey fiddle music with layered vocal harmonies, amid banjo, bass, and fiddles in interplay. Remedy is not as raw or rough as earlier dates; thats to be expected and is welcome. This band has not only learned to play more confidently as a unit, they can now musically stretch to embrace even more early styles and weave them into their sound. Ambitious in its reach, Remedy keeps close to the ground in in its inspiration and execution. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 16 Title: Brushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer Released: 2015 Tracks: 4 Duration: 13:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Brushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer (03:52) 2 I Done Wrong Blues (03:12) 3 Mother Church (03:23) 4 The Warden [live] (03:28) |
 | Album: 14 of 16 Title: Best of Released: 2017-02-10 Tracks: 14 Duration: 45:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Wagon Wheel (03:53) 2 Tell It To Me (02:48) 3 Down Home Girl (03:48) 4 Alabama High-Test (02:23) 5 Big Time In The Jungle (02:50) 6 CC Rider (03:50) 7 Take Em Away (03:36) 8 Humdinger (02:27) 9 Fall On My Knees (02:15) 10 My Good Gal (04:18) 11 I Hear Them All (03:06) 12 Caroline (03:35) 13 Black Haired Québécoise (Previously Unreleased) (02:52) 14 Heart Up In The Sky (Previously Unreleased) (03:43) |
 | Album: 15 of 16 Title: 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde Released: 2017-04-28 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:04:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (04:10) 2 Pledging My Time (01:57) 3 Visions of Johanna (06:55) 4 One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later) (04:59) 5 I Want You (03:14) 6 Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again (07:29) 7 Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (03:37) 8 Just Like a Woman (04:10) 9 Most Likely You Go Your Way and Ill Go Mine (03:37) 10 Temporary Like Achilles (03:29) 11 Absolutely Sweet Marie (04:33) 12 4th Time Around (04:22) 13 Obviously 5 Believers (02:47) 14 Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands (09:27) |
| 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde : Allmusic album Review : Old Crow Medicine Show performed a pair of Blonde on Blonde concerts at the Country Music Hall of Fames theater in May of 2016, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bob Dylans double album. Nearly a year later, 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde arrived as their first release on Columbia Records. Containing cherry-picked highlights from the two concerts, 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde finds the Americana group running through the entirety of Dylans masterwork, and what makes the performance work is that they play with gusto and verve, not respectful reverence. Certainly, the group knows the album backwards and forwards, but that familiarity also means that theyre free to turn some songs inside out. "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)" is performed as a ballad, "Obviously 5 Believers" turns the blues song into bluegrass and they treat "Pledging My Time" in similar fashion, plus they give "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" a strong backbeat. Even when sticking largely to the original arrangements, the group performs with a giddiness that gives the music a fresh kick, and that energy is what makes this record something a little bit more than a run-of-the-mill tribute. Old Crow Medicine Show perform Dylans songs as if they belonged to the band and, in a sense, that might be true: any album that survives 50 years belongs to the world at large, and whats fun about 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde is hearing how Old Crow Medicine Show hear an album you know by heart. | ||
 | Album: 16 of 16 Title: Volunteer Released: 2018-04-20 Tracks: 11 Duration: 37:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Flicker & Shine (02:23) 2 A World Away (03:19) 3 Child of the Mississippi (05:00) 4 Dixie Avenue (02:35) 5 Look Away (05:10) 6 Shout Mountain Music (02:31) 7 The Good Stuff (02:42) 8 Old Hickory (05:09) 9 Homecoming Party (03:06) 10 Elzick’s Farewell (01:51) 11 Whirlwind (04:04) |