Old Crow Medicine Show
Big Iron World

(Nettwerk)

First Appeared in The Music Box, August 2006, Volume 13, #8

Written by John Metzger

Fans of Old Crow Medicine Show’s self-titled debut won’t be disappointed with its follow-up Big Iron World. Reunited with producer David Rawlings (and featuring a guest appearance by Gillian Welch on drums), the band weaves together another affecting series of working class songs about life, death, and spiritual revival. Classic folk tunes such as Noah Lewis’ Minglewood Blues, Woody Guthrie’s Union Made, and Leadbelly’s Cocaine Habit are delivered as vibrant, fun-filled jaunts, and taking a page from the Rolling Stones’ play book, the group places its own distinctive spin upon Down Home Girl, the Arthur Butler/Jerry Leiber-penned hit for the Coasters. Instead of propelling it with a swampy groove, however, Old Crow Medicine Show transforms it into a drawling, backwoods ditty that is laced with a harmonica riff that either pays tribute to The Beatles or pokes fun at its early innocence.

As for the original compositions on Big Iron World, they fit seamlessly alongside the cover selections. Wandering among its influences, Old Crow Medicine Show effortlessly shifts from the twang-y folk of Robert Earl Keen (My Good Gal) to the rolling, pop-infused bluegrass of Sweetheart of the Rodeo-era Byrds (I Hear Them All) to the driving rock of Bob Dylan (Bobcat Tracks), while also finding time to deliver a rousing spiritual (God’s Got It) as well as a buoyant country-folk song about outsourcing (James River Blues). Although merging rustic string band arrangements with the urgency of rock ‘n’ roll certainly isn’t new, Old Crow Medicine Show’s affable style and exuberant performance makes the material on Big Iron World sound remarkably refreshing. ½

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Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2006 The Music Box