Old Crow Medicine Show
Album: Remedy
Label: ATO
Tracks: 13
Website: http://crowmedicine.com/

"Remedy" is the latest album by Old Crow Medicine Show [OCMS], a string band who play traditional American styles of music [old time/bluegrass/folk/country] but with a punk-like energy and intensity. They have a fascinating history, in that they were "discovered" by legendary bluegrass musician Doc Watson whilst busking outside a pharmacy in Boone, North Carolina. Upon hearing them play, Doc invited them to appear at his MerleFest music festival, which set them on the road to success.

Another turning point in the band's career happened when the band's guitar/banjo player Critter Fuqua brought home a Bob Dylan bootleg which he had acquired in London [of all places!]. This bootleg included a rough out- take from Dylan's "Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid" sessions called "Rock Me Mama", which was based on a phrase by Arthur "Bigboy"Crudup.

Critter passed the song on to OCMS fiddle player/bandleader Ketch Secor who constructed a new song from it called "Wagon Wheel", which he co-credited to Bob Dylan. "Wagon Wheel" has now sold over one million copies and is certified platinum !

The new album by OCMS contains another co-write with Bob Dylan, a superb rocking and rolling Tex Mex waltz called "Sweet Amarillo", prominently featuring fiddle and accordion, with a rousing, singalong chorus. Great stuff!

Whilst "Sweet Amarillo" is the only co-write with Dylan on this album, Bob's influence permeates the rest of it.

As Ketch Secor says of his teenage years "I listened to Bob and nothing else.Nothin' but Bob for four years.I was a teenager who was really turned on to Bob".

The Dylan influence is apparent from the very first track "Brushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer", which sounds as though it could have come from the Basement Tapes. This is an amusing song about a prisoner who visits the aforementioned trailer to exercise his, ahem, conjugal rights.

This is followed by a frenetic banjo and fiddle-led bluegrass breakdown "8 Dogs 8 Banjos" which lists all the things that you could need "in the whole wide world", such as "hot coffee, sweet tea and corn whiskey", as well as the aforementioned dogs and banjos. If this wonderfully infectious track doesn't make you smile and get your feet tapping, nothing will!

"Mean Old World" sounds for all the world like Dylan backed by Flatt and Scruggs, with Ketch Secor's harmonica to the fore and a definite nod to Bob in the lyrics.

Whilst OCMS are well-known for their breakneck bluegrass breakdowns, they also have a reflective side as is clearly demonstrated on the ballad "Dearly Departed Friend", which depicts with great sensitivity the hometown funeral of a soldier killed in action -"Twenty one guns for twenty one years, And American flags in the wind, Standing by the grave of a dearly departed friend". It would be difficult not to be moved by this touching song.

Continuing the serious side of OCMS is "Firewater", which deals with alcohol addiction and contrasts the use of wine in the Communion service and the effects of excessive drinking ["when you're kicked to the gutter"]. This excellent song by Critter Fuqua is set to a classic country soundtrack of slide guitar, banjo and fiddle.

OCMS play tribute to their mentor Doc Watson on the old-timey "Doc's Day", in which an old hillbilly advises them "If you wanna rock, listen to Doc, If you want the girls, better pick like Merle". It's an infectious jug band romp, complete with brilliant percussion by drummer Cory Younts.

Whilst there are some great original songs here, there are also a couple of excellent covers, the first of which is "Tennessee Bound", originally by Kentucky banjo player Lily Mae Ledford. OCMS do this song full justice with their authentic bluegrass reading, taken at typically breakneck speed and with great virtuosity. The other cover is the glorious old-timey "Sweet Home" which was originally performed by the fabulously named Skillet Lickers in the late 1920's.

Whilst OCMS are magnificent musicians, they are also formidable in the vocal department as they show on the closing track "The Warden". This is a fine example of country-gospel harmony singing with a simple banjo and harmonica accompaniment. The prisoner asks how can the Warden sleep at night and whether he is a prisoner too?

I must say that I found this album to be hugely enjoyable and entertaining. Old Crow Medicine Show are a highly versatile and accomplished band and they have made a cracking album in "Remedy". I believe that they are great live, too.

Peter Cowley