3 Comments:

I seriously think that Old Crow is one of the best old-time bands of all time (the most intense and heartfelt live performances I've ever seen!), and Big Iron World is a very welcome change from OCMS, which I though was kind of over-produced and slick for my tastes (to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Gillian Welch and was kind of worried that their work with the band would ruin the sound that I loved so much). Eutaw is still my favorite album of theirs, but Big Iron World is definitely worth the time.

Thanks for the link on the site - I'm really glad to see you writing again! I think I've literally read through all of the archives, so I'm really excited to see new material.


Celine

By  muse: nashville, at 9/24/2006 2:01 PM  

Hey Celine, thanks for linking me first. Seeing all the goings-on discussed on your blog makes me miss Nashville. Though when I lived there I was too poor to go much of anywhere.

Slick and overproduced, you think really? I haven't heard any recordings before OCMS, but the Dave-produced CDs sound pretty rugged around the edges to me. It's hi-fi for sure, but vintage hi-fi. The subdued high frequencies and tubey midrange give it a sort of woody overall quality. You can often hear the microphone itself responding to Ketch's voice specifically, which is a raw sort of sound that's filtered of typical label-budget recordings. The sound is less bright and crystalline, I guess, than what I think of as slick studio output. Compare with, say, Union Station.

I've seen Old Crow a few times, and they are pretty feral onstage, but I like that they hold back some fire on the albums so that the energy still smacks you like a hurricane when you hear them up close. And, really, all those breakneck fiddle tunes bleed together for me in the same way that most punk music does. I like the tenderer melodic side that Dave fosters in the studio. The intricate arrangements I think highlight the guys' individual talents more than their fireball live approach is capable of.

By  B. Earnest, at 9/25/2006 1:04 PM  

I got into OCMS with Eutaw, the album before OCMS. In my opinion, Eutaw has a much more raw feel to it, and as I went further back into their catalog and began to explore some of their live recordings, that's just the sound I became obsessed with. It's more than the general dislike of the sound on OCMS, I also don't like the original songs on there. I love the way they do traditional stuff, but the original things that they've written have yet to blow me away (with the exception of Wagon Wheel, which I guess is only kind of an original song). I think I just need that fiery energy all the time from them. If that makes sense. I think that Big Iron World does a better job than OCMS of capturing that vintage feel that you spoke of, and yes, I would definitely not go so far to say that it certainly doesn't go so far as the oil slick that is Alison Krauss and Union Station. I love them, all around, really! Some of their earlier albums just resonate more with me than OCMS.

By  muse: nashville, at 9/29/2006 2:49 PM  

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