O.C.M.S. - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
During the "folk music-scare" of the early 1960s, a bunch of white middle-class youths with names like the Greenbriar Boys and the Even Dozen Jug Band discovered the mountain music of the Stanley Brothers, Skillet Lickers, and Uncle Dave Macon and set about introducing it to the country's college kids. Four decades later, the members of OCMS fit the profile of those early revivalists, yet if anything they have tapped deeper into the primal elements of an American art form. As demonstrated on their debut, they have assimilated not just the sound--banjos, harmonicas, acoustic guitar and bass--but more importantly the haunting spirit of music that was made to keep hard times at bay. How else to explain their ability to take a well-worn chestnut like "CC Rider" and infuse it with an energy that reveals once again why it is a classic? Not content to live completely in the past, they wrote "Big Time in the Jungle," which, though it is about Vietnam, could easily be transposed to 2004's desert conflicts. Kindred spirit and producer David Rawlings (Gillian Welch's longtime collaborator) has kept their energy intact, but one can only wonder what sort of magic they must deliver live. --Michael Ross

Customer Reviews: Read 74 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

There Ain't a Thing for a Poor Man September 25, 2004
89 out of 109 found this review helpful

Old Crow Medicine Show is derivative, there's no doubt about that. We plainly have five boys who discovered they loved bluegrass and decided they wanted to record some of their own. They aren't mountain children. But we can see that by looking at the cover photograph.

What matters is that they have singled out the best of modern bluegrass to imitate, and they have imitated it with confidence and skill. They're not trying to play their banjos like guitars or making other mistakes I might make in their shoes. Their selection of classic bluegrass tunes, like "CC Rider" and "Poor Man," show they're familiar with the sound of classic mountain music. And original songs like "Big Time in the Jungle" and "Wagon Wheel" blend well with the classic material while still moving the group forward as artists.

An astute listener will spot this for a debut album in a minute, but it's a strong debut full of promise and a show of strong skill. This is No Depression music, and it has chutzpah. If only real country radio would play it, we'd know what it is to have a pop style stand for something again.

5 out of 5 stars

Alt-grass September 10, 2004
58 out of 61 found this review helpful

The music of OCMS is not traditional old-timey or bluegrass music, you might call it Alt-grass to describe the harder edge and rock sensibility they bring to this genre. Regardless of the name you give to their music, OCMS is a *great* album. I agree with the earlier reviewer who said this album is an excellent bridge for people who are new to bluegrass music. My twenty-something son saw the band on Conan and downloaded this album that night.

I recently saw OCMS in concert (opening for Gillian Welch) and they were on fire. I bought their earlier self-produced live album at the show and I gotta say, I like this studio record better. Their songwriting has matured and their instrumental virtuosity takes a backseat to the song itself. Hightlights are "Big Time in the Jungle", "Wagon Wheel", and the rollicking "Tell it to Me".

There isn't a bad track on this entire CD, buy it and enjoy the talents of these wonderful young musicians.

5 out of 5 stars

My Favorite Album (right now) October 18, 2005
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

I absolutely loved this album and it is an album, unlike so many cds now that are just a string of totally miss matched musical tracks. I picked it at random for the record store and couldn't stop listening to it. It is original, while still being so entrenched in what makes bluegrass great. I do not listen to a lot of bluegrass or country normally sticking more to rock and punk, but that really is not a problem here. The vocals and energy of this album wouldn't be out of place in any good punk or rock band. If you love bluegrass, buy this album. If you love rock, buy this album. Hey, if you like to be suprised, buy this album.

5 out of 5 stars

Go to a live show! April 15, 2005
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

These guys will awe you. It was so good that I couldn't help but to laugh in spite of myself. The music and energy they projected was incredible. I saw them a couple of weeks ago at a show in Tennessee. It was a private farm, rolling hills, thick tall timber. I had no idea what was in store for me. They ripped up the front porch of that farmhouse with melodies and sheer, uninhibited enthusiasm. Wave after wave of mind blowing tunes, punctuated by the delight of plain old unselfconscious getting down, blasted me to a new level of musical appreciation. They were broadcasting that night, not with a weak radio antenna, but with music. You couldn't get with earshot of the porch without feeling a buzz. That was some powerful stuff.

The night couldn't have been better either, cold with a huge bonfire, a blanket of stars, and the best group of friends you could ever hope to be around. No one was a stranger. Who could have been, really? I kept thinking, where was the rest of the world? Did they know about this? And if so, why weren’t they here? What do I have to do to get more? I'm hooked, I'm a junkie. I need my next fix.

I feel I was let in on something that night, something very special. Standing around the bonfire, a guy told me, "A ray of light follows these guys." And I swear it does. If you can't see it, feel it, taste it like the twang from tinfoil in your mouth, then your dead, that’s all there is to it. They will lift you and you won't come down for weeks, perhaps a part of you never will.

Buy their CD, get a taste, because that's all it is, a sip. Go to the source and sate yourself, there's an abundance. Thanks Old Crow, I'll see you at Jazz Fest.

5 out of 5 stars

Wagon Wheel November 7, 2006
13 out of 15 found this review helpful

i just wanted to clear this up as a review mentioned that wagon wheel is a rip-off of a dylan tune. well... it's a poor assumption. the chorus from wagon wheel was written by dylan for the movie "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" for which they gave Dylan writing credit. The chords were used for the rest of the song [which is not a crime considering that the progression used (1 5 6 4) is VERY common and is used in a countless number of songs including "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Dylan himself] and the rest of the song's lyrics were written by OCMS with a different melody. if it was a rip-off, they wouldn't have purposely given Dylan some credit for the song. In fact, if you look in the album sleeve it gives Dylan FULL credit for the song. So... if you believe Wagon Wheel is a rip-off, i don't think you really KNOW what a RIP-OFF is.

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