Old Crow Medicine Show - Jubilee
Fun fact: I’ve gotten really into bluegrass over the last couple of years, especially modern stuff. I love a lot of the modern country artists that include folk, Americana, and bluegrass influences, and one of the first outright bluegrass bands I ever listened to was Old Crow Medicine Show. These guys are famous for the song “Wagon Wheel,” which is partially penned by Bob Dylan. He wrote the chorus in 1973, whereas the band wrote and recorded the rest of the song in the early 00s, but Hootie & The Blowfish singer Darius Rucker put out a cover in the early 2010s that was very popular and renewed interest in the song. I don’t remember the album I first listened from OCMS, which was 2018’s Volunteer, but I do remember it being good. I didn’t listen to their last album, 2022’s Paint This Town, but I was surprised to find they released a new album this past week, entitled Jubilee.
This past week was a real home run for country, including new albums from this band, Turnpike Troubadours, and Zach Bryan, but this record is really solid. It’s nice hearing these guys again, because they’re a band that doesn’t necessary do anything out of the ordinary, but when they do release an album, it delivers in every way you’d expect. You’ve got a great mix of fun and energetic bluegrass cuts with some quieter and more introspective moments. For every song like the real fun and tongue-in-cheek track “Keel Over And Die,” you get something like “Miles Away” with original member Willie Watson, or “Allegheny Lullaby,” which is a song that talks about a character wanting to get out of the town he lives in, due to the limited opportunities for work. The album knows when to have fun, but it also has some poignant moments on it.
I was debating on writing about this album, but only because I wasn’t sure I had enough to say about this album to warrant a full review. Truth be told, there’s not much to say here, but this is a fun, catchy, well-written, and well-performed bluegrass album that has some poignant moments and a few great guest spots. Sierra Ferrell has a fun moment (she also appears on the new Zach Bryan album, coincidentally), but Mavis Staples appears on closing track “One Drop” that has a nice country gospel feel to it and ends the album on an optimistic note. This record may not necessarily blow your mind, but it’s one of those albums that works perfectly for what it is, and/or if you’re in the mood for what it has to offer. I wouldn’t say this is one of my top favorites of the year, but it’s a damn good album, nonetheless.
