Album Review – Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Jubilee”
Wanna feel old? Then appreciate it’s been 25 years since Old Crow Medicine Show officially formed on a street corner in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It’s been 20 years since they were telling all of us to drink the corn liquor and let the cocaine be. Now Grand Ole Opry members, a proving ground for talent, and the origination point of one of the most popular (and reviled) songs in country history (yes, “Wagon Wheel”), Old Crow Medicine Show feels just as much like an institution as it does a band.
To celebrate 25 years of existence, they’ve released the new album Jubilee, which feels very much like vintage and peak Old Crow Medicine Show. Though the origins of Old Crow are as a busking string band putting on a post-Vaudevillian show sweating hard for your ragged dollar, at times in the band’s history they’ve gotten a little bored with that formula and leaned too much into trying to be an alt-country or indie folk band.
But Old Crow Medicine Show is at its best when they embrace the wild assed hillbilly street performer persona. Crow has always put the “show” into their version of throwback country, and some consider them as the first country hipster band, calling it a push between them and BR549. But they pack a lot of entertainment into each note, and that’s what you get on Jubilee.
“Keel Over and Die,” “I Want It Now,” “Wolfman of the Ozarks,” and “Belle Meade Cockfight” with the incredible Sierra Ferrell are just the kind of frenetic and entertaining tunes that have sustained Old Crow Medicine Show for a quarter century. And despite the final remaining founding member Ketch Secor now finding his way through the world in his mid 40s, he still can bring the speed and enthusiasm these songs require.
Since the beginning, Old Crow Medicine Show has also tried to slip in some more meaningful songs, including ones that address things like poverty and addiction. With so much talk about small towns and the American poor, let’s allow “Allegheny Lullaby” about the prison some small towns become for poor people to enter the chat. Old Crow may not specialize in love songs, but that’s really what “Wagon Wheel” is when you boil it down. “Smoky Mountain Girl” with its great melody and chorus makes a run at being one of the band’s best.
Another good song from the album is “Nameless, TN” that gives off Bob Dylan vibes. One of the band’s original members Willie Watson shows up to sing on the song “Miles Away,” which is co-written by Ketch Secor’s current catch, surging bluegrass star Molly Tuttle. Ketch writes or co-writes all the songs on the album, including multiple co-writes with the rather recent addition to the band, banjo/guitar player Mason Via.
After Ketch Secor, bass player Morgan Jahnig is the longest serving member in Old Crow. Though drummer Jerry Pentecost appears on this album, it appears he was replaced recently live with Dante Pope. Multi-instrumentalist Mike Harris is another recent edition to the band, and you also can’t forget Cory Younts, who performs on mandolin when he’s not getting sloshed at Dee’s Liquor Lounge and loudly talking shit on everyone else in the industry, including yours truly.
Old Crow Medicine Show isn’t trying to reinvent the wagon wheel here or anything, or trying too hard to save the world with overly sappy sentiments like they sometimes do. Sure, they can be a little cheesy at times, but that’s what they do best. They’re Old Crow Medicine SHOW, and Jubilee embraces everything that’s enjoyable about this band, making for a great way to commemorate 25 years.
1 3/4 Guns Up (8/10)
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September 1, 2023 @ 8:07 am
Ketch is so damn talented, but, man, hearing Willie Watson sing with him again just makes me really miss when he was in Old Crow.
September 1, 2023 @ 9:17 am
I saw them opening for Turnpike a while back and I felt like I was at the Dolly Parton Stampede in Pidgeon Forge, a show designed for nine year olds. Everything about them was unnatural, exaggerated, and silly. I walked out to get drink refills and picked the longest drink line so I didn’t have to experience more of the stupidity on stage. I was genuinely disgusted when they reemerged on stage during the Turnpike performance. Just awful.
They are unwatchable and I never want to see them again. I think they caught a mind virus living in Nashville.
September 4, 2023 @ 6:53 pm
Your silly 9 year old reference aside, this would be the reason I would go see them. Kind of like Dr. Hook and the medicine show back in the day. Both doing something original and different. There are thousands of bands like turnpike or acts like Zach Bryan. Sure these two are at or near the top but still not much different than anything else. Live shows unless you are in a absolutely tiny place, the music is never really that good, not near like a CD , streaming, or the radio. So the act should be entertaining you otherwise unless it’s someone you have been a fan of for a long time and mainly there just to see them or just be there like it’s an event. I already have seen all my country heroes so probably no more concerts for me but if they were at a outdoor festival near me, I would consider it depending on cost. A lot of these other acts, it would have to be a free show cause I could get the same music down at the local watering hole.
September 5, 2023 @ 4:40 am
I found OCMS to be terrible in live performance. I prefer any theme park music tribute sideshow over OCMS. I lasted about 5 songs before I left.
At the same venue I watched the Mavericks and they were amazing.
I’d rather watch the Chuck E Cheese animatronic show than OCMS.
September 1, 2023 @ 9:44 am
The new album and the band have just become completely formulaic and boring. No wonder Willie Watson bailed!
September 1, 2023 @ 12:04 pm
Well opinions vary I guess so I will give mine. I feel this was a great written review by trigger. I haven’t been a follower of this band but I did love their version of wagon wheel. The best version of it easily in my opinion. But otherwise I haven’t really paid attention. But since this album came out on the same day as some others that were really anticipated I decided to give most if not all a listen. While I liked turnpikes and even thought Bryan’s wasn’t horrible, this is easily the best. Maybe only one or two below par songs which is a rarity for a regular album. Everything else very listenable and largely a lot of fun to listen to. The song with sierra Ferrell did her true justice giving her a chance to really use her voice. Nameless tn and smoky mountain girl is two more awesome tracks. Probably the best tracks out of all the albums released that day. Shit kicks in is another fun song though I guess you could call it cheesy. But I’d rather have fun cheesy than a bunch of boring words someone may think is clever. This album has fun and flavor, the two most important aspects of an album. My only discourse with the review is I would probably give it higher. Probably a 9 out of ten. Replace a couple songs with more like the one with sierra Ferrell, maybe with her as well, and it would get a10.
September 1, 2023 @ 1:18 pm
This one was a breath of fresh of fresh air for me, so listenable and easily enjoyable. Even if they will never sound quite the same as they did with Willie Watson it is Nice to hear a return to form type of album from them.
September 1, 2023 @ 1:22 pm
Jerry Pentecost was tapped to play drums with Bob Dylan on his recent summer tour of Europe. This brings the total of Nashville-based musicians currently touring with Bob to four.
September 1, 2023 @ 8:01 pm
Trig,
It surprised me to see you call BR549 a hipster band. It’s my understanding those boys grew up on C(c)ountry music. I tend to reserve “hipster” for those performers who suddenly discover C(c)ountry music in their 20s, and start performing it because they think nobody they know has ever heard it before.
September 2, 2023 @ 9:25 am
Full on agree with you King Honky on this one. Chuck Mead came into music from an honest and sincere point of reverence in Kansas. Gary, same deal, he was from logging country in rural Oregon. Their instrumental gun. Donnie Herron is from backwoods West by God Virginia. I’ve talked to them all over the years in numerous settings, and they weren’t trying to be cool or ironic, and their depth of knowledge on Hillbilly music is impressive. They were championing Webb Pierce and Johnny Horton during a time when nobody else even knew who they were. To this day, Chuck Mead is a friend of Marty Stuart. Chris Scruggs, Eddie Stubbs and the like. BR549 was a breath of fresh air at the time.
September 2, 2023 @ 12:10 pm
I did a poor job trying to explain what I meant there.
Old Crow Medicine Show, like BR549, are definitely given credit, and justly so, for being a couple of the first country throwback bands manned by young guys, who younger people followed that were “hip” in the conventional sense. I don’t think anyone could argue that. I’ve also had arguments, including in this comments section about these two bands being considered the very first incarnations of what we now see in the greater East Nashville scene. I’m not calling either a “hipster” band to be undercutting. I’m saying it because they were young folks appealing to a young audience, as opposed to young folks appealing to an older audience like Mo Pitney or The Malpass Brothers, for example.
I slightly reworded what I said in the review to hopefully better reflect that.
September 4, 2023 @ 12:14 pm
Trig,
Interesting observation about the age of the audience who find the respective performers appealing. In your opinion, what primarily dictates the age of a performer’s audience? I think it’s the personality of the performer.
September 2, 2023 @ 6:33 am
This album sounds like what folks playing an old time string band in a movie would sound like.
September 5, 2023 @ 5:40 pm
Say what you will, they probably know who Vassar Clements was.