Found out today that Old Crow Medicine Show has a new album set for release on September 23rd. Tennessee Pusher will have 13 tracks and the first single is a remake of their love ballad, Caroline. You can stream it over at their MySpace page.I have a older version of the tune that, as far as i know, is unreleased.
mp3: Old Crow Medicine Show - Caroline
My first impression is, well.... that of the unimpressed. I don't quite like the corny upbeat tempo that the new version sports. Ketch drastically changed the lyrics and added slight melody tweaks in an attempt to transform the song into what some may consider a more listener/radio-friendly version. Rips the soul out of the song...... At least they didn't touch the trademark harmony echoes from Willie Watson and the rest of the gang.
Let's hope they just got tired of the old way they played it and wanted to update the song - and that there's 12 other stellar new tracks to make up for this mistake.
Anyway, still lookin' forward to the release. It has been nearly two years since Big Iron World came out and changed the way people think about traditional music.
If i had to name the Top 3 Live Shows i've seen, Old Crow would take up two of those spots. They are truly THE BAND to see live - you can take anyone (no matter their musical taste) along with you and they will leave a fan of OCMS. There is something to be said for pure musical talent and showmanship - qualities that transcend any genre stereotypes.
They're not comin' down my way, but maybe you'll be luckier:
September 2008
Wed 3 Manchester Club Academy, Manchester, UK
Thu 4 The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, UK
Sat 6 Shepherds Bush Empire, London, UK
Thu 18 The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
Fri 19 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Sat 20 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Wed 24 Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA
Fri 26 Webster Hall, New York, NY
Sat 27 Webster Hall, New York, NY
Sun 28 Town Point Park, Norfolk, VA
October 2008
Thu 9 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Fri 10 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Sat 11 Louisville Palace Theatre, Louisville, KY
Sat 18 Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL
November 2008
Thu 6 Henry Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Fri 7 The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
Sat 8 The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
Wed 12 Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR
Thu 13 Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA
Some Other Stuff:
- just found the new cut of Caroline up for grabs at Some Velvet Blog....
- go here and listen to Ketch talk about the 'Evolution of a Bluegrass Standard' - eerily similar to this.......
freaking awesome...exciting stuff p
ReplyDeleteyou're right, the new < the old
ReplyDeletewhat really sucks is that ocms is capable of redoing a song (see: "wagon Wheel) with that increased pop-sensibility. and "caroline" does lend itself to that kind of remake, if ocms insists on doing one.
ReplyDeletei think they just maybe went too far with this one.