Track Listing

1. Down Home Girl
2. Cocaine Habit
3. Minglewood Blues
4. My Good Gal
5. James River Blues
6. New Virginia Creeper
7. Union Maid
8. Let It Alone
9. God's Got It
10. I Hear Them All
11. Don't Ride That Horse
12. Bobcat Tracks

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6293 in Music
• Released on: 2006-08-29
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
A concept album about gigantic household appliances taking over the world? No such luck. As the images of Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and Sun-era Elvis floating in the background might indicate, this Nashville band is strictly old school, singing about unemployed riverboat workers, covering Woody Guthrie and plucking banjos like there was no tomorrow. Produced by David Rawlings, Big Iron World boasts the expected barnstormers ("Cocaine Habit") and late-night meditations ("God's Got It") alongside a handful of folkie sing-a-longs ("Down Home Girl") and a thoroughly unexpected reference to Karl Rove. And where else are you going to hear songstress Gillian Welch banging away on the drums? --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews

Good tunes just keep on coming from OCMS
After the profound impact of the David Rawlings produced "O.C.M.S.," to my music collection, my pre-order of "Big Iron World" came with pretty high expectations. I've listened to it three times since receiving it in the mail last night and though it doesn't sport tracks with the immediate staying power of "Wagon Wheel," "Big Iron World" does pull some wonderfully surprising punches. Though he doesn't capture OCMS's live act at it's fullest (and who really could), Rawlings' production once again manages to maintain OCMS's authenticity and pushes their "old-time" music into the modern area, without a hint of the tacky, over-produced, artificial, gimmicks, heard on other neo-bluegrass records.

"Big Iron World" is not an album stuck in history, or looking to bite of the accomplishments of the past. With "Big Iron World," OCMS once again displays its own sound, pushing the limits of bluegrass/county/rock/punk/folk forward, while paying its respect and harkening back to the fables of Woody Guthrie, the picking of Muleskinner and the late 60's albums of Dylan. Moreover, the songs of "Big Iron World" comprise a complete body of work. The pro-union, "Union Maid" and folksy "James River Blues" are the standout tracks on an album that works as a whole, with each song complementing the next. As with all of OCMS's albums, "Big Iron World" is a breath of fresh air in comparison to most other albums put out by artists of a similar age. They have put together a great collection of songs to be enjoyed by fans of numerous genres.

It's been growing on me
Having only really listened to the most recent previous album, I didn't know what to think of Big Iron World at first; it seemed quite a bit more bluesy than O.C.M.S., and I wasn't sure the change was for the better. After a dozen or so times through, though, I've got to say, they've got an uncanny ability to bring even a reluctant audience around.

There are a few songs on the album that I still don't love: Down Home Girl has a pretty monotone, repetitive sound; Union Maid is too obviously a throw-back; and Bobcat Tracks is just hokey.

Now that I got my complaints out, though, what a great album. My Good Gal is reminiscent of my favorite Louvin Brothers song (Knoxville Girl); New Virginia Creeper demands dancing; and I Hear Them All is up there with the best of American folk political protest songs. Just a great time, great musicians, and I wish they'd come play live in New England.

A Great Record
Having already bough and loved the last OCMS record I was expecting to love this and was not disappointed. While this is bluegrass, old timey music it is also inexplicably modern. Loving bluegrass will no doubt help you love this album, but I also think it is good for anyone who like good lyrics and strong, different instrumental. If you usually like rock or even punk you'd probably like this album. A great album to add to your music collection.