For my final blog post I wanted to do something a little more creative, so I’ll be comparing the two most popular versions of the song Wagon Wheel; the original version, performed by Old Crow Medicine Show, and the cover done by Darius Rucker.
Old Crow Medicine Show song: https://youtu.be/WKMsrGoQ-c8
Darius Rucker cover: https://youtu.be/WGP6ECozKy8
The main similarities between the two songs basically start and end with the lyrics. Production-wise, the songs differ widely. They share prominent usage of acoustic guitar, fiddle and bass throughout the song, But the Old Crow Medicine Show (OCMS) version also features a banjo pretty prominently after the intro, whereas we don’t hear the banjo as much from Rucker’s cover, and the Rucker version induces usage of drums in the intro and chorus while the OCMS version doesn’t include drums at all. Additionally, the fiddle is used more throughout Rucker’s version of Wagon Wheel, while in the OCMS version we really only see the fiddle a few times through the song to add some extra musicality.
In addition to all of this, Rucker’s version of the song includes some small edits that make a world of difference. Most noticeably, Rucker’s version of the song is sped up and performed faster than the OCMS song. The OCMS version has a slow, melodic tempo that I think really makes the listener pause and hear the song. The Rucker version is a little faster, fitting in with the more pop-esque country songs of today and creating the perfect atmosphere for a car ride jam session.
In the end, Old Crow Medicine Show’s song is the perfect song to chill to. It’s slow and simple, eliciting the image in my mind of sitting on a riverbank listening to someone sing and play guitar. Between the simplicity and the audio levels/quality, I really get the idea that the Old Crow Medicine Show version of Wagon Wheel could’ve been an (albeit high-quality) recording of a live performance without actually having been a live performance, which I love. This is not to discredit Darius Rucker’s cover, which has its own benefits. The upbeat tempo and extra production add a level of pep to this song and makes it really fun to listen to. All in all, these are two very different, but very awesome songs, and I think it’s beautiful how much art can evolve while still having the same foundation.