This Ol' Cowboy - The Marshall Tucker Band (from Where We All Belong - one of my favorite albums ever! This is Southern Rock.)
"From Spartenburg, South Carolina, Capricorn Recording Artists the Marshall Tucker Band" (Intro to Live Album and "Ramblin'").
This is a song that's about the musicians playing it. A real band. And, it really doesn't matter the instrument - as demonstrated by southern rock's only flute player, a bad-ass flute player. The lyric is just enough to carry you into the lonesome feeling and the solos are enough to take you deep and let you wallow in it. I don't know anything about their intention in structuring this performance, but to me it seems perfect that the instruments are kept sorta singular. The rhythm section is solidly there throughout, giving you the feel out being 'out there' on your own. There is an occasional twin guitar or fiddle and guitar playing the same phrase. But, mostly each instrument is given ample time and space for their solos.
Col. Bruce had the 4 T's of playing. Tone, Timing, Taste and Threat of Vomit. I can imagine on a hot live version, there may have been the Threat (See "Ramblin" for T.O.V.), but not on this performance (other than the lonesomeness). But, I believe this song to be a masterpiece of the other 3 T's. There is no guitar player with better tone or taste than Toy Caldwell. The way the piano comes in at the end of the fiddle solo around the 3:15 mark and the guitar at the end of that solo..... is the timing that pulls it all together. Taste is everywhere, from the sparseness of the solos - the notes they are not playing - to the individual voice of each player, to the southern accent of the cowboy (Toy Caldwell's vocals). At least once, ignore the lyric and the solos completely and listen to what's going on behind it. And, listen for the subtle bass fills from Toy's brother Tommy - gorgeous!
I suggest turning this one up a little louder than you're comfortable with. Around the 2:45 mark, go ahead and turn it up some more. You will fall into it.
Personnel[edit]
- Doug Gray – lead vocals, percussion
- Toy Caldwell – electric and acoustic guitars, steel guitar, lead vocals on "This Ol' Cowboy" and "Everyday (I Have the Blues)"
- Tommy Caldwell – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Billy Sanders – rhythm guitar and harmonica
- George McCorkle – electric and acoustic guitars, banjo
- Jerry Eubanks – flute, alto, baritone and tenor saxophone, backing vocals
- Paul Riddle – drums
Additional musicians[edit]
- Charlie Daniels – fiddle on “24 Hours At a Time”
- Paul Hornsby – piano, organ, clavinet
- Stein – fiddle
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