The fruit of an ever-blossoming musical friendship, O'Brien and Scott's first co-billed collaboration recalls classic outings by Ricky Skaggs and Tony Rice, or the O'Kanes. Handling all of the various stringed instruments, the two lean into assorted originals, classic Hank Williams (including a stunning a cappella "A House of Gold"), and hill-country traditionals as if looking to move mountains. O'Brien has become a household name for acoustic aficionados, but Scott's dirty tenor and clever songwriting should win him new fans. Lines such as "When I was a young boy, I learned to play the guitar / It was me and ol' Jimmy Beam down at the local bar / I lost my childhood but I earned me a trade / There ain't no easy way" help explain why Scott has graduated from sideman to full-fledged partner. For his part, O'Brien plays like a wizard and sings like one of the elect. Spare and old-timey as a woodshed, driving as a steam-powered train, Real Time is as real as folk music gets. --Roy Kasten