Old 97's - C/D

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or whiskey sours at the bar! Cheers Kenan!

teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 22 April 2003 17:47 (twenty-one years ago) link

And I’d like to take some medicine
I’d like to take you home...
But I’m sleeping with the porcelain tonight

Kenan Hebert (kenan), Tuesday, 22 April 2003 18:05 (twenty-one years ago) link

I think Fight Songs is where they actually got it all together -- they figured out they were a pop band with twang, not a country band. Satellite Rides is kinda boring, though -- not enough hooks-per-minute. Too Far to Care is good, even if I can never quite take Rhett's soulful broken-heartedness seriously.

Search: "Big Brown Eyes," ""Barrier Reef," "Melt Show," "Lonely Holiday," "Indefinitely," "Busted Afternoon," "Valentine"

JesseFox (JesseFox), Tuesday, 22 April 2003 18:22 (twenty-one years ago) link

classic:
for a supposed alt.country band, they had some kick-ass pop songs, esp. 'Big Brown Eyes'.
and they sang with Exene.
and they have good stories about all members of the Highwaymen.
and they were ridiculous amounts of fun live, and great to share a beer with.

i tend to like 'em a little better unpolished, so the Bloodhsot albums remain my fave. but i'm not gonna complain if someone puts one of the Elektra albums on, neither.

bucky wunderlick (bucky), Tuesday, 22 April 2003 19:44 (twenty-one years ago) link

No S/D for their albums - they're all great. I'd start with "Wreck Your Life" or "Too Far To Care," then pick up either "Fight Songs" or "Satellite Rides." "Hitchhike to Rhome" takes a little more time to get into - and seems to go well with Mazzy Star's "So Tonight That I Might See" - but maybe that's just me.

Search:
"Weightless" (Satellite Rides)
"Buick City Complex" (Satellite Rides)
"Valentine" (Fight Songs)
"Lonely Holiday" (Fight Songs)
"Barrier Reef" (Too Far To Care)
"Four-Leaf Clover" (Too Far To Care version)
"Big Brown Eyes" (Wreck Your Life version)
"Dressing Room Walls" (Wreck Your Life)
"Victoria" (Wreck Your Life)
"Doreen" (Hitchhike To Rhome)
"Stoned" (Hitchhike To Rhome)

Probably impossible to find, but Funland's cover of "Stoned" on their split-EP is even better.

miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Tuesday, 22 April 2003 20:15 (twenty-one years ago) link

Klassic. "Busted Afternoon" and "Wish the Worst" are my faves. (Loads of songs I have no interest in, though, but that's not a criticism)

Aaron A., Wednesday, 23 April 2003 00:14 (twenty-one years ago) link

http://www.tygerlily.org/Rhett_Miller/BigHonkinJamsAplenty/

A pre-97's Rhett/Murry tape that just surfaced

MerkinMuffley (MerkinMuffley), Wednesday, 23 April 2003 14:55 (twenty-one years ago) link

surprised but gratified to see the 97's love here on ILM.

S: "Bel Air", "Oppenheimer", "Book of Poems", "504", "Wish The Worst", "Question", and "Our Love" (on Rhett's solo record). Among many many others.

D: Most of the rest of Rhett's solo record, "What I Wouldn't Do", "Ken's Accordion Thing". Never did get into "Salome" very much.

doug (doug), Thursday, 24 April 2003 07:33 (twenty-one years ago) link

one month passes...
Revive , cause I'm bored.

I cannot believe so many people cite the last two records as the best. Wreck Your Life was their absolute best with Hitchhike to Rhome and Too Far From Care fighting for a close second. Fight Songs ain't bad but that's mostly because of Murray's contributions. SR was complete and utter crap. Mythology (rhett's first solo record) has been floating around forever and I'm sad that enough people dug it to encourage him to do another.

Rhett being madeover for mainstream consumption and their increasing poppiness has been to their detriment, IMO. The Bloodshot days were the best.

Any Texans see their recent shows? They played here as the "Satiellete Riders" and I know they played in Austin the night before.

Great show.

That Girl (thatgirl), Wednesday, 11 June 2003 22:47 (twenty years ago) link

I love the way that depending on my mood, I can pick up one of their albums and it will work. They've got heartbroken country drinking songs and new-relationship-life-is-fucking-grand pop songs and just about everything else.

I found a Dallas Christmas comp at Barnes and Noble from '94-5 with two Old 97's songs. I guess I should get it now, instead of hoping I can remember in December.

miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Thursday, 12 June 2003 05:23 (twenty years ago) link

My Old 97's Mix CD, not in order yet:

"Victoria"
"Mama Tried"
"Crash on the Barrelhead"
"Stoned"
"Weightless"
"Question"
"Barrier Reef"
"Big Brown Eyes" (Wreck Your Life version)
"Doreen" (Wreck)
"Timebomb"
"Lonely Holiday"
"King of All The World"
"If My Heart Was A Car"
"St. Ignatius"
"Murder (Or A Heart Attack)
"Jagged"
"Four Leaf Clover" (Hitchhike)

miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Thursday, 12 June 2003 05:38 (twenty years ago) link

Milo, add:

Valentine
Doreen (Hitchhike)
Meltshow
Old Brown Shoe
W-I-F-E
4-Leaf (Too Far)
504

and diss:
Question
and
Weightless

and that would prolly be my mix CD

That Girl (thatgirl), Thursday, 12 June 2003 05:43 (twenty years ago) link

The first time I heard "Question" was at a live show and it was just stunning, surely the best song Rhett's ever written, I thought. Then I got the album and unfortunately the studio versh comes nowhere near.

Aaron A., Thursday, 12 June 2003 05:44 (twenty years ago) link

gag. The first time I saw 97s live was right after Wreck Your Life came out. Trust me, their live shows nowadays don't come within a country mile in terms of energy and attitude. They all seem like SXSW showcases nowadays. Sad.

That Girl (thatgirl), Thursday, 12 June 2003 05:46 (twenty years ago) link

But you just said the recent Sons show was great! I've seen a handful of 97s shows, all betweem '97 and '99. Most were really fun; loud, long, & sweaty... sweatiest at Trees, of course.

Aaron A., Thursday, 12 June 2003 05:54 (twenty years ago) link

I could have sworn I had "Valentine" on there, that's my favorite Fight Songs track. I must have missed it copying things over.

The hardest part is picking from different versions. I mean, "Big Brown Eyes" from Wreck or from Too Far?

That's just way to bleedin' hard to decide.

miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Thursday, 12 June 2003 05:59 (twenty years ago) link

seven months pass...
oh what a coincidence. me and my husband did a cover of 'question' by these guys last night.

ipsofacto (ipsofacto), Wednesday, 4 February 2004 06:53 (twenty years ago) link

one month passes...
My current Old 97's best-of to keep in the car -

"St. Ignatius"
"Mama Tried"
"Stoned"
"If My Heart Was A Car"
"Cryin' Drunk"
"W.I.F.E." (Early Tracks vers.)
"Victoria"
"The Other Shoe"
"Doreen" (Wreck Your Life)
"Dressing Room Walls"
"My Sweet Blue-Eyed Darlin'"
"Timebomb"
"Barrier Reef"
"Melt Show"
"Big Brown Eyes" (Too Far To Care)
"Four-Leaf Clover" (w/ Exene)
"Lonely Holiday"
"Indefinitely"
"Crash on the Barrelhead"
"Nineteen"
"Valentine"
"King of All The World"
"Question"

miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Saturday, 3 April 2004 08:03 (twenty years ago) link

six years pass...

playing a free NYC show at Seaport on the 4th

kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Friday, 2 July 2010 14:23 (thirteen years ago) link

two years pass...

They are ridiculously good live but I've never fully warmed to the studio stuff. Picked up a used copy of Alive & Wired the other day and it's such a great show, warts and all.

EZ Snappin, Sunday, 2 June 2013 19:56 (ten years ago) link

First few albums are great, especially Too Far Too Care but they lost me after Fight Songs. That live comp is the last word indeed.

Gerald McBoing-Boing, Monday, 3 June 2013 01:10 (ten years ago) link

four years pass...

Saw them live Friday, after not really paying attention to them for years. Seemed like every other song was a variation on "let's get drunk and screw." Running out of ideas?

Jazzbo, Monday, 8 January 2018 18:40 (six years ago) link

Holy shit, a friend dragged me to them a few months back, and I hadn't seem them for years, and it was soooo boring for that very reason, especially since the band is now old and drinking bottled water on stage and if every one of your songs is about drinking you better be drinking and if they are and you're not then get off the stage!

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 8 January 2018 18:50 (six years ago) link

I hadn't even said a word, because I was invited along, but they wanted to leave early and started complaining as soon as we left the venue.

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 8 January 2018 18:51 (six years ago) link

I went with a group, most of whom were all unabashed fans. I kept my mouth shut, too. I won't be going back.

Jazzbo, Monday, 8 January 2018 19:34 (six years ago) link


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