930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer on July 08, 2004, 09:40:00 am
-
From what I can make out on the liveonpenn site, Old 97's should go on around 6:30. Tickets only 7 bucks...
-
I should be there, as long as it's not too hot to live outside. The price is definitely right. And with Eve 6 headlining, how can you go wrong?
-
I think its $5 if you get em in advance (not sure exactly how/where you do that though)
Won't be there - going to Chicago this weekend
-
My guess is there's probably a service fee tacked onto that $5.
There were coupons in last weeks CP for $2 off any show.
Originally posted by brennser:
I think its $5 if you get em in advance (not sure exactly how/where you do that though)
Won't be there - going to Chicago this weekend
-
it is absolutely killing me, that i will be out of town this weekend. september seems so far away! i hope everyone has a wonderful time :-)
-
Originally posted by brennser:
I think its $5 if you get em in advance (not sure exactly how/where you do that though)
www.liveonpenn.com (http://www.liveonpenn.com)
http://www.liveonpenn.tickets.musictoday.com/LiveOnPenn/calendar.aspx (http://www.liveonpenn.tickets.musictoday.com/LiveOnPenn/calendar.aspx)
Originally, I planned to go, but converted my plans -- I think I'm skipping and will wait for Sept. This way, I can go to see Phantom Planet w/ WSC.
-
The $2 coupon is available as a pdf if you sign up for the newsletter. I just did, and am happy to email the coupon to anyone -- pm me if you're interested (I'm outta town this weekend, including Friday, so PM soon if you're interested).
Note, the coupon is good at the gate if you arrive before 6:00 p.m.
Weekly Schedule
4:00pm Gates Open
5:00pm OPening Act
5:30pm Band 2
6:30pm Band 3
8:00pm Headlining Act
-
Thanks for the info. Will be sure to arrive at 5:59 to save the four bucks.
Originally posted by Bagalicious Tangster:
The $2 coupon is available as a pdf if you sign up for the newsletter. I just did, and am happy to email the coupon to anyone -- pm me if you're interested (I'm outta town this weekend, including Friday, so PM soon if you're interested).
Note, the coupon is good at the gate if you arrive before 6:00 p.m.
Weekly Schedule
4:00pm Gates Open
5:00pm OPening Act
5:30pm Band 2
6:30pm Band 3
8:00pm Headlining Act
-
I just got the coupon as well, so anyone can PM me too for it. How do they determine the headline act? I'm guessing it's the second "big" name in their line-ups?
-
This, from the Robbie Fulks chatboard:
Old 97's @ Abbey Pub, Chicago 7/6- Now this was a show. Only separated from the stage by a couple who were a good foot and a half shorter than me, in a tiny club sold out to fans who actually wanted to listen. The songs off their new album were the best I'd heard them yet, and the old ones still seemed fresh. Mid-way through the set, Rhett Miller explained that they'd "had the honor of spending the day in the electric recording studio with the legendary Steve Albini, recording a song for our friends at Bloodshoot Records." But that "It get's better, because the song was written by Chicago's own Robbie Fulks." They then played a pretty damn good cover of "I'd be Lonely", which will apparently be included on some upcoming Bloodshot comp.
Frankly, best rock show I've seen in quite some time.
-
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
This, from the Robbie Fulks chatboard:
Old 97's @ Abbey Pub, Chicago 7/6- Now this was a show. Only separated from the stage by a couple who were a good foot and a half shorter than me, in a tiny club sold out to fans who actually wanted to listen. The songs off their new album were the best I'd heard them yet, and the old ones still seemed fresh. Mid-way through the set, Rhett Miller explained that they'd "had the honor of spending the day in the electric recording studio with the legendary Steve Albini, recording a song for our friends at Bloodshoot Records." But that "It get's better, because the song was written by Chicago's own Robbie Fulks." They then played a pretty damn good cover of "I'd be Lonely", which will apparently be included on some upcoming Bloodshot comp.
Frankly, best rock show I've seen in quite some time.
the abbey pub isn't "tiny"
-
I guess he was comparing it to their other Chicago show, which was the Taste of Chicago, opening for Counting Crows and They Might Be Giants. Abbey capacity=550.
Originally posted by pollard:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
This, from the Robbie Fulks chatboard:
Old 97's @ Abbey Pub, Chicago 7/6- Now this was a show. Only separated from the stage by a couple who were a good foot and a half shorter than me, in a tiny club sold out to fans who actually wanted to listen. The songs off their new album were the best I'd heard them yet, and the old ones still seemed fresh. Mid-way through the set, Rhett Miller explained that they'd "had the honor of spending the day in the electric recording studio with the legendary Steve Albini, recording a song for our friends at Bloodshoot Records." But that "It get's better, because the song was written by Chicago's own Robbie Fulks." They then played a pretty damn good cover of "I'd be Lonely", which will apparently be included on some upcoming Bloodshot comp.
Frankly, best rock show I've seen in quite some time.
the abbey pub isn't "tiny" [/b]
-
I'd be there but I'll be spending the day at the water park at six flags and then seeing KC and The Sunshine Band that night..........(Waits for all the laughter).
-
review of the new album...
Who says you can't go home again?
In the fickle business of music today, the story of alt-country heroes Old 97's is not a unique one. It is the story of a truly great band that has been around for over a decade. One that started out in Texas obscurity and garnered a solid national fan base through years of touring and recording. A critical reputation so stellar that even Bruce Springsteen called them one of his favorite bands. A shot at major label success that seemed inevitable, but never really materialized. A lead singer with the looks and the hooks for a promising solo career that just missed the mark. A period of "hiatus" that left them with no record deal and that lasted so long, people started to wonder...are they still around?
Well, friends and neighbors, the answer is not just yes, but Hell yes.
July 27th sees the release of their sixth CD, Drag It Up. After signing with roots-rock independent label New West (Drive-By Truckers, Slobberbone) the boys pulled up stakes and headed to Woodstock, New York and later San Diego to record with rockabilly wunderkind Mark Neill of Paladins and Deke Dickerson fame. Rhett Miller, Murry Hammond, Ken Bethea and Phillip Peeples have shined up their shingle and are officially back in business.
The CD is assembled from songs that have been written and revamped over the years, nixed from previous albums, honed over hundreds of live shows where many became fan favorites. The bones of some of these tunes have been knocking about for well nigh on a decade. You know how your favorite band has some songs you can only hear live, or at the lead singer's solo show, or on obscure bootlegs culled from here, there and everywhere? And you wonder why in the hell they never put this or that song on a proper album? Well, they finally did, and it's called Drag It Up. "Won't Be Home No More," "Blinding Sheets of Rain," "Bloomington," "Valium Waltz"--all of these songs are already beloved by audiences who have stood by Old 97's in all its various incarnations, but they've never been given the proper studio treatment--until now. It is the uberfan's wet dream.
Old 97's spent half of their career on major label Elektra, whose head honchos would have turned them into the next Matchbox 20 if they'd had their druthers. Through three albums, Too Far to Care (1997), Fight Songs (1999), and Satellite Rides (2001), the band made a progression from insurgent country-punk to ever more polished, "don't-call-us-alt-country" pop. But ultimately the Elektra machine didn't know what to do with the band and lowered the ax on their contract in 2001.
Then, frontman Miller was kept on the Elektra roster as a solo artist and his album The Instigator was released in early 2002. Produced by Jon Brion of Macy Gray and Fiona Apple fame, The Instigator was full-throttle VH1 pop, with none of the countrified trappings that Miller felt so constricting in his duties with Old 97's. He had the chance at the Holy Grail of modern music stardom. Despite critical acclaim, and the fact that he is proverbially "big in Japan," the CD went nowhere. This is one of the great mysteries of pop music--have you seen this guy? One wonders, where are the people who made John Mayer and Jack Johnson stars? And why can we not force them to buy a Rhett Miller CD, when he is a squillion times more talented, and better-looking to boot? As Miller sings on Drag It Up's excellent first single, "The New Kid," "There is no justice / there's just dark stars above." Indeed.
Miller returns to the fold for our first look at the new Old 97's with a cohesion and egalitarianism not seen before. The outfit has always been a democracy, but in the same way that, say, Hungary is a democracy. Sure, there are elections, there is freedom, but everyone knew who was really running the show. Way back when, Rhett wrote all the songs, and Murry was good for a quirky cover or two like "Mama Said" or "Sweet Blue-Eyed Darlin'." If guitarist Ken Bethea absolutely hated a song Rhett proposed, it got shitcanned. That was the gist.
In the beginning, Bethea and drummer Phillip Peeples were guys who could've been earning fat paychecks at their day jobs instead of tinkering with rock n' roll. They did it as a lark, they didn't have "LIFER" tattooed on their foreheads the way that Miller and Hammond so obviously did. Used to be that Bethea never even had a mic on his side of the stage for the occasional "ooh ooh" background vocal. Today, a decade later, he leads his own side project called the Scrap Hotel, and contributes a song he not only wrote but sings on Drag It Up called "Coahuila." It is one of the brightest lights on the CD, a whirling Latin dervish that sounds like what might result if Jonathan Richman wrote a song for the Cramps' Lux Interior to sing fronting Freddy Fender's band.
Meanwhile, Phillip Peeples is one of the most respected and sought-after drummers in the highly competitive Dallas music scene, and plays in the Deathray Davies rootsy alter ego, I Love Math. And Murry Hammond's incredible growth as a songwriter has proven, since the devastating "Valentine" on Fight Songs, that his own standard 2-song-per-CD contribution invariably walks away with the whole show. Can anyone forget "Up the Devil's Pay" from Satellite Rides? 'Nuff said.
Hammond doesn't do covers anymore, and leaves listeners with no doubt as to the balance of power in this four-man unit. Witness "Smokers," hands-down the centerpiece of Drag It Up, and the song from which the CD's title is culled. Hammond had the basis of this song written almost a decade ago, and the full-band treatment it receives here is probably the closest thing you'll ever get to an Old 97's live show experience. The one-two punch of Bethea's guitar assault and Peeples' drumming on the outro is so fierce, it'll make you cry that they ever even considered life in an office. The song is nothing short of incendiary.
And lest we think there is no new ground broken on Drag It Up, contrast this with another standout cut, "Adelaide." One of the only brand-new songs of the bunch, it takes the listener by surprise, coming on the heels of the loping, tried and true sound of "Bloomington" and just before the barn-burner "Friends Forever."
Anyone who has seen the Ranchero Brothers, Miller and Hammond's acoustic side project, or heard "Salome" or "Valentine," knows the incredibly beautiful sounds these boys can make. Their voices blend as if they were born to sit side by side, and their lyrics capture a heartbreak that is bone-deep and so real it hurts. But nowhere, live or recorded, have Old 97's in any of their permutations created quite the sort of beauty that they have with "Adelaide." It may be one of Miller's most perfect lyrical compositions ever, and the Simon & Garfunkel-esque arrangement is never cloying in its delicacy. Heaven.
In the end, Drag It Up is the sound of a band that has matured enough to answer only to itself. It is the sound of release. Old 97's have come to the point in their career where they've decided to simply do what they do best. And thank heaven for that.
-
Never heard of these guys before. Is it worth going?
-
yes. will be the best 5 bucks you spend this month.
Originally posted by MET:
Never heard of these guys before. Is it worth going?
-
Originally posted by MET:
Never heard of these guys before. Is it worth going?
This might help you decide:
A critical reputation so stellar that even Bruce Springsteen called them one of his favorite bands.
-
Originally posted by MET:
Never heard of these guys before. Is it worth going?
Eve6, yes,
Old 97's, no
-
Eve who?
Originally posted by Rob_Gee_a.k.a _Guiny:
Originally posted by MET:
Never heard of these guys before. Is it worth going?
Eve6, yes,
Old 97's, no [/b]
-
So was this a good show?
-
We saw the second band, a local band called the Speaks. The lead singer sang like he was trying to take a dump during the whole set. They did a new order cover that sounded like stp covering new order, and that's not a good thing. The crowd cheered more that they were finished than for any of their songs. You can sample just how bad they are by going to their website. www.thespeaks.com (http://www.thespeaks.com)
Old 97's played a good mix of a total of 16 songs for 62 minutes. No doubt they'll play much longer at the 9:30 in Sept. Two new songs were in the mix. Ken's guitar was turned down way too low, and Murry's mike wasn't loud enough. But I can't really complain, I watched for free outside the gates.
We left after the Old 97's, as did quite a few others. Not sure why Eve 6 was the headliner. I had never even heard of them. Old 97's sold out the 9:30 last time they were here.
-
Rhett-
Which Old 97's record would you reckon is a good place to start?
-
My favorite is their third, Too Far to Care. I think the allmusic review sums it up best (below). The first two are more countryish, the 4th and 5th are more pop-rockish, this one split the gap perfectly.
Serving as the ideal apex between the Old 97's Texas twang and smart pop fascinations, Too Far to Care is instantly catchy and endearing; heartbreaking desert soul and punk-fueled swagger all at the same time. Chief songwriter Rhett Miller turns a phrase like a doorknob and opens doors to dusty barrooms and tattered bedrooms, both containing the same boozy characters in various states of emotional undress. The initial blast of "Timebomb" carries through the first three songs, relenting finally in the breathy croon of "Salome," accented warmly by bassist Murry Hammond's light harmonies and guitarist Ken Bethea's airy tremolo-heavy guitar. Other highlights include the high-speed chase of "Melt Show," the reckless surge of "House That Used to Be," and their confident re-recording of "Big Brown Eyes" (originally appearing on their 1995 album Wreck Your Life). Throughout the album, Miller's swooning howl aches with too many miles on the road and too many lonely nights, familiar topics to be sure but he still manages to tackle them like he invented heartache. The curse of Old 97's may be that country fans consider it too rock & roll, and rock fans can't get past the twang, but for those who dip both feet into these streams, it really doesn't get any better than this band and this album.
Originally posted by chaz:
Rhett-
Which Old 97's record would you reckon is a good place to start?
-
I watched for free outside the gates.
Was it set up the same as last year, with no place to sit except the hot pavement and no hiding from the sun until it completely sets? I remember paying to get into Everclear last year, just to end up watching from a shaded bench outside the fenced perimiter
-
I believe it was. We watched the show from outside, on the right, on the sidewalk adjacent to the National Gallery.
Last year, we watched GBV from outside ,left of the stage. That part was sealed off this year.
I wouldn't have minded paying the 5 bucks to get in, but the sight lines were actually much better outside of the pay area.
Originally posted by edbert:
I watched for free outside the gates.
Was it set up the same as last year, with no place to sit except the hot pavement and no hiding from the sun until it completely sets? I remember paying to get into Everclear last year, just to end up watching from a shaded bench outside the fenced perimiter [/b]
-
Old 97's will be on www.wfuv.org (http://www.wfuv.org) at 9 am thing morning.
-
anyone willing to post a setlist?
-
From another chatboard
Roller
Barrier
Lonely
Smokers
New Kid
Designs
Vict
Line
Doreen (great scream!)
Worst
King
W. Tx
Jag
Big
Murder
Time
-
pollstar is now listing the 97's for REcher on 9/25 and 9:30 club on 9/26. Opposite of their website.
-
thanks for the setlist :) . that is strange, about the mix up of dates. if it's true, it makes things a lot less convenient for those of us who are planning to travel to baltimore for the recher show.
-
You're welcome.
Really? Recher on a Saturday and 9:30 on a Sunday is the best possible situation for me, a Virginia dweller.
Originally posted by eilo97:
thanks for the setlist :) . that is strange, about the mix up of dates. if it's true, it makes things a lot less convenient for those of us who are planning to travel to baltimore for the recher show.
-
I hope the new dates are accurate -- I got a wedding on the 25th!
-
would make sense to play Towson first, as they are headed southward on that leg of tour. Though it's not that much of a difference when you're talking length of the east coast.
Originally posted by Bagalicious Tangster:
I hope the new dates are accurate -- I got a wedding on the 25th!
-
oops...was under the impression that it was friday and saturday! nevermind my complaints--seems like the pollstar version of the dates would be perfectly convenient.
-
The New West website is in agreement with pollstar.
Originally posted by eilo97:
oops...was under the impression that it was friday and saturday! nevermind my complaints--seems like the pollstar version of the dates would be perfectly convenient.
-
Did anyone else catch Fox's use of Old 97's songs during the All-Star game last night as they cut to commercials? Heard "W. TX Teardrops" and "Streets of Where I'm From", both off of Too Far To Care. They may have used more songs, I but we went to bed early.
-
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Did anyone else catch Fox's use of Old 97's songs during the All-Star game last night as they cut to commercials? Heard "W. TX Teardrops" and "Streets of Where I'm From", both off of Too Far To Care. They may have used more songs, I but we went to bed early.
yes I caught it, and was fairly sure you would catch it as well, I only watched the first inning so i could see the 3 cardinals hit, but i think i heard the song while checking the score later
-
I read that they also played "Barrier Reef" as well. Must have been after I snoozed.
-
just clearing up any remaining confusion about the recher and 9:30 dates:
09/25: Old 97's UPDATE
Recher Theatre - Baltimore, MD
09/26: Old 97's UPDATE
9:30 Club - Washington, D.C.
-
They've been playing this one on WOXY. Sounds like the Strokes.
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Smokers
-
I like Ken's surf guitar-esque solo on that one.
Ironic that one of the tunes Murry sings would get the airplay.
Originally posted by ggw?:
They've been playing this one on WOXY. Sounds like the Strokes.
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Smokers
[/b]
-
I have to admit, these two posts on the Old 97's website guestbook are pretty funny
"hello. i saw the 0ld 97's at summerfest. and i have to say that they are by far the worst band i have ever seen in my life. their songs are not only morally and immorrally retarded, but they are pointless. i find no point or value in any of the songs. the way they acted on stage was so stupid that it was entertaining, but i have to say that i couldnt have been more glad for them to get offstage and for switchfoot to get on stage. this music was the worst music i have ever heard in my life and i pray to the dear Lord above that i never have to hear it again. if i do i bet i will cry because i was onthe verge of tears when i saw you anyways. thank you" (allison)
i agree with allison, the leader singer looks like Hansons dad with the moves of elvis, Murray looks likes an aged 40 yr old harry potter with way too tight pants, the base player is one chromosome from having down syndrom, and the drummer looks like a rapist. not that looks matter, but your songs suck my asshole, and i pity your children. you are old men. grow up.
-
flawd is really a girl named Allison???
who knew....
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
"hello. i saw the 0ld 97's at summerfest. and i have to say that they are by far the worst band i have ever seen in my life. their songs are not only morally and immorrally retarded, but they are pointless. i find no point or value in any of the songs. the way they acted on stage was so stupid that it was entertaining, but i have to say that i couldnt have been more glad for them to get offstage and for switchfoot to get on stage. this music was the worst music i have ever heard in my life and i pray to the dear Lord above that i never have to hear it again. if i do i bet i will cry because i was onthe verge of tears when i saw you anyways. thank you" (allison)
-
I had the same exact thought when I read that. I guess great minds think alike. (Flawd and Allison, that is.)
Originally posted by ggw?:
flawd is really a girl named Allison???
who knew....
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
"hello. i saw the 0ld 97's at summerfest. and i have to say that they are by far the worst band i have ever seen in my life. their songs are not only morally and immorrally retarded, but they are pointless. i find no point or value in any of the songs. the way they acted on stage was so stupid that it was entertaining, but i have to say that i couldnt have been more glad for them to get offstage and for switchfoot to get on stage. this music was the worst music i have ever heard in my life and i pray to the dear Lord above that i never have to hear it again. if i do i bet i will cry because i was onthe verge of tears when i saw you anyways. thank you" (allison)
[/b]
-
What's laughable is that you will probably say this and mean it in a few years.
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
i agree with allison, the leader singer looks like Hansons dad with the moves of elvis, Murray looks likes an aged 40 yr old harry potter with way too tight pants, the base player is one chromosome from having down syndrom, and the drummer looks like a rapist. not that looks matter, but your songs suck my asshole, and i pity your children. you are old men. grow up.
-
Murry finds Jesus
http://musicspectrum.blogspot.com/ (http://musicspectrum.blogspot.com/)
-
So is the 9:30 show going to sell out fast enough that I need to get tix when they go on sale at 10:00 a.m...?
-
No. Don't wait a long time, but most assuredly they won't allsell out this week.
Originally posted by Bagalicious Tangster:
So is the 9:30 show going to sell out fast enough that I need to get tix when they go on sale at 10:00 a.m...?
-
does anyone know about this opening act CHUCK PROPHET? the name doesn't sound familiar to me at all.
-
Chuck Prophet is a label mate of the Old 97's on New West:
Chuck Prophet page (http://www.newwestrecords.com/artists/cp/index.html)
Check out more about him on allmusic.com too (if it's actually now in a navigable mood).
Personally - I like him. I have seen him a couple times, including once opening for Lucinda Williams. He's not gonna impress any indie kids, but he's quite talented, a good showman, and pops out some fine summery tunes.
Should be a good fit opening for the Old 97's.
-
awesome. thanks for the info, i look forward to seeing him!
-
I saw Chuck Prophet at Bumbershoot last year. Pretty average, though entirely competent. Wouldn't make an effort to get there early to see him, though it won't be unpleasant seeing him as we stake out a good spot for the 97's.
-
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
I saw Chuck Prophet at Bumbershoot last year. Pretty average
Like I said..."He's not gonna impress any indie kids." :D
allmusic disgrees with you though:
"One of America's great underground artists"
-
Olds 97 are pretentious sellouts... The new record got reviewed in Entertainment Weekly (it got a A-) and the record is a song cycle or concept album about growing up. Starts with a song about birth and ends with a song about death. Sounds like twank fest to me
-
Old 97's new disc has something to please all of its fans
Friday, July 16, 2004
MICHAEL TOMBERLIN
News staff writer
OLD 97'S
Drag It Up
New West Records
It's hard to please everybody, particularly when you're the Old 97's.
The Texas quartet has built a varied fan base ranging from puppeteers to pilots and from Bruce Springsteen to prep school students in rural Forest of Dean in England.
That fan base was built by a decade of recording and touring with a string of five albums. The variety of the fans the Old 97's has won is due to the evolution of the band from the straight-up twang-filled alternative country of its 1994 debut "Hitchhike to Rhome" and its follow-up "Wreck Your Life" to the high-octane cowpunk of their breakthrough "Too Far To Care."
The band's last two offerings, 1999's "Fight Songs" and 2001's acclaimed "Satellite Rides" veered more into power pop and smart balladry, taking it farther from its alt-country roots.
Fans of the early Old 97's who feel it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that twang liked the latter work of the band but rated it below the early work. Latecomers love the last two efforts while reluctantly embracing elements of the early records.
With "Drag It Up," the band's debut on label New West due out July 27, the Old 97's have created the ultimate record for all of its fans.
The pedal steel on "Bloomington," "Moonlight" and "Blinding Sheets of Rain" will be to the liking of yesteryear Old 97's fans while "Won't Be Home" and "Friends Forever" recall the band's "Too Far To Care" period.
"The New Kid," "Borrowed Bride" and the equally beautiful "Adelaide" and "The Satellite Rides a Star" will please latter-day fans.
Not all of "Drag It Up" is reminiscent of the Old 97's past. The blazing "Smokers," the Buddy Holly-meets-Tex-Mex sound of "Coahuila" and the semi-psychedelia of "Valium Waltz" are fresh sounds with plenty of texture. Even the somber "No Mother," a tribute to a fan, friend and promoter of the Austin music scene killed by a drunk driver, is as vulnerable and personal as anything the band has recorded.
The Old 97's have long been viewed as a foursome led by the duo of rhythm guitar player Miller and bassist Murry Hammond. The two have shared songwriting duties and while Miller has sung lead on the majority of the band's songs, Hammond has stepped up to the mike on several occasions on each album.
Miller's excellent wordplay is again in rare form on the songs of "Drag It Up," in lines such as "She was a thin girl/ but she had substance" on "Bloomington" and "You knew all was lost/ when she named you the winner" from "Borrowed Bride."
Another treat about Old 97's songs is the band often works on multiple levels without being too obscure. The first single, "The New Kid," for instance, could be a straight-forward jealousy tune about a Johnny-come-lately rival. Or it could be a tongue-in-cheek song to Miller's newborn son.
But what "Drag It Up" proves more than any past Old 97's record is how integral drummer Philip Peeples and lead guitarist Ken Bethea are to the band. Peeples is the backbone, becoming the manic accelerant or the genteel shuffle depending on what each song calls for.
Bethea is the true star of "Drag It Up." Not since his back-to-back opening riffs of the band's signature songs "Timebomb" and "Barrier Reef" has Bethea staked out his spot within the band with such force.
"Drag It Up" shows Bethea in his most beautiful ("Adelaide"), his most experimental ("Valium Waltz") and his most understated ("Moonlight"), all the while showing his versatility. We also hear Bethea as lead singer for the first time ever on an Old 97's record with his frolic through "Coahuila."
Bethea's stamp truly made many of the songs Old 97's songs. A handful of the best songs on "Drag It Up" were slated to be on an often-promised album by the Ranchero Brothers, the alter ego of Hammond and Miller, because the songs did not sound like Old 97's tunes. Bethea, with a lot of help from Peeples, successfully changed that.
After a decade of recording, the Old 97's have found a way to make all fans happy, not an easy feat for a band that has evolved so much. The real reward, however, will be in the new fans "Drag It Up" is destined to add to the growing and diverse fold.
-
Well if the Birmingham News says it's good......
-
Well I think it makes good points about its appeal to fans of various parts of their career, as well as breaking new ground.
Rest assured, none of the other songs sound like "Smokers".
And I agree, Ken Bethea's guitar work has never been truly appreciated as it should be.
Originally posted by ggw?:
Well if the Birmingham News says it's good......
-
'Drag It Up': Old 97's Two-Step Program
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19739-2004Jul27.html (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19739-2004Jul27.html)
-
Thanks for posting that link, Sieve. Nice review.
-
Not about to change my screen name, but on first listen I'm very disappointed in Drag it Up. For all the talk of it being a step back to Too Far To Care it is not half the album that TFTC was. There is not one song on it that I would put in my Old 97's top ten. Gotta say I'm bummed by it, as I was by Satellite Rides.
It might be time to cherish the old discs, see the live shows, but move on otherwise.
-
I just got the record a few days ago - & have given it a couple listens & now I'm really surprised by any of the negative 'reviews'. Especially from any long-time fans.
This may be the first time I've ever anticipated a record billed as a "return-to-form" that actually delivered.
Excepting track 5 - ?!?!?!? - I think it's as solid as anything they've done. It's an immense improvement over the last 2 releases. The other notable thing for me is the production. I love it. It sounds like it was recorded live in some juke joint.
Preliminarily, I'd put it only behind "Too Far To Care" on my best of list.
That weekend in late September is stacking up pretty sweetly @ the Club with DBT on Friday night & then the Old 97's on Sunday.
-
rhett speaks (the real one) (http://www.jsonline.com/onwisconsin/music/aug04/248376.asp)
-
pitchfork gives the new record a 7.0 today.
Then describes it as their weakest effort, albeit a step back toward their alt-country roots.
I checked their archives & they gave Fight Songs a 4.0
Idiots all.
-
Funniest part of the article is the photo caption:
"Old 97's Rhett Miller (far left), seen here in a 1999 photo, doesn't bother hiding behind his glasses anymore. The frontman has now embraced his status as a cutie."
-
Seventeen Magazine featured a story on Miller in June 1990, while he and Hammond were still with Sleepy Heroes. Story included this timeless Miller quote about his primary requirement in a girl, comprising three words which will likely haunt him until his last breath: ??Grooviness is essential.?
-
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
??Grooviness is essential.?
I dunno, I like that... :)
-
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Seventeen Magazine featured a story on Miller in June 1990, while he and Hammond were still with Sleepy Heroes. Story included this timeless Miller quote about his primary requirement in a girl, comprising three words which will likely haunt him until his last breath: ??Grooviness is essential.?
Um...17 Magazine. Subscription maybe?
-
Um, no. haha That bit of info is on the factoids section of their website.
Originally posted by grotty:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Seventeen Magazine featured a story on Miller in June 1990, while he and Hammond were still with Sleepy Heroes. Story included this timeless Miller quote about his primary requirement in a girl, comprising three words which will likely haunt him until his last breath: ??Grooviness is essential.?
Um...17 Magazine. Subscription maybe? [/b]
-
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Um, no. haha That bit of info is on the factoids section of their website.
I can't believe everyone else let you slide on that one for a whole day.
-
I'm actually more of a Sassy kind of guy than 17.
-
Review of Drag it Up from Popmatters.
Note: the guy who wrote the review is a dude on the Robbie Fulks chatboard.
OLD 97S
Drag It Up
(New West)
US release date: 27 July 2004
UK release date: Available as import
by Will Stenberg
Old 97s were the best band to come out of the barely noticed, early '90s alt-country explosion. "Alt-country", did I say? It's true that the term has fallen out of favor, with almost all of its original exponents disowning it and fans preferring to use broader labels like "Americana", which can refer to anything from Grandpa Jones to the Palace Brothers, the real connection being anyone's guess. The truth is that "alt-country" was one out of a half-dozen labels in contention being thrown around in those days: No Depression (too obscure), cowpunk (too specific), y'allternative (the sound of a smart-ass journalist patting himself on the back), and others. But "alt-country" stuck. Me, I'll still use the term for the benefit of newbies who understand what "alternative rock" means and might be able to draw a rough comparison with "alternative country". And I'm not ashamed.
The thing about Old 97s is that they really were, at first, alt-country. Recognizably country, they chased their Hank and Lefty with David Bowie, Dick Dale and the Clash, and the results were frankly marvelous. The Jayhawks? Good, maybe, but only as alt-country as the Band. Early Wilco? Ditto. But these guys, if anyone, were country with a new, sharp edge. Ken Bethea's guitar rumbled and buzzed, but kept the twang; Murry Hammond thumped the bass with one spectacled eye on the history books and one on the future; Philip Peeples turned the familiar country train beat into a crazy runaway locomotive; and Rhett Miller sang and wrote the sexiest, snottiest, funniest, most pained and desperate songs you could hope to hear in your lifetime.
Of course, they changed; bands do that. Hitchhike to Rhome and Wreck Your Life mined similar territory, while Too Far to Care, their first major label release, upped the ante with a bigger, badder sound and a new knack for the anthem. Fight Songs followed -- a darker, more restrained record that was also their poppiest. One of the songs, "Murder or a Heart Attack", was great, straight power-pop, and ended up, deservedly, on the radio, earning the band TV appearances and some new fans who might not have heard of Ray Price (or Uncle Tupelo) but who liked the catchy chorus and Miller's dreamy good looks. After Fight Songs came Satellite Rides, which took the pop to a new plateau. A good record, but maybe a little too good: the rawness and desperate energy that had drawn me, and others, to the band in the first place seemed to have been largely replaced by perfection and precision. The songs were still smart and catchy, but it could be hard to see the substance through the sheen.
After that, Miller released The Instigator, making his bid for indie-rock teen idol status, a bid which seems to have mostly (and mercifully) failed -- though, again, the songs were good, if a little cutesy. And now, much to my excitement and curiosity, comes Drag It Up, their latest record.
From the first bar of the first song, "Won't Be Home", you can tell the boys have moved away from the walls of guitars and back-up vocals that characterized their last few records. Which is to say, they sound like a band, not a slick recording project. Recorded mostly live in a 19th century church on an analog 8-track, this is Old 97s proving that they can still function as a four-piece band without the aid of studio trickery. And prove it they do.
Yes, it is more country than their recent outings, but it isn't a throwback to their old sound, either. All four of the 97s are fathers now, and it would be a tad ridiculous if they tried to recapture the angst and youth they used to embody so effortlessly. This, instead, is the most well-rounded effort of their career: contemplative, spontaneous, goofy, serious, raw and frequently beautiful. The years have made them comfortable with a number of styles, from thrashy minor-key surf rock to Tex-Mex to the dark, mildly psychedelic "Valium Waltz", an old song that they finally arranged to their satisfaction.
There are a few rave-ups -- "Won't Be Home", "Smokers" -- but much of the record is taken up with the sad, languid country ballad, Old 97s style. Miller's songwriting has become perhaps a tad more traditional, but his characteristic mix of heartbreak, insolence and empathy hasn't faltered -- if anything, age and experience have made him an even better chronicler of the world's beautiful failures. In "Valium Waltz" he sings, "You're scoring her shipwrecks with fiddles and dobros / Laugh at the plainclothes, police the crowd / Carry her under like water or ether / Spirit her off when the music's too loud". That's just one verse; Drag It Up is filled with more evidence that Rhett Miller is one of today's most overlooked singer/songwriters.
There's no one song as instantly catchy as, say, "Bird in a Cage" from Satellite Rides, but this record is alive and human, with a roomy basement sound and vital, impassioned songs. Only the band could tell you for sure, but it sounds to this reviewer like Old 97s had their bid for super-stardom (they were dropped by Elektra; Drag It Up is on New West Records), didn't quite reach it, and decided instead to be what they've really always been: a great band, alt-country or otherwise.
In "Friends Forever", Miller lets his inner nerd out, recalling with his trademark wit the high school days before he discovered the guitar: "I was a debater / Was not a stoner nor an inline skater / Was not a player nor a player hater / I was just a bookworm on a respirator / Who's to say that's wrong". Looking back on adolescence and its attendant tortures and ecstasies from the perspective of veteran rock 'n' roller with kids, Old 97s have come full circle. This is a band I hope to see making records in 20 years; with Drag It Up I can finally see it happening.