Old 97's: Part 2

As I continue to swim through the world of country music that doesn't conform to the aesthetics of so called 'pop-country', I usually won't be spending two posts on one band as there's a lot to be covered in the genre (or genres).  However as previously stated, the Old 97's-- along with a few others-- bear particular importance to the music I'm covering and how I came to love it.  Along with that, the 97s also have had a relatively long career in the Alternative Country genre that rose to prevalence in the 1990s and are in many ways indicative of the ways it fell and is possibly beginning to return.

Their major label debut and alt country classic, Too Far Too Care, came at peak time for the genre and reflected the ethos of the movement as a whole.  However, when time came for their next album, 1999's Fight Songs, the genre had already began to fade and many the genre's staple bands like Wilco and Whiskeytown had began to take a more pop based approach.  When I say pop-based I'm not referring to the type of country that was coming from Nashville at the time, but rather to a song structure and recording ethos that recalled that of Brian Wilson and The Beatles.  Stemming from a likely combination of aesthetic choice and major label pressure for some kind of hit, Fight Songs shed much of the twang and rough edges of their earlier recordings and produced something much more polished with a tighter song structure.

That's certainly not to say this album sucks-- Pitchfork really likes this one-- or is any kind of sell out, as I particularly like the song above (Jagged, the lead cut off the album) as it retains the rolling bassline and harmonic backing vocals of Murray Hammond that still gives the 97s their flavor.  The album is certainly different though and marked a new era for the band.  Their next release, 2001's Satellite Rides, continued this approach and is one many of their older fans felt completely left behind their alt country roots.  This album I feel is more than anything indicative of it's time, when power-pop rock was in heavy rotation in the mainstream with bands like Sum 41 and Blink 182 on top of the charts; and seems to be Elektra's last push to get the band to mainstream status.  This album contains perhaps their most well known song, Question, one that features only Rhett Miller and his acoustic guitar and is the one that makes the ladies swoon.

I'm not particularly fond of this one (maybe when I have that special lady I can my own I will be, but that's neither here nor there) but the album still has some gems that retain a little of that 97s twang.

So in the early Aughts, the 97s certainly shifted from country band with a (traditional) pop influence to a kind of pop-rock band with a country influence; but their still remained a thread within their music that made them who they are.  Despite this new direction however, the album wasn't mainstream or poppy enough for Elektra Records, and as the label was going through changes they did a little cleaning house which led to a drop of the Old 97s and bands from other alternative streams such as Austin's Spoon. 

The drop led to a short hiatus for the band that saw a solo album from frontman Rhett Miller and was a time when many of the band members (now in their thirties) took some time to focus on their families.  They returned however in 2004 with their most stripped down effort yet, Drag It Up.  The band joined up with indie/alt-country label New West Records, the distributor for the Austin City Limits television show and a fitting home for a band who helped establish the musical stream which the label represents.  With more creative control and a likely desire to get back to roots, Drag It Up is a bare bones album only recorded on 8 tracks (as opposed to 16 or even 32) and was done in just a few takes.

Though the album takes a much more back-to-basics approach, it is far from their best album and they seem to be carving out who they're going to be in the indie rock age.  After a live album and a greatest hits compilation - my introduction to the band, and a comp that got a wait for it... 8.2 from Pitchfork-- , the boys came back to Dallas in 2008 to record Blame It On Gravity, an album that finds them mixing together everything they've been in the past to help define who they are in the present.  This album more than anything marks a new era for the 97s,  a band of veterans who know exactly what they do well and how to do it.

With a seemingly new found zeal, the band came down to Austin a few years to record a double album released in 2010 and 2011, The Grand Theater.  For me, both of these albums are the strongest they've put out since Too Far To Care and fully solidifies they're sound, approach, and place in country music.

Since I couldn't find any studio recordings of their new stuff on YouTube I had to post some live stuff, which leads perfectly into my teaser at the end of the live post.  As implied, The Old 97's are one of the best straight up rock shows one can go to.  I know a lot of people say this about a lot of bands, but 97s bring an energy and passion to their shows that's not matched by many bands I've seen.  There's no elaborate light set up, no drawn out 20 minute jams, no eyeliner, and no other stage gimmicks besides four dudes on stage pounding through almost 30 songs in a couple of hours.  Whereas some of their studio recordings are a bit too polished up, none of that is present in their live show and the music showcases the thread that ties all of their different sounds together into one big kick-ass country rock throw down.  I would recommend seeing them in Texas (particularly Dallas if you can), as flying cans of Lonestar and Shiner are the perfect and inevitable companion to any of their shows here.  If you're into country music, Texas music, or have had a lifelong hatred of country music due to stuff that's on the radio, needless to say, I would recommend checking these guys out.