Old 97s too far to care rar
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He names his singer after himself (with birth name Stewart Ransom Miller), but portrays him as a louche drunk. This sort of writing finds its peak in “Barrier Reef”, one of Miller’s greatest achievements. (Peeple’s style might come as much from Sun Records, maybe DJ Fontana, as from any of the rowdier, more recent rockabilly you might think of, but it’s every bit as charged). “Melt Show” starts with lines like “We fooled around / You let me have it for free.” The comical start mocks the singer’s suggestion of love, but the jokiness gets upended as that song turns to hurt, all exacerbated by Philip Peeple’s insistent drumming. This sort of characterization brings an immediate humanity to his characters that he quickly turns around for emotional effect. He’s willing to rhyme words with themselves or to use cliched pairings for effect. He’s goofier than he’d let himself be, and the demeanor provides a sort of transparency in his characters and writers that we don’t often get in pop music.
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Miller’s songwriting is at its best throughout the album. Who is Robert? Why do we care what his dad thinks? Miller’s personable lyrics (“You’ve made a big impression for a girl of your size”) work in a context that’s concrete but unexplained. “Big Brown Eyes” takes a perfectly cute pop song and roughs it up with sand on the verses and rock on the chorus. “Streets of Where I’m From” and “Curtain Calls” show Miller slipping into his country vocals. TX Teardrops” isn’t far removed from a country song, and Hammond’s stated that he wrote it as a yodeling cowboy number. If the album opens with rowdy rock, the twang (the term “twang” here used contractually) still comes through. It’s a fantastic moment, and the album won’t let up for a few more tracks until “Salome”, a lovely cut that’s perfectly placed on the album. He sounds as if he’s lost his mind, and he’s either taken the band with him or they’re happily driving him there. Rhett Miller’s turns loose with his singing (now confident enough to be neither pointedly Texan or oddly British). Ken Bethea’s “Timebomb” riff opens the album with as dynamic a moment as the band has in its catalog. They did so not through fussiness, but by figuring out exactly what to burn down. Too Far to Care, the group’s first for Elektra Records, gave them an opportunity to get in a studio, work carefully, and make something memorable. Later, the group would cut pop-rock music, but 15 years ago the group split the difference and cut the finest album of their career. They gained attention in part because it was a good time for that sound, but it didn’t hurt that the albums were very good and they were even better live. 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.The Old 97’s first two albums were solidly in the alt-country mold (even if the band rejected that descriptor). 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.
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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). 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. 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. 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, channeling heartbreaking desert soul and punk-fueled swagger all at the same time.