Old 97's - C/D

is it atypical or something?

Fight Songs -- also classic

everything prior -- somewhere in between

Rhett Miller solo -- mostly dud

can we make this a s/d?

Too Far to Care is clearly their best record; however, there are gems on all of their albums

Also, Rollerskate Skinny is supposedly about Winona (she and Rhett went on one date, I guess) and Crash On The Barrelhead is supposedly about Ryan Adams (longstanding feud that recently got resolved).

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

"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)

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

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.

"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"

playing a free NYC show at Seaport on the 4th

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.

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.

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?

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!

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.

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