Skip to main content

12 More By Old 97's

 Sometimes and artist needs 12 more songs to summarize their career. Case in point...


Old 97's kept chugging along through the 2010s, and show no signs of slowing down. Thank goodness for that.

Why not check out the original 12 by Old 97's so you have the whole story?


1. "Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)" (from The Grand Theatre, Volume One, 2010)
This album found the band returning to a purer, rawer country rock sound, and this barn-burner is one of the finest examples of that.

2. "Champaign, Illinois" (from The Grand Theatre, Volume One, 2010)
How could I not include a song that references a place about 45 minutes from where I live (and where I've spent quite a bit of time)? That said, its pretty clear Rhett Miller chose the name for its syllabic and phonetic qualities, and not much else. Fun fact: The song is actually a rewrite of Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row," thus Dylan shares 50% songwriting credit.

3. "How Lovely All It Was" (from The Grand Theatre, Volume Two, 2011)
Just like every Old 97's album, you've gotta have at least one Murray-sung song. This one is warm and sweet, with Beach Boys harmonies.

4. "Perfume" (from The Grand Theater, Volume Two, 2011)
Given that "Murder (or a Heart Attack)" was about a cat, is it too far-fetched to assume this one is about a dog? Listen carefully and convince me otherwise!

5. "Longer Than You've Been Alive" (from Most Messed Up, 2014)
Shuffling tune in which Rhett and the boys take an honest look back at 20+ years of living the pop life: "Most of our shows were a triumph of rock / Although some nights I might have been checking the clock."

6. "Wheels Off" (from Most Messed Up, 2014)
The band channels some of that Violent Femmes acoustic attitude for a typically Millerian tale of a guy, a girl, and too much alcohol.

7. "I Don't Wanna Die In This Town" (from Graveyard Whistling, 2017)
Chugging rhythm and atmospheric guitar set the mood for this story of an outlaw on the lam. It doubles as that tried-and-true rock 'n' roll staple, the on-the-road song.

8. "Bad Luck Charm" (from Graveyard Whistling, 2017)
If modern mainstream country leaves you cold, look no further than this twangy tune, which combines all the best elements of the genre: harmony, pedal steel, and down-on-your-luck lyrics.

9. "Jesus Loves You" (from Graveyard Whistling, 2017)
A tune in which our narrator casts himself and the lord Jesus Christ as rivals for a lady's love. The lyrics are so clever that this song deserves to be in a Broadway show: "You can talk to him all night / But I'm right here / He makes wine from water / But I just brought you a beer."

10. "Diamonds on Neptune" (from Twelfth, 2020)
Recalls their early-2000s power pop days in all the best ways.

11. "Our Year" (from Twelfth, 2020)
It takes some guts to do a song that immediately brings to mind the Zombies' classic "This Will Be Our Year," but damn if they don't make it work.

12. "Bottle Rocket Baby" (from Twelfth, 2020)
It's the kind of shit-kicking country & western song the Old 97's do in their sleep, but boy do they do it well.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Unlikely Musical Life of Tom Kelly

You may not know the name Tom Kelly, but I guarantee that you've sung along to songs he wrote.  Born in West Lafayette, Indiana in 1952, Tom moved to Effingham, Illinois when he was 11 years old, just in time to witness the Beatles' debut on Ed Sullivan. Bit by the rock music bug, he joined a local band called the Trifaris, singing and playing bass. His family moved back to Indiana in '66. When Tom finished high school, he decided to go to college in Illinois, but his choice was made based on extracurricular factors, not academic ones. "I started at Eastern [Illinois University] because there was a band,” he told the Effingham Daily News in 2011, “Then I transferred to Southern [Illinois University] because there was another band.”  Champaign, Illinois  Continuing his college hopping, Tom headed closer to home to attend Purdue, and there he had a group called The Gaping Huggers, comprised of former fellow Trifari JC Marshall on drums, and University of Illino...
Post a Comment
Read more

12 More by Collective Soul

  Sometimes an artist just needs 12  more  songs to summarize their career. Case in point... Collective Soul released a pretty decent best of compilation - 7even Year Itch: 1994-2001 - nearly a quarter of a century ago, but there's been nothing to summarize their output since then. Considering that output consists of seven albums and a couple of EPs, we've got our work cut out for us. (Since the band stopped having "hits" in 2009, most of these are just my personal preference, though I did give the singles first consideration). 1. "Better Now" (from Youth , 2004) "Better Now" is buzzy burst of optimism that has stood the test of time/\. 2. "There's a Way" (from Youth , 2004) Great riff, great chorus, great bridge, great song. 3. "What Can I Give You" (from Afterwords , 2007) Fascinating structure on this one: It starts out somewhat pedestrian, then goes into a soaring chorus followed by an even more melodic post-chorus, the...
Post a Comment
Read more

86. The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers (2005)

Very few things in life can sustain the same level of excitement from beginning to end, and The Magic Numbers' debut album is no exception. Like a party that's loud, full and hoppin' from the get-go and then eventually dwindles down to a quiet few, the CD makes its statement early and then fades away. Mornings Eleven is a helluva opener. It consists of two separate sections; the first makes you want to shake your ass, the second makes you want to swoon. Going from country-rock boogie to '50s doo-wop harmony, the two movements spend the song alternating back and forth, and it's effective enough to make the 5-and-a-half minute running time seem too short. As the album continues that becomes a recurring theme. The songs are long, but rarely overstay their welcome. That's a tribute to Romeo Stodart's compositions, but another factor may be that the group consists of two sets of brothers and sisters (the Allman Brothers would be proud). I believe that familial s...
12 comments
Read more