I have been a fan (with a small f) of the Old 97s since I picked up Fight Songs in a sale bin about 12 or 13 years ago. I was a late comer. They had been around a while by that stage and "True Fans" would no doubt say that they were already past their best. However I really like that album but I will acknowledge that Too Far to Care is probably their best.
The Old 97s deliver catchy, poppy and clever country rock songs, full of clever wordplay, wry observations, humour and the sense of fun/joy/frustration (women, wine and song) of being in a rock'n'roll band. Since that first album I have picked up a few of their earlier albums and also a great live DVD and with this week's addition of Most Messed Up I now have a total of 10. I certainly do not buy all their music and keep an eye on reviews both in magazines and what Amazon readers think (always paying attention to negative). While the return to form cliche has not been used as they were never really out of form many reviews suggested that this might be their best collection of songs for some time. So I clicked the Buy button and it arrived this week.
So I am writing this as I have my first play through and this is very much a first impression. As the album cover proudly shows 12 songs, 39 Minutes 57 seconds (is that the perfect album length or what?) and yes those reviews were right a solid collection of songs from the starter Longer than You've Been Alive, Let's get Drunk and Get it On, and the title track Most Messed Up.
The Old 97s deliver catchy, poppy and clever country rock songs, full of clever wordplay, wry observations, humour and the sense of fun/joy/frustration (women, wine and song) of being in a rock'n'roll band. Since that first album I have picked up a few of their earlier albums and also a great live DVD and with this week's addition of Most Messed Up I now have a total of 10. I certainly do not buy all their music and keep an eye on reviews both in magazines and what Amazon readers think (always paying attention to negative). While the return to form cliche has not been used as they were never really out of form many reviews suggested that this might be their best collection of songs for some time. So I clicked the Buy button and it arrived this week. So I am writing this as I have my first play through and this is very much a first impression. As the album cover proudly shows 12 songs, 39 Minutes 57 seconds (is that the perfect album length or what?) and yes those reviews were right a solid collection of songs from the starter Longer than You've Been Alive, Let's get Drunk and Get it On, and the title track Most Messed Up.
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