Same Old 97s?
Picked up the new Old 97s record "Fight Songs" yesterday and I dig it alot. But I think those early reviews about it being a radical departure are a bit overstated. There are new song structures and more multi-tracked vocals and harmonies on great new tunes like "Oppenheimer", "Murder" and "19". But their signature sound is still there in the galloping beats and weird "strangled" guitar sound on many of the tracks. Rhett Miller croons a bit more on the album but still sorta sounds like an alt-country Robert Smith. A mid-tempo tune like "Busted Afternoon" is in the same vein as "Salome". The early word that the band had forsaken the alt-country landscape for some estimation of pop is a bit off the mark as well. There are a few "poppier" numbers like those listed above, but they definitely didn't spring a full "Summerteeth" on us. Sounds like the same Old 97s to me. Any thoughts? --Slonedog
Re: Same Old 97s?
On Wed, 28 Apr 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Picked up the new Old 97s record "Fight Songs" yesterday and I dig it alot. But I think those early reviews about it being a radical departure are a bit overstated. There are new song structures and more multi-tracked vocals and harmonies on great new tunes like "Oppenheimer", "Murder" and "19". But their signature sound is still there in the galloping beats and weird "strangled" guitar sound on many of the tracks. I'll buy that. Songs like "Jagged," "Indefinitely," and "Let The Idiot Speak" are very much in the mold of what they've done before. There's a bit more musical subtlety employed, but Fight Songs is still very much a 97s record. The songs are also damn good, which for me anyway, is the bottom line.--don
Re: Same Old 97s?
Has anyone else noticed that the opening track of the new Old 97s (Jagged) is incredibly similar (read: exact same chord structure) to The Bottle Rockets $1000 Car, all the way down to the electric guitar tone. Call me nitpicky, but... J
