Old 97's Fight Songs CD

Old 97's: Rhett Miller (vocals, guitar); Murry Hammond (vocals, bass); Ken Bethea (guitar); Philip Peeples (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Andrew Williams (various instruments); Jon Rauhouse (steel guitar); Jon Brion (Vox organ).
Recorded at Kingsway, New Orleans, Louisiana & Sound Factory, Hollywood, California.
Texas troubadours Old 97's moved farther away from their traditional C&W sound on their 1999 release, Fight Songs, instead incorporating warmly distorted guitars and crunchy rhythms into their brash pop songs. Thankfully for fans of the band, the terrific songwriting is still there, but the sound is a little more polished than the twang-a-billy bombast of their previous album, Too Far to Care. The heavy grit of the lead track, "Jagged," is augmented by Rhett Miller and Murray Hammond's bright vocals, whereas the rhumba stylings of "What We Talk About" slinks along like two strangers locked in a tango. Songs seem more thoroughly constructed this time around, relying less on pure bravado and more on structure. That works well for the most part, but there's something lacking that was unrelenting and instantly likable in their previous release. That being said, Fight Songs is still a bright and worthwhile album with as many strong songs as any of their releases. ~ Zac Johnson
Old 97s' effortless way with a hook has always separated the band from its brethren in the so-called "insurgent country" ranks. Choruses, harmonies, and sheer hummability of tune have always been as important to this Dallas quartet as setting the post-punk honky-tonk on fire. This tunesmanship rises to the fore on FIGHT SONGS. The group's second major-label full-length is unquestionably Old 97s' most "pop" effort yet. But that doesn't mean that the music rocks any less fiercely or that its heartbreak twang is any less severe.
FIGHT SONGS incorporates Old 97s' modern-rock attack into the C&W tradition. Ken Bethea's guitar bleeds distortion all over vocalist Rhett Miller's melancholy yearnings on "Jagged." Bassist Murry Hammond knowingly rewrites a Louvin Brothers classic on "Crash On The Barrelhead." "Murder (Or A Heart Attack)" is a perfect example of Old 97s' craft, with a hook that screams L.A. pop, rootsy guitars that bring to mind such Californian post-punkers as The Blasters and X, and the general well-produced and poppy feel of R.E.M, circa 1984.Rolling Stone (5/27/99, p.63) - 3 1/2 Stars (out of 5) - "...'alt-country' - a tag that the Dallas quartet has outgrown with the eclectic, often genius FIGHT SONGS. Singer and songwriter, Rhett Miller loves a pure, earnest melody, and he has an ear for the revelatory juxtaposition..."
Spin (6/99, p.144) - 7 (out of 10) - "...Shuffle rhythms and big-note guitar lend a fading sheen of hick to what is actually a polished slab of melodic pop, full of sad, hooky, vaguely twangy confessionals for entry-level boot-gazers..."
Entertainment Weekly (4/30/99, p.97) - "...High-strung students of Brothers Everly and Doobie, Crazy Horse and `Wild Horses,' Tex-Mex and T.Rex, they harness achy-breaky hearts to songs so packed with hooks and wordplay they seem ready to explode..." - Rating: A-