Drag It Up

Old 97s

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 27, 2004)
• Original Release Date: July 27, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: New West Records
• ASIN: B0002E5OA0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #66,962 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The Old 97's suggested they were ready to abandon their bittersweet Americana sound with their previous album, 2001's power-pop heavy Satellite Rides. But the Dallas, Texas band's sixth release sees them once again digging into soft pedal-steel guitars, rolling pianos, and relaxed southern rhythms. How could they not? It's clear they are genuinely in love with this music, delivering the woozy "The New Kid" and the surging "Smokers" with so much blood and conviction that it's impossible to detect that the songs were recorded on just eight-tracks. The only thing keeping them from inhabiting the same critically hallowed ground as the Jayhawks and My Morning Jacket is singer Rhett Miller's cocktail napkin penned lyrics. It's nothing a remedial English class can't fix. --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for grownups...., September 7, 2004

By	Tim (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews

I really think that some of the other reviewers here should have used the kid's review form, because I'm guessing some of them aren't actually adults.

"Where are the clever lyrics?" one of them asks. Well, here are just three of many examples:

"Looking down she tells you things are looking up." (Adelaide)

"He's got the goods but he's not good for his word" (The New Kid)

"I'm on Wounded Knee/and we're at Waterloo." (Won't Be Home)

Of course, those lyrics might get lost on those who have no idea what Wounded Knee and Waterloo are, but my feeling is that most 97's fans are intelligent enough to get those references.

A few reviewers have said that the album is "too slow". To them, I say there's a Green Day album coming out soon.... go get that.

And still others, I imagine, are looking for a repeat of 'Satellite Rides'. As good as that album is, I'm glad the 97's didn't try to emulate it.

'Drag It Up' is an album by adults, for adults. The 97's are all in their 30s by now, and most (if not all of them) are married with children. So it's only natural that songs about getting drunk and hooking up have fallen by the wayside. In fact, the only song that fits into that category ('Coahuila') sticks out like a sore thumb, and could easily have been left off the album.

Instead, we get songs about adults falling in and out of love ('Won't Be Home', 'Bloomington'), adults realizing their youth and dreams are behind them ('Valium Waltz', 'Adelaide'), adults grown cynical by the 'flavor-of-the-month' culture we live in ('The New Kid'), adults who've grown from high school losers to success stories ('Friends Forever'), and even a song about dying too young ('No Mother'). Perhaps this is why the kids just don't get it.

A few of these songs are among the best this band has ever recorded. 'Adelaide' might be the best 97's ballad since 'Salome'. 'Won't Be Home' and 'The New Kid' rank right up there with 'Barrier Reef' and 'Rollerskate Skinny'. And 'Bloomington' would sound at home on a Beatles album.

Even the lesser songs on 'Drag It Up' are good ones. 'Borrowed Bride' has the catchy chorus of 'Life comes apart at the seams, it seems' (another clever lyric, by the way). 'Blinding Sheets of Rain' is a classic country weeper, and 'In the Satellite Rides A Star' has a slight psychadelia feeling to it.

All in all, this CD may not have the energy of 'Too Far To Care' or 'Satellite Rides', but like the 97's themselves, it's deeper and more mature than anything they've offered to date.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good, But Something's Missing, January 26, 2005

By	J. Oliveira (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Old 97s' edginess is missing on their latest album. Their mixture of punk and alt-country is heard on only half of the songs on this album. The rest, while not bad, seems like continuation of the tone and themes of Rhett Millers solo album, The Instigator. Drag It Up is a worthy follow-up to Satellite Rides, it's just nothing amazing or ground-breaking. If you're a longtime fan, you will of course want this. If this would be your first Old 97's purchase, I'd recommend instead Too Far To Care or Satellite Rides.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not What You're Expecting, August 13, 2004

By	A. C. Morris "noozgrrl" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've read the other reviews, and it looks like you'll either love this album, or you'll hate it. You'll either feel vindicated by the band's range, or betrayed that this isn't "Satellite Rides Redux" or "More Fight Songs."
It is more mellow. It does reflect their roots. It is more "back to basics."
And it is a classic.

I love their work and their songwriting. ("Cocktail napkin lyrics"...is that critic SERIOUS?) Adelaide, No Mother, The New Kid, Smokers -- those are just the ones I can rattle off the top of my head this early morning -- will stick with you. You'll either find them haunting or catchy or -- as is typical for the '97's -- both.
Give it a shot. You'll either love it or hate it. But don't expect anything overproduced and poppy, because you won't find it here. You won't even find the jangley sounds of favorite songs "Barrier Reef" or "504" or "Niteclub." It is a quiet homage to the Old 97's range, growth, and maturity.