Customer Reviews

Too Far To Care

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this album. "Too Far to Care" is fantastic, a near-perfect blend of punk snarl, pop energy, great hooks, and clever wordplay, with just enough twang to let you know that these guys hail from Dallas. A lot of pop music is about catharsis: an outpouring of emotion meant to help one cope with loss or regret. This album is no different; the characters in these songs have seen hard times and bad luck. What is unique about this album is that the catharsis that is yielded not only mitigates the pain, but obliterates it. These songs are capable not only of making you feel less bad about hearbreak, but maybe even to feel better than you did before you got your heart broken in the first place. How? With great songs that will burrow their way into your subconscious, sing-along melodies, great harmonies, runaway-train drumbeats, and arrangements that strike a perfect balance (and tension) between acoustic pop perfection and electric snarl. Rhett Miller is a fantastic songwriter, occasionally going for the funny, too-clever phrase ("she's gonna kill me/and I don't mean softly") and sometimes just cutting right to the heart of the matter: ("My blood's turned to dirt, girl/You broke every part of me." ) What elevates this album above and beyond being just a songwriter's showcase, though, is that they work as a *band.* The harmonies between Rhett and bass player Murry Hammond are so tight that they seem to be forged intuitively, Ken Bethea's guitar are melodic while skirting the sharp edge of distortion, and Philip Peeples's drumming is propulsive and accomplished. The songs are concentrated at the hyperfast end of the tempo spectrum, but they slow things down with the haunting ballad "Salome" and demonstrate that they can pull that off as well as anyone (a demonstration that will be proven out again on subsequent albums "Fight Songs" and "Satellite Rides.") Long-time fans often lament the loss of twang on their follow up albums, but what I miss is the unbridled energy that percolates through most of these songs. I defy you to play "Timebomb" a time or two without feeling compelled to turn up your stereo very loud and sing along. Four years after its release, this album still demands heavy rotation in my CD player, and comes the closest to capturing the energy and sheer joy of seeing this band perform live.

This is one of the most incredible works of music I have ever laid ears on! I would recommend that anyone who likes Son Volt, Wilco, or even the now-defunct Uncle Tupelo, listen to this recording. It's amazing how Rhett makes you really feel like he knows what you feel when you take a bad turn in a relationship (as in "The House that Used to Be"), or, in the case of "Four Leaf Clover," don't get into that relationship at all. This music is perfect for doing anything...driving ("West Texas Teardrop" works really well with an open road), partying with friends ("Timebomb" and "Barrier Reef" ar great up-tempo songs) or just being ("Niteclub" and "Curtain Calls" just have a wonderful mood about them). Ols 97's rock, but with a twang. You have to hear it to believe it.

this is the all-time best cd i have ever bought without previously knowing anything about the artist.

having just escaped a 5-week stint on a seismic boat in the gulf of mexico, we were ready to party hearty. a border town jaunt seemed to be a good idea and we set off from corpus cristi, heading to the laredo frontier. stopping off in the local k-mart for weekend supplies, i spotted the music section and dove in to find something to clear out the endless classic rock that had been pumped into my ears offshore.

picked up 2 cd's of artists that i had never heard of before. the first was sara hickman's 'misfits' and the other was this cd by the old 97's. i had been attracted by the bold cover art and seeing as i was in west texas, by the song titles - west texas teardrops, big brown eyes, salome. kudos and thanks to whoever at kmart ordered these cd's for their laredo store and racked them so that local texas artists were visible right up-front.

i never ended up going back onto the boats and was instead assigned to work in hotel rooms in south and central texas. i took the old 97's everywhere. this is the cd that i would turn to if i needed a pick-me-up, a way to drown out any heartaches of daily life with a sing-along bellow.

after returning to my native canada, i ended up seeing the band at the infamous horseshoe in toronto. opening for them was a denton band that i had never heard of - slobberbone. needless to say, i enjoyed the whole evening, especially getting this cd cover autographed by all of the band members. i have all of their cd's (and all of slobberbone's and all of sara's ...) and have enjoyed every one of them, but 'too far to care' is my hands-down favourite.

i recently lent my copy of this cd to someone and they are permanently in my bad books for having misplaced it during an apartment move. while i have most of the songs ripped to mp3s already, and still have the autographed liner, i am SO glad that the internet allows me to find and buy a replacement copy. yes, i could burn my own, but i just want to be able to look those dusty cowboys straight in the eyes.

Is this country-influenced rock or rock-influenced country? Who cares? It is some of the most enjoyable music to come out of Texas in 20 years. The Old 97's have a mature, practiced sound that will evoke REM, Giant Sand, and a few of the other 'regional' bands of the 80s that made it big.

Nearly every song on the album is (well, should be) a hit. The 97's work best when they're on the personal level. The lyrics are from the George Jones school of writing:

"And I'm tired of making friends / and I'm tired of making time / and I'm sick to death of love / and I'm sick to death of trying / but its easier for you, / its easier for you."

(from "Salome")

The music is infectious and sincere. Highly recommended.

I want to get one thing across: I'm not a fan-AT ALL-of twangy country music that doesn't have some good rock in there for good measure. There is plenty of rock in this album by the Old 97's. After hearing about these guys, I never thought I would like them, but since I first heard this album, I have seen them three times live, and now own all four of their albums. I think the main reason is that this album is one of the most solid albums, from front to back, of the 1990's, if not of the last 20 years. The lyrics are sung with genuine emotion and the music is a rollicking, fist poundin', whiskey chuggin', heart racin' good time. There are no standout tracks, all of them are equally amazing, but the song I liked the most when I heard this the first time was "Melt Show". It's a tale of a fling that he wants to last longer then she apparantly does. It moves by quickly on its gusto, but then again, all of these songs do. This is the best album I've heard from any band that fits into the "No Depression" genre. Some close runners-up are Wilco's "Being There" and (the granddaddies of this music) The Byrds' "Sweetheart Of The Rodeo". If an album can beat "Sweetheart", it has to be good. And this is.

...that is, if I had their brand of musical talent. Right now, I would just be a fool holding a guitar I can't play. So I guess they can't use me...and they certainly don't need me, as this album proves.

I was introduced to the Old 97's through my older sister a few years ago. I remember being unable to discern who these guys were and what they were trying to do. I couldn't understand if they were country or alternative because--let's just face it--I was young and stupid. So basically, I wasn't completely smitten with their music outwardly, but I feel as if it seeped into my brain during the few listenings I had and has finally emerged with a newfound, yet deep appreciation.

The songs on 'Too Far to Care' are an unusual mix of happiness and melancholy, satisfaction and disdain, passion and apathy--all in one. Many of the songs involve lovesickness or being sick OF love or more likely a combination of both maladies. "Barrier Reef" and "Salome" are both excellent in those areas. And with lines like "I'm a thinking person I think that it's wrong/To keep on saying true love's waiting when true love is long gone," "Just like California" holds true with the embittered, lovelorn theme as well. The album does leave you feeling "dumped hard", but it does it with a joyous kind of dejection that the Old 97's seem to have mastered quite well.

Overall, I just love every lyric on this album for being thoughtful and intelligent. 'Too Far to Care' is excellent for driving or when you are sitting at home pondering reality (as we all often do). I raise my glass to the Old 97's, and I hope that they will fill it with more alternative-country goodness.

I was surprised to read in many reviews that this band tends to be classified as "country." I knew nothing about the Old 97's, but the very first time I heard this album I was reminded of The Knitters/X. Imagine my great surprise when I heard Exene's voice on the final track! Not my favorite song, but it solidified my suspicion that they might have been influenced by that excellent band. Most of this album is really really good. There are only a couple of "eh" songs that I might be tempted to skip. I look forward to hearing more from these guys.

I could pick up a Roget's and list every synonym for excellent, sublime, transcendant, and accomplished, and be perfectly confident in my review if that were all that I wrote. As it is I am six years late to the dance that is the Old 97's. Truthfully, I am just using this space as evidence for posterity to log my unfliching, zealous support for this wonderful band that I believe may be one of the top ten american bands of all time. This is their masterpiece so far, hopefully they will have more.

Bands like Nirvana get all the praise for the music of the 1990s, but the Old 97's, simply put, surpass them. Rhett and the boys held on to melody throughout their all-too-brief career, something many rock bands did not do during the grunge years. I saw the band on their self-financed tour in Nov. 2000 in Little Rock. They played a club, and it was fantastic. This CD is one of the greatest released by any group of any genre of the 1990s, and it finds its way into my CD player as often as groups like The Beatles, The Who and Pink Floyd. Pick up this CD if you like rock and alt. country. The performances and writing are first-rate, and a wonderful way to remember this highly underrated band "that used to be."

...if you appreciate cutting, clever lyrics, fine musicianship, and songs you never get tired of hearing I'd pick this one up.

Starting with "Timebomb" this album keeps its pace fast and furious through it's spectacular X/Nick Cave-ish finish of "Four-Leaf Clover," pausing only for "Salome," which should be shmaltz, but somehow isn't - a glorious sing-along track, it reminds one somehow of Sting's attempt at country sounds, but succeeds where he has failed.

I can't think of anyone I know who has heard this album and doesn't own it. We play this one over and over and it stills sounds fresh.

If you haven't seen these guys live, do so as soon as possible. Until then, listen to TOO FAR TO CARE again, again, and again.