Although they became one of the most enduring bands in the alternative country-rock catalog, Old 97's drew inspiration from a broad range of genres, including the twangy stomp of cowpunk and the melodies of power pop. Formed in 1993 by frontman Rhett Miller and bassist Murry Hammond, the group spent the bulk of the decade posed on the brink of mainstream success, issuing albums that often drew warm reviews but never yielded a substantial hit. Old 97's tightened their sound as the decade drew to a close, retaining their bar-band vigor while introducing a stronger pop/rock sound on albums like Too Far to Care and Satellite Rides. Miller also mounted a solo career in the early 2000s, but the band remained together nonetheless, continuing to release material with their original lineup intact into the following decade.
Rhett Miller and Murry Hammond first partnered up in 1989, when Miller enlisted the latter's help in producing his debut solo album, Mythologies. Although six years younger than Hammond, Miller proved to be a dedicated musician as he canvassed the Dallas club circuit, playing a blend of folk and British-styled pop to local audiences. He also displayed a knack for storytelling, having previously earned a creative writing scholarship to Sarah Lawrence College. One year after Mythologies' release, Miller and Hammond teamed up once again, this time as part of the short-lived Sleepy Heroes.
Although the Sleepy Heroes disbanded after issuing one album, the group's mix of pop and Texas-styled twang helped lay the foundation for Old 97's. Continuing to build upon that sound, Miller and Hammond linked up with lead guitarist Ken Bethea and recorded a demo tape at the Cedar Creek studio in Austin. Drummer Philip Peeples climbed on board shortly thereafter, and Hammond's childhood obsession with trains inspired the band's new name, which paid homage to the country ballad "Wreck of the Old 97." With their lineup intact, Old 97's released the debut album Hitchhike to Rhome in 1994. It garnered positive reviews and began to build the group's alt-country fan base, which they consolidated on the album's follow-up, Wreck Your Life. Issued in 1995 by the newly formed Bloodshot Records -- a label that would also launch the alt-country careers of Neko Case and Ryan Adams -- Wreck Your Life presented Old 97's as a sharp, eclectic country-rock outfit with a pinup-worthy frontman. Such positive attention led to a major-label deal with Elektra Records, which hoped to translate the band's underground buzz into mainstream success.
Old 97's made their Elektra debut in 1997 with Too Far to Care, a muscular album that balanced the band's Texas traditionalism and pop leanings. Many publications placed the group among the leaders of the alt-country movement, and Old 97's toured extensively in support, joining the Lollapalooza tour that summer and playing alongside Whiskeytown for a series of shows sponsored by No Depression magazine. Arriving two years later, 1999's Fight Songs offered another polished, pop-friendly set of songs, allowing the band to sell out 1,500-seat venues during their return to the road.
By this time, Miller had moved to Los Angeles and shed the thick, '50s-style glasses that had become a major part of his image. He and Hammond also began performing in an informal side project dubbed the Ranchero Brothers, although a proposed album never materialized. Instead, the musicians returned their focus to Old 97's, releasing another pop-influenced record with 2001's Satellite Rides. Miller took a temporary leave after its release to work on a solo power pop record, The Instigator, which was released in late 2002. A period of relative inactivity followed, as the bandmembers found themselves in different cities, with several of them starting families.
The hiatus ended in 2004 with the release of Drag It Up, whose subsequent tour featured prominently on the double-disc live album Alive & Wired. Afterward, Miller returned to his solo career with 2006's The Believer, which found the frontman experimenting with strings and orchestral arrangements. Old 97's returned to the studio once again in 2008, though, this time holing up in their native Dallas to help channel the energy of their earlier records. The move worked, and the resulting album, Blame It on Gravity, delivered some of the band's strongest songs in years. While touring the country in support, Murry Hammond launched his own solo career, packaging a wealth of old-timey gospel ballads and locomotive imagery onto the album I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm on My Way. Miller also found time to release a solo album, 2009's self-titled Rhett Miller, which appeared one year before the ninth Old 97's record, The Grand Theatre, Vol. 1. Originally intended as a double album, The Grand Theatre was followed in mid-2011 by a companion record, The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2.
In 2012, Old 97's released an archival project via Omnivore Records, an expanded and remastered reissue of Too Far to Care that included a bonus disc of demos recorded before the project went into the studio. (The demos also received a stand-alone release on vinyl as They Made a Monster: The Too Far to Care Demos.) That same year, Omnivore released a limited-edition EP for Record Store Day that featured two songs the group recorded in 1996 in collaboration with Waylon Jennings; the EP was reissued in 2013 simply as Old 97's & Waylon Jennings. In 2014, the band released their first album for ATO Records, a fiery effort titled Most Messed Up, and continued their series of back-catalog projects with Omnivore by issuing a remixed, remastered, and expanded edition of their debut LP, Hitchhike to Rhome.
In the last weeks of 2016, Old 97's announced the upcoming release of a new album, Graveyard Whistling, which was issued by ATO in February 2017. The record included guest vocals by Brandi Carlisle on the song "Good with God," and songwriting contributions from Nicole Atkins and Butch Walker. November 2018 saw the release of a Rhett Miller solo set, The Messenger, as well as the first-ever Christmas album from Old 97's, Love the Holidays; both were issued by ATO Records. After the group's members struggled with major life events -- Philip Peeples spent weeks in the hospital after fracturing his skull, Ken Bethea had surgery on his spine after losing control of motor functions in his hand, and Rhett Miller gave up alcohol -- they celebrated their longevity as a band and the privilege of still playing their music on their 12th album, 2020's suitably titled Twelfth. - Andrew Leahey
01. 1994 - Hitchhike To Rhome (2014 2CD Reissue)
Disc 1
01 - St. Ignatius
02 - 504
03 - Drowning In The Days
04 - Miss Molly
05 - Dancing With Tears
06 - 4 Leaf Clover
07 - Wish The Worst
08 - Old 97's Theme
09 - Doreen
10 - Hands Off
11 - Mama Tried
12 - Stoned
13 - If My Heart Was A Car
14 - Desperate Times
15 - Ken's Polka Thing
16 - Tupelo County Jail
Disc 2
01 - St. Ignatius (Demo Cassette Version)
02 - Drowning In The Days (Demo Cassette Version)
03 - Making Love With You ((Demo Cassette Version)
04 - Stoned (Demo Cassette Version)
05 - Dancing With Tears (Demo)
06 - Ivy (Demo)
07 - Eyes For You
08 - Crying Drunk
09 - Victoria
10 - Old 97's Theme Spgeddi
11 - Alright By Me
12 - Desperate Times
320k
217.7 Mb
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02. 1995 - Stoned/Garage Sale (Split 7" with Funland)
01 - Old 97's - Stoned
02 - Old 97's - Garage Sale
03 - Funland - Garage Sale
04 - Funland - Stoned
320k
35.5 Mb
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03. 1995 - Wreck Your Life
01 - Victoria
02 - The Other Shoe
03 - Doreen
04 - You Belong To My Heart
05 - Big Brown Eyes
06 - Dressing Room Walls
07 - W-I-F-E
08 - Bel Air
09 - My Sweet Blue-Eyed Darlin'
10 - Old Familiar Steam
11 - Over The Cliff
12 - Goin' Goin' Gone
320k
99.9 Mb
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04. 1996 - Cicero's, April 19
01 - 504
02 - Victoria
03 - You Belong To My Heart
04 - My Sweet Blue-Eyed Darling
05 - Big Brown Eyes
06 - Stoned
07 - Doreen
08 - Drowning In The Days
09 - Wish The Worst
10 - Let The Train Blow The Whistle
11 - The Other Shoe
12 - Over The Cliff
13 - Mama Tried
14 - Miss Molly
15 - Four Leaf Clover
16 - Jack
256k
104.8 Mb
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05. 1997 - Too Far To Care (2012 2CD Reissue)
Disc 1
01 - Timebomb
02 - Barrier Reef
03 - Broadway
04 - Salome
05 - W. TX. Teardrops
06 - Melt Show
07 - Streets Of Where I'm From
08 - Big Brown Eyes
09 - Just Like California
10 - Curtain Calls
11 - Niteclub
12 - House That Used To Be
13 - Four Leaf Clover
14 - Northern Line
15 - Beer Cans
16 - No Doubt About It
17 - Holy Cross
Disc 2 - They Made A Monster: The Demos
01 - Broadway (Demo)
02 - Daybed (Demo)
03 - Barrier Reef (Demo)
04 - W. TX Teardrops (Demo)
05 - Niteclub (Demo)
06 - When I Crash (Demo)
07 - You Were Right (Demo)
08 - Sound Of Running (Demo)
09 - Everybody But Me (Demo)
10 - Holy Cross (Demo)
11 - The 1 (Demo)
320k
236.2 Mb
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06. 1999 - Fight Songs
01 - Jagged
02 - Lonely Holiday
03 - Oppenheimer
04 - Indefinitely
05 - What We Talked About
06 - Crash On The Barrelhead
07 - Murder (Or A Heart Attack)
08 - Alone So Far
09 - Busted Afternoon
10 - Nineteen
11 - Let The Idiot Speak
12 - Valentine
320k
100.4 Mb
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07. 2000 - Early Tracks
01 - Ray Charles
02 - Cryin' Drunk
03 - Harold's Super Service
04 - W.I.F.E.
05 - Por Favor
06 - Sound Of Running
07 - Eyes For You
08 - Let The Train Blow The Whistle
320k
58.4 Mb
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08. 2001 - Satellite Rides (2CD)
Disc 1
01 - King Of All The World
02 - Rollerskate Skinny
03 - Buick City Complex
04 - Bird In A Cage
05 - Up The Devil's Pay
06 - What I Wouldn't Do
07 - Question
08 - Am I Too Late
09 - Weightless
10 - Can't Get A Line
11 - Designs On You
12 - Book Of Poems
13 - Nervous Guy
Disc 2 [Bonus Disc]
01 - Barrier Reef (Live)
02 - Victoria (Live)
03 - Nineteen (Live)
04 - Timebomb (Live)
05 - Valentine (Live)
06 - Singular Girl
320k
153.9 Mb
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09. 2004 - Drag It Up
01 - Won't Be Home
02 - Moonlight
03 - Borrowed Bride
04 - Smokers
05 - Coahuila
06 - Blinding Sheets Of Rain
07 - Valium Waltz
08 - In The Satellite Rides A Star
09 - The New Kid
10 - Bloomington
11 - Adelaide
12 - Friends Forever
13 - No Mother
320k
112.0 Mb
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10. 2005 - Alive & Wired (2CD)
Disc 1
01 - Melt Show
02 - The New Kid
03 - Barrier Reef
04 - W. TX Teardrops
05 - Lonely Holiday
06 - The Villain
07 - King of All the World
08 - Salome
09 - Rollerskate Skinny
10 - The Other Shoe
11 - Coahuila
12 - Iron Road
13 - Wish the Worst
14 - Won't Be Home
15 - Doreen
Disc 2
01 - Jagged
02 - Designs On You
03 - Curtain Calls
04 - Mama Tried
05 - If My Heart Was A Car
06 - Four Leaf Clover
07 - Stoned
08 - Oppenheimer
09 - Can't Get A Line
10 - Cryin' Drunk
11 - Big Brown Eyes
12 - Murder (Or A Heart Attack)
13 - Smokers
14 - Friends Forever
15 - Time Bomb
320k
262.9 Mb
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11. 2006 - Hit By A Train: The Best Of Old 97's
01 - Stoned
02 - Cryin' Drunk
03 - Doreen
04 - Victoria
05 - Timebomb
06 - Niteclub
07 - Four Leaf Clover
08 - El Paso
09 - Jagged
10 - Lonely Holiday
11 - Murder (Or A Heart Attack)
12 - Valentine
13 - The Villain (Single Version)
14 - King Of All The World
15 - Question
16 - Rollerskate Skinny
17 - Barrier Reef (Live)
18 - Nineteen (Live)
320k
148.1 Mb
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12. 2008 - Blame It On Gravity
01 - The Fool
02 - Dance With Me
03 - No Baby I
04 - My Two Feet
05 - Ride
06 - She Loves The Sunset
07 - This Beautiful Thing
08 - I Will Remain
09 - Early Morning
10 - The Easy Way
11 - Here's To The Halcyon
12 - Color Of A Lonely Heart Is Blue
13 - The One
320k
107.1 Mb
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13. 2010 - Mimeograph EP
01 - Rocks Off (Explicit)
02 - For The Girl
03 - Driver 8
04 - Five Years
VBR
23.5 Mb
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14. 2010 - The Grand Theatre Volume One
01 - The Grand Theatre
02 - Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)
03 - The Magician
04 - You Were Born To Be In Battle
05 - The Dance Class
06 - Let The Whiskey Take The Reins
07 - Champaign, Illinois
08 - A State Of Texas
09 - You Smoke Too Much
10 - Love Is What You Are
11 - Please Hold On While The Train Is Moving
12 - The Beauty Marks
320k
103.3 Mb
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15. 2010 - Daytrotter Session December 21 EP
01 - Welcome To Daytrotter
02 - A State Of Texas
03 - Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)
04 - You Were Born To Be In Battle
05 - Champaign, Illinois
320k
31.3 Mb
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16. 2011 - The Grand Theatre Vol. 2
01 - Brown Haired Daughter
02 - I'm A Trainwreck
03 - Perfume
04 - The Actor
05 - No Simple Machine
06 - White Port
07 - Ivy
08 - Manhattan (I'm Done)
09 - Marquita
10 - Bright Spark (See What I Mean)
11 - Visiting Hours
12 - How Lovely All It Was
13 - You Call It Rain
320k
99.5 Mb
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17. 2014 - Most Messed Up
01 - Longer Than You've Been Alive
02 - Give It Time
03 - Let's Get Drunk & Get It On
04 - This Is The Ballad
05 - Wheels Off
06 - Nashville
07 - Wasted
08 - Guadalajara
09 - The Disconnect
10 - Ex Of All You See
11 - Intervention
12 - Most Messed Up
320k
91.8 Mb
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18. 2017 - Graveyard Whistling
01 - I Don't Wanna Die In This Town
02 - Bad Luck Charm
03 - All Who Wander
04 - Jesus Loves You
05 - Good With God (feat. Brandi Carlile)
06 - She Hates Everybody
07 - Irish Whiskey, Pretty Girls
08 - Nobody
09 - Drinkin' Song
10 - Turns Out I'm Trouble
11 - Those Were The Days
320k
100.0 Mb
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19. 2018 - Love The Holidays
01 - Love The Holidays
02 - I Believe In Santa Claus
03 - Gotta Love Being A Kid (Merry Christmas)
04 - Snow Angels
05 - Christmas Is Coming
06 - Wintertime In The City
07 - Rudolph Was Blue
08 - Here It Is Christmastime
09 - Hobo Christmas Song
10 - Auld Lang Syne
11 - Angels We Have Heard On High
12 - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
13 - Up On The Housetop
14 - Blue Christmas
320k
108.9 Mb
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20. 2020 - Twelfth
01 - The Dropouts
02 - This House Got Ghosts
03 - Turn Off The TV
04 - I Like You Better
05 - Happy Hour
06 - Belmont Hotel
07 - Confessional Boxing
08 - Diamonds On Neptune
09 - Our Year
10 - Bottle Rocket Baby
11 - Absence (What We've Got)
12 - Why Don't We Ever Say We're Sorry
320k
98.2 Mb
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