Oh my. This is crappy. - I m a big alt. country fan so I was excited when someone told me these guys were worth a look. Thankfully, I borrowed this CD. It is awful and a pop music snoozer. Get some Slobberbone, Bottle Rockets, or some older Drive-By-truckers(not their new one....it stinks) and enjoy some of the good stuff.
Heartbreak Seldom Sounds This Inviting - Old 97 s have rock hearts and mixed emotions. Both are on prominent display in Fight Songs, an album that for me at least is a bit more consisistently satisfying than the later Satellite Rides. As a writer, Rhett Miller loves wordplay. Check out Indefinitely, a funny story of getting caught in the act, embarrassing even though you re twenty-nine years old, and as for the romance, he s in definitely, except when he s feeling indefinitely about it. Oppenheimer is a flat-out falling in love song, with some nifty background handclaps that recall street corner a capella or some of the better entertainment on the New York City subway system. Elsewhere, in Nineteen he captures precisely what it means to be a dewy but horny male of that age -- nineteen is not the age of reason...all I ever wanted to do was lie around in bed with you. Most of these songs recount, as in Busted Afternoon, busted relationships, but ones remembered fondly and as part of living. Lonely Holiday, Murder (or a Heart Attack), Let the Idiot Speak, and Valentine are other top-notch cuts. In nearly all of them, hearts break, hearts mend, ready to get broken again. All of this plays out to music that is consistently polished, well-produced, and at times almost exultant in its blasting guitars and insistent drum lines. Maybe not brilliant, but Fight Songs is great music.
Old 97s at their best - I have every Old 97s CD, but this has always been the stand out to me. By far their best and the CD that turned me in to a dedicated fan. I ve probably given a half dozen copies of this CD to friends with my unqualified recommendation.
The Band Who Could Do No Wrong - I first heard Old 97 s on a local public radio station just after this album came out. They were playing Oppenheimer. My first thought was that the singer sounded a bit like The Cure s Robert Smith. My second thought was that this was a great song, Catchy as could be, and just well written all the way around. I soon realized that this station played Old 97 s quite frequently, and as I listened to all that I heard, I just fell in love. Fight Songs was the first Old 97 s album I ever bought, and it is still my favorite. The album opens with Jagged, a perfect example of edgy pop with just enough twang to it. Lonely Holiday is depressing in a wonderful way, leaving you feeling the pain of love. Oppenheimer and Indefinitely are happy-go-lucky, poppy sort of numbers that are absolutely perfect for driving in the car on a sunny day, Nineteen and Murder (or a Heart Attack) are radio-friendly numbers, but are well crafted, and don t let even the die-hard, cling-to-the-old-stuff Old 97 s fan down. My least favorite song on this album for a long time was What we talk about. I would always skip past it when I d listen to this disc. Once I really gave it a good listen, it became one of my personal faves, Don t make the same mistake I did. The final track, Valentine is the icing on the cake. As if Rhett Miller s voice weren t enough to make this band shine, bassist Murray Hammond takes over vocals on this track (as well as on Crash on the Barrelhead), and literally draws that gut-wrenching, life-ending, heartbreaking feeling right out of you. I can t recommend this album OR this band highly enough. Why are you still sitting here reading? Go buy this CD!!
you say sellout...i say great record - With Fight Songs, the Old 97 s sound got a bit punchier and the harder rockin direction was explored more with the followup Satellite Rides, another great record. Fight Songs was the album that alienated a lot of the band s hardcore following, but it is a record that really grows on you. Besides the insanely catchy songs like the opening cut Jagged and the (almost) hit Nineteen, there is plenty more that can be appreciated by anyone who enjoys great rock n roll. Murder or a Heart Attack is probably one of the five best songs written by Rhett Miller, who, by the way, has written dozens of truly masterful songs, and Oppenheimer is a great, timeless tune. This album is a great road trip type album, but is really great for any time.