Too Far To Care

Too Far To Care by the Old 97's is one of my top five desert island all time favorite albums. It is a fantastic mix of country-rock and Texas twang. Lead singer Rhett Miller tells stories of falling in love easily, and getting his heart stomped on. Other songs tell of loneliness and whiskey in the local bar, pining for lost love, and wasting away your youth touring at crappy clubs. Bassist Murray Hammond sings a track or two on every Old 97's album, and here sings a rock ballad about misery in his home state in "W. TX Teardrops," with some sweet banjo in the background. The songs on this album also contains some of my favorite lyrics. For example, "Will you sober up and let me down?" ("Melt Show"), "And I'm callin' time and temperature just for some company" ("Big Brow Eyes"), "I'm still a drunk, I'm still a loser, living in a lousy neighborhood" ("Four Leaf Clover"). This album differs from other alt country classics in that it isn't as folk driven as some tracks by Uncle Tupelo or Whiskeytown, and contains a lot more Texas rock influences. The only down side to this album is that it is truly the Old 97's opus. All of the subsequent albums are good, but not great (although some do contain some great songs). If you are an alt country fan and don't own this record, get off your ass and buy it pronto!

Melt Show.mp3
Streets of Where I'm From.mp3
Big Brown Eyes.mp3
Buy: Too Far to Care (1997)