Satellite Rides

Performer: Old 97's
Engineer: Robert Carranza; Tchad Blake; Wally Gagel
Producer: Murry Hammond; Philip Peeples; Rhett Miller; Wally Gagel
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: This is an Enhanced CD which contains regular audio tracks & multimedia computer files. Initial pressings include a free limited edition bonus CD. Old 97's: Ken Bethea (vocals, acoustic & electric 6- & 12-string, slide & lap steel guitars, acccordion); Rhett Miller (vocals, acoustic & electric 6- & 12-string guitars); Murry Hammond (vocals, bass); Philip Peeples (drums, maracas, shaker, tambourine). Recorded at Pedernales Studios, Austin, Texas. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Personnel: Rhett Miller (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar); Murry Hammond (vocals, background vocals); Ken Bethea (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, slide guitar, accordion); Philip Peeples (drums, maracas, shaker, tambourine). Audio Mixers: Frank Rinella; Tchad Blake. Recording information: Fantasy Studios, Berkeley CA; Pedernales Studios, Austin TX. Photographer: Michael Williams. On their fifth album, the Old 97's veer closer to their alt-country roots following the slight pop detour led by frontman Rhett Miller on 1999's brilliant FIGHT SONGS. This time out, Miller and his bandmates return to their collaborative ways and the result is a batch of songs about young love delivered by a group with a lean bar-band sound. Miller's characters throughout are hard-up for love but in an endearingly awkward sort of way. "Rollerskate Skinny" finds him pitching a date at a bowling alley in the process of looking for romance, while the crackling "Buick City Complex" sees him coming right out and asking "Do you wanna mess around?" amid the ruins of a crumbling small town. Heartbreak also finds a spot at the table, whether it's the empty feeling of rejection reverberating through the lament that is "Nervous Guy," or the high-lonesome lament of "Up the Devil's Pay" that brings to mind Chris Isaak's more yearning moments. Matching up well with Miller's desperate pleas are guitarist Ken Bethea's wiry riffs that drive the honky-tonk stomp of "Am I Too Late," punctuate the soaring cheating song "Designs On You," and make "What I Wouldn't Do" an irresistible, harmony-laden delight.

Rolling Stone (3/29/01, p.62) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "..The band hit country-rock nirvana....[The album] Has all the roar and crackle of a real-live bar band, a band that sounds experienced at drowning out hecklers and knocking down doors, including yours..." Entertainment Weekly (3/23/01, p.114) - "...The Weezer of the alt-country set - all nervous energy and brio - take another affable stab at pop stardom..." - Rating: B+ Alternative Press (4/01, pp.82-3) - 4 out of 5 - "...A shining example of the lost art of the power-pop ecord....It's a digital age album for vinyl fans..." CMJ (3/12/01, p.4) - "...RIDES sounds like the complete Old 97's package, feeding on the band's punk rock energy, honky-tonk'd emotion, and professional pop artists' over-reach..." No Depression (3-4/01, p.110) - "...This sly quartet catapults into full-on pop territory, tossing out hooks and flaunting their harmonies, and seemingly edging further from their alt-country foundation..."

Old '97s are one of the key bands from the second (post-Uncle Tupelo) wave of alt-country. The Dallas natives made several albums' worth of fine, twang-filled rock music before abruptly switching gears for 1999's FIGHT SONGS and 2001's SATELLITE RIDES, albums that owe more to Matthew Sweet than to Merle Haggard. The band returned to a rootsier sound on subsequent albums, although front man Rhett Miller's solo work, particularly 2005's THE BELIEVER, remained steeped in pop tradition.

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