Several songs recorded and released by the Old 97's and their side projects after the 1990s were actually written and demoed in the 90s. This article is a guide to the currently known Old 97’s songs recorded after the 90s that originate from the 90s.
For fans of
the band’s 90s work, this should be a real treat. Who doesn’t love albums like Too
Far to Care and Fight Songs?
When
possible, I provide links to hear the songs, although some songs here are
sourced from demos that are not widely available.
My sources
for the information in this article are the recordings themselves, the metadata of official web-releases (through old97s.com and the band's official Patreon),
various captures of old97s.com (accessed through the Wayback Machine), my
own observations, and elsewhere as noted.
Additional songs from the Old 97’s post-1990s output may have also been originally written in the 90s. Many demo recordings of unique songs exist and it is possible that more of these may be reworked for new releases. Just as likely is the possibility that 90s demos for songs now assumed to be newer could be released.
A Note on the Ranchero Brothers Tracks
The Ranchero Brothers are a side project by Old 97's members Rhett Miller and Murry Hammond. According to the official Old 97’s Patreon, two Ranchero Brothers songs (“Won’t Be Home No More” and “Going on Down the Mountain / My Two Feet”) are from 1999/2000. Despite this date discrepancy, the metadata from the Patreon files indicates that they are from 1999. As such, they are included here.
A page on old97s.com from 2001 states that recording for the
abandoned Ranchero Brothers album began in May of 2000. It is unknown if any of
the available Ranchero Brothers songs are from these album sessions or if any
of these earlier 1999 recordings were themselves considered for the album.
When the
earliest known recording of a song is one from this abandoned album, I only
include it in this article if it is specifically known to have been recorded in
the 90s.
Weightless
“Weightless”
was demoed in 1998 for Fight Songs, and this demo was released on the
deluxe version of Fight Songs in 2021. The band eventually recorded it again
and released it on Satellite Rides in 2001.
Listen to
the 1998 demo:
Listen to
the 2001 version:
Can’t Get a Line
According to
the official Old 97’s Patreon, Murry wrote “Can’t Get a Line” in 1991 alongside
“Smokers,” a full decade before its eventual release. No demos from this period circulate. It was later recorded and
released on Satellite Rides in 2001.
Bird in a Cage
According to
an entry on setlist.fm, this song was performed at The Viper Room in California
on May 7, 1999. The song was later released on Satellite Rides in 2001.
Am I Too Late
As above, this song was also performed at The Viper Room in California on May 7, 1999, and was also released on Satellite Rides in 2001.
Sweet Thing Pine Bluff
This song
was originally demoed in 1998 for Fight Songs by Rhett and Murry with Andrew Williams. This 1998 demo was released through the Old 97’s
Patreon.
A later
version by Rhett and Murry, under the moniker Ranchero Brothers, was released
through old97s.com before being commercially released on the Sunny Teriyaki
Hamburger Breakfast compilation in 2003. This later version was also considered
for release on an abandoned Ranchero Brothers album circa 2001.
Heartbreaking Love
A demo for
this song appeared on the 1998 Imaginary Friends Demos. Another
recording was released as part of the Drag It Up Demos demo set released
through old97s.com. This song is not currently known to have been recorded as a
band. Both demo sets this song appears on have seemingly disappeared from the
internet, making this song quite hard to find.
Won’t Be Home
This song
was originally demoed in 1999 by the Ranchero Brothers under the longer title
of “Won’t Be Home No More” and was considered for release on the abandoned
Ranchero Brothers album circa 2001. This 1999 recording was released initially
on old97s.com and later through the band’s official Patreon.
Another demo
was recorded and released as part of the Drag It Up Demos on old97s.com.
It was eventually recorded by the band and released on Drag It Up in
2004.
According to the One Week // One Band blog, the song uses the verses of an earlier demo called “Emma.” “Emma” was a part of the 1998 Imaginary
Friends Demos.
Valium Waltz
A 1995 acoustic
demo of “Valium Waltz” by Rhett was made available on old97s.com. A demo was
also part of the 1998 Imaginary Friends Demos. It was later recorded by
the Ranchero Brothers and was considered for their abandoned album circa 2001.
The Ranchero Brothers recording was also released through old97s.com.
The song was
eventually recorded by the Old 97’s and released on Drag It Up in 2004.
Smokers
According to
the official Old 97’s Patreon, Murry wrote “Smokers” in 1991 alongside “Can’t
Get a Line.” A version from then does not circulate, but a demo from Fall 2003
was released through Patreon. According to the band, this very demo recording
was considered for placement on Drag It Up.
Ultimately, the song was recorded again, and this final version was released on Drag It Up in 2004, thirteen years after its initial composition.
Fireflies
“Fireflies”
was originally demoed acoustically in 1996 for consideration for Too Far to
Care. The demo was made available through old97s.com as part of the Too
Far to Demo set, before being formally released in 2013 on the Old 97’s
& Waylon Jennings EP where it is denoted as “take 2.”
The song was
ultimately recorded by Rhett for his solo album The Believer and
released in 2006, where it received a new bridge and was arranged into a duet
with Rachael Yamagata.
Listen to the
1996 demo:
Listen to
the 2006 version:
Singular Girl
Each available
version of “Singular Girl” has different lines in the chorus. A demo was part
of the 1998 acoustic Imaginary Friends Demos demo set. It was also demoed
as a band in July of 1998 for Fight Songs. This demo
was released on the deluxe version of Fight Songs in 2021, where the title
is sung four times in the chorus.
The band
eventually recorded it again and released it on the bonus CD on some copies of
2001’s Satellite Rides, adding a new line in the chorus, “you’ve got the
teeth of the hydra upon you,” in the place of the second “singular girl.”
Rhett Miller
recorded the song once again and released it on his 2006 solo album The
Believer, removing the “hydra” line but not reinstating the second
“singular girl,” opting for a guitar lick instead.
Listen to the
1998 demo:
Listen to
the Rhett Miller version:
No Baby I
This song,
originally known as “No Carol Eye,” was demoed acoustically in 1996 for
consideration for Too Far to Care. The demo was not available in the
old97s.com Too Far to Demo set and was first made available when it was released
through the NoiseTrade.com exclusive EP They Made A Monster:
The Noise Trade E.P in 2012. NoiseTrade,com is now offline and this EP can longer be officially obtained.
Twelve years after the first demo, the song was recorded as a band and released on Blame It on Gravity in
2008 under the final title of “No Baby I.”
My Two Feet
Originally demoed in 1999 in a different arrangement called “Goin' on Down the Mountain,” this original version of “My Two Feet” has different verses than the Old 97’s version and is sung by Murry. A 1999 Ranchero Brothers recording was released initially on old97s.com and later on the band’s official Patreon. It was also considered for release on the abandoned Ranchero Brothers album circa 2001.
It was
eventually reworked to “My Two Feet” and recorded by the Old 97’s with Rhett
now taking the lead vocal. New verses were written, and the original verse
melody was used for the bridge. This new version was released on Blame It on
Gravity in 2008.
Color of a Lonely Heart Is Blue
Murry began
writing this song during the Fight Songs period. It was not finished at
the time and no recordings from this period circulate. It was eventually
finished and was recorded and released on Blame It on Gravity in 2008.
Murry discussed the song’s origins in the “Old 97s Lost & Unreleased!” live stream on his YouTube channel. Take a listen here.
Hear the
completed song:
The One
“The One” (also
stylized as “The 1”) was demoed acoustically in 1996 for consideration for Too
Far to Care. The demo was made available through old97s.com as part of the Too
Far to Demo set, before being formally released in 2012 on They Made a
Monster: The Too Far to Care Demos. A demo was also part of the 1998 Imaginary
Friends Demos.
The song was
eventually recorded as a band and released on Blame It on Gravity in
2008. As with "No Baby I," this was twelve years after the initial demo recording.
Listen to
the 1996 demo:
Listen to
the 2008 version:
Lost at Sea
This track from Murry Hammond’s 2008 solo album I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm On My Way was performed live all the way back in 1999 at The Viper Room in California along with the aforementioned “Bird in a Cage” and “Am I Too Late.”
Brown Haired Daughter
This song
was originally demoed in 1997 by the Ranchero Brothers, where Murry takes the
lead vocal. This demo features a “na-na-na” section that was ultimately cut
from the final version. This 1997 demo was released through Patreon.
The song was eventually recorded by the Old 97’s with Rhett now taking the lead vocal. The Old 97’s version was released on The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2 in 2011, fourteen years after the 1997 demo was recorded.
Ivy
Rhett Miller
once said before performing the song that this is one of the first songs the
Old 97’s ever played as a band. A demo from around the time of Hitchhike to
Rome was released on that album’s 20th Anniversary deluxe edition
in 2014.
The song
also appeared on the 2003 compilation The Music of Sons of Hermann Hall: Volume 1 under the title “Ivy’s Got a Boyfriend (Problem).”
The song was
eventually re-recorded and released on The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2 in
2011.
Listen to
the demo:
Listen to
the 2011 version:
Visiting Hours
“Visiting
Hours” was first demoed acoustically in 1996 for consideration for Too Far
to Care. This demo, in truncated form, was made available through
old97s.com as part of the Too Far to Demo set, before being released in
full in 2013 on the Old 97’s & Waylon Jennings EP.
A demo was
also part of the 1998 Imaginary Friends Demos.
The song was
considered for the abandoned Ranchero Brothers album circa 2001.
It was
eventually recorded by the Old 97’s and released on The Grand Theatre, Vol.
2 in 2011, fifteen years after the first demo recording.
Listen to
the 1996 demo:
Listen to
the 2011 version:
The Westbound
This song
originates from 1994 during the Hitchhike to Rome period. No recordings
from the 90s circulate. It was later recorded for Twelfth in 2020 but
ultimately did not make the cut. It was finally released through the band’s
official Patreon in 2021. This is the longest gap between a song's composition and final recording/release date in this article, at an impressive 26-27 years.
Murry
performed a live version of this song in his “Old 97s Lost & Unreleased!”
live stream on his YouTube channel. Take a listen here.
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