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<\/p>\nWith their winning combination of rock energy and Texas twang, Dallas-based Old 97\u2019s have carved out a unique place for themselves on the music landscape. Across a dozen albums, their evocative songwriting and high energy musical approach has won the group both critical acclaim and a dedicated following. But the band hasn\u2019t quite reached the commercial success that critics and ardent fans alike agree are so richly deserved.<\/p>\n
Part of the problem might be that Old 97\u2019s don\u2019t fit neatly into one stylistic category. So it\u2019s something of a challenge for their label to promote them. Are they country? Alt-country, or power pop? Rock? Something else? Lead guitarist Ken Bethea acknowledges that there\u2019s no neat, one-word label that offers a shorthand description for what Old 97\u2019s does.<\/p>\n
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Let\u2019s address power pop. To some, the term refers to the rock subgenre exemplified by bands like Badfinger, The Raspberries, The Knack…groups that made uptempo, Beatles-influenced rock with sharp hooks and concise melodies. But it\u2019s that word pop<\/i> that rankles Bethea.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me,\u201d he explains, \u201cpop is a kind of music where there\u2019s a producer and a separate songwriter. They write a song, and the singer or band comes in and sings it. And that doesn\u2019t even begin to describe us.\u201d By that understanding of the term, he\u2019s right. From the very start, Old 97\u2019s have charted their own path, written their own songs and played their own instruments.<\/p>\n
Bethea acknowledges that other labels like Americana or even \u201cloud folk\u201d have at least some connection to the Old 97\u2019s aesthetic. \u201cBut,\u201d he insists, \u201cthere really isn\u2019t another band like us.\u201d Once again, he\u2019s right. The idea of combining country textures with a rock approach has been done since the earliest days of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll: witness Elvis, early Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. But Old 97\u2019s doesn’t sound much like them.<\/p>\n
Later generations of rockers like Eagles developed their own hybrids of rock and c&w. But no one would ever mistake Old 97\u2019s for the slick Californians who gave us \u201cHeartache Tonight\u201d or \u201cDisco Strangler.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Asked about artists whose work has had an impact on the sound of his band, Bethea names some of the greats. While many Old 97\u2019s songs are group-composed and arranged, singer-guitarist Rhett Miller is the band\u2019s primary songwriter. And Bethea describes a central component of the band\u2019s signature sound as the product of Miller\u2019s creativity, informed by an appreciation for David Bowie, Lennon and McCartney and Elvis Costello. Those musical touchstones offer a connection to what the band is all about.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even listen<\/i> to country,\u201d Bethea admits with a laugh. But in the same breath, he confesses that he very much likes playing<\/i> it. \u201cEven from the very beginning before I met Rhett and Murry [Hammond, bassist], I liked playing country music on my guitar. It was fun bending those notes.\u201d A few moments into the discussion, he hits upon a way of describing Old 97\u2019s that suits him. \u201cIt\u2019s modern music, played in the style of old-fashioned music,\u201d he suggests. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019ve always been.\u201d<\/p>\n
Timeless<\/i> music might be an even better way of describing it. Miller\u2019s wry lyrics and the irresistible guitar licks make a song like \u201cMurder (Or a Heart Attack)\u201d from the band\u2019s fourth album, 1999\u2019s Too Far to Care<\/i>, a stone classic. Call it what you will, but it\u2019s great stuff, the kind of music that makes listeners want to throw away all the labels and just appreciate the music for its greatness.<\/p>\n
Each time Old 97\u2019s release an album \u2013 2020\u2019s Twelfth<\/i> is their latest one, by the way \u2013 the record is greeted by critical praise. And their latest single, \u201cTurn off the TV,\u201d rose to the #22 spot on Billboard<\/i>\u2019s Adult Alternative singles chart. But nearly a quarter century into its existence, the group still somehow flies under the radar of many who (by most measures) should appreciate their music.<\/p>\n
The likely reason for that brings us back to that nagging what-is-their-sound question. Not fitting neatly into an existing category makes it difficult when it comes to things like marketing. \u201cIt makes it nearly impossible,\u201d Bethea says with a good-natured (if resigned) chuckle.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut on the good side,\u201d he hastens to add, \u201cwhen your [sound] is super-specific, you \u2018scratch the itch\u2019 for a segment of the population.\u201d And while there may not be a massive contingent of Old 97\u2019s fans, many of those who know them, love them.<\/p>\n