Wreck Your Life

by Old 97's

Overview

While Old 97's second album, 1995's Wreck Your Life, continues the forlorn West Texas twang-a-billy that they pioneered with their debut, the sharp songwriting of vocalist Rhett Miller steps out to the forefront this time around. He weeps through the lovesick romp "Doreen" and chunks through longtime favorite "Big Brown Eyes" with a newfound poetic touch to the age-old traumas of love ("I'm callin' time and temperature just for some company," "You made a big impression for a girl of your size"). At the same time, it's hard to believe the barroom ballad "W-I-F-E" wasn't written by George Jones back in the late '50s. Supporting Miller's keening vocals is bassist and yodeler Murry Hammond, whose musical accents are understated, but without them many a song would fall flat. Well-chosen covers, including the Tex-Mex standard "You Belong to My Heart" and a stomp through "My Sweet Blue-Eyed Darlin'" that would do Bill Monroe proud round out the album, although a few songs near the end seem to lose steam. Nevertheless, Wreck Your Life contains some killer tracks and the band exudes an honest energy that would only improve on future releases. ~ Zac Johnson

Product Details

Release Date:	11/18/2016
Label:	Bloodshot
UPC:	0744302000916
Rank:	6553

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Old 97's   Primary Artist
Jon Langford   Guest Artist
Don Walser   Guest Artist
Ken Bethea   Guitar
Philip Peeples   Trap Kit
Rhett Miller   Guitar,Vocals
Murry Hammond   Bass,Banjo,Vocals

Technical Credits

Bill Monroe   Composer
Ken Bethea   Composer
Chuck Uchida   Engineer,Producer
Jon Langford   Composer
Philip Peeples   Composer
Ray Gilbert   Composer
Rhett Miller   Composer
Old 97's   Composer
Agustin Lara   Composer
Murry Hammond   Composer
Douglas Ward   Digital Sequencing
Markus Greiner   Design,Photography