Fight Songs (Old 97's album)

Fight Songs is the fourth studio album by American alternative country band Old 97's, first released on April 27, 1999. It features the song "Murder (Or a Heart Attack)", which was ranked #176 on Blender magazine's list of "500 Greatest Songs From 1980-2005."^[11]

Fight Songs
Studio album by Old 97's
Released	April 27, 1999
Recorded	Kingsway in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Genre	Country rock, alternative country, alternative rock, power pop
Length	46:45
Label	Elektra
Producer	Andrew Williams
Old 97's chronology
Too Far to Care (1997) Fight Songs (1999) Early Tracks EP (2000)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
The Austin Chronicle	^[2]
The Boston Phoenix	^[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[4]
Los Angeles Times	^[5]
Pitchfork	4.0/10^[6]
Rolling Stone	^[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[8]
Spin	7/10^[9]
The Village Voice	A^[10]

The group's second record on Elektra Records, Fight Songs is more slick and pop-oriented than the group's previous efforts, a trend continued on 2001's Satellite Rides. The song "Crash on the Barrelhead" is rumored to be targeted at alt-country rival, Ryan Adams,^[12] while "Murder ..." was inspired by a cat owned by singer Miller's roommate in Los Angeles.^[13]

Track listing

All songs written by Rhett Miller, Ken Bethea, Murry Hammond and Philip Peeples.

1. "Jagged" – 3:27
2. "Lonely Holiday" – 4:08
3. "Oppenheimer" – 3:28
4. "Indefinitely" – 3:41
5. "What We Talk About" – 4:10
6. "Crash on the Barrelhead" (vocals by Murry Hammond) – 2:39
7. "Murder (Or a Heart Attack)" – 3:41
8. "Alone So Far" – 4:17
9. "Busted Afternoon" – 3:11
10. "19" – 3:41
11. "Let the Idiot Speak" – 3:43
12. "Valentine" (vocals by Murry Hammond) – 3:08

Personnel

Old 97's

• Ken Bethea – guitar
• Murry Hammond – bass, vocals
• Rhett Miller – vocals, guitar
• Philip Peeples – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Jon Rauhouse – steel on "Jagged", "Lonely Holiday" and "Alone So Far"
• Jon Brion – Vox organ on "Murder (Or a Heart Attack)"
• Andrew Williams – odds and ends

References

1. Johnson, Zac. "Fight Songs – Old 97's". AllMusic. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
2. Caliguiri, Jim (April 23, 1999). "Old 97's: Fight Songs (Elektra)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
3. Martin, Richard (June 3–10, 1999). . The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on April 2, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
4. Hermes, Will (April 30, 1999). "Fight Songs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
5. Weingarten, Marc (April 30, 1999). "Old 97's, '20 Fight Songs,' Elektra". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
6. Lieberman, Neil. . Pitchfork. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
7. Moon, Tom (May 27, 1999). . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
8. Harris, Keith (2004). "Old 97's". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 602–03. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
9. Schone, Mark (April 30, 1999). "Old 97's: Fight Songs". Spin. 15 (6): 144. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
10. Christgau, Robert (May 18, 1999). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
11. "Blender Magazine".
12. Falatko, Daniel (29 March 2018). "Dissing Ryan Adams: An Emerging Songwriting Genre". Niche Apparel.
13. Browning, Laura (4 August 2015). "Old 97s Hid A Missing Cat Sage in a Love Song". AV Club. Retrieved 18 May 2019.