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Satellite Rides | 
 enlarge | Artist: Old 97's
Label: Elektra / Wea
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy Used: $7.72
You Save: $11.26 (59%)
New (15) Used (21) Collectible (10) from $7.72
Rating:  60 reviews
Sales Rank: 17025
Format: Enhanced
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 62531
UPC: 075596253123
EAN: 0075596253123
ASIN: B000059ZHP
Release Date: March 20, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | King of All the World | | • | Rollerskate Skinny | | • | Buick City Complex | | • | Bird in a Cage | | • | Up the Devil's Pay | | • | What I Wouldn't Do | | • | Question | | • | Am I Too Late | | • | Weightless | | • | Can't Get a Line | | • | Designs on You | | • | Book of Poems | | • | Nervous Guy |
Disc 2
| • | Barrier Reef | | • | Victoria | | • | 19 | | • | Time | | • | Valentine | | • | Singular |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
As with Fight Songs, the 1999 predecessor to Satellite Rides, the Old 97's are ringing a poppy bell. The cover art has a retro 1960s vibe, and the chiming guitars echo that sentiment. Is it 1960s Britpop? A tad, but singer Rhett Miller has a vocal palette that runs from 1980s new wave-leaning alternative to a more scouring, acidic country yowl. He uses his range well. The twang here is more subtle than in the past, cloaked in big rave-up melodies (like the fine single "King of All the World") and heart-on-the-sleeve emotions (as on "Question"). Some of the latter are great, particularly the poppy "Do you wanna mess around" refrain in "Buick City Complex." Miller runs down a seriously twangin' gem on "Am I Too Late," and bassist Murry Hammond does the same on his brooding "Up the Devil's Pay," which ranks as one of the CD's highest marks. What the Old 97's have done with this session is push themselves further away from their original alt-country heartbeat--much the way Jeff Tweedy did after Uncle Tupelo once he had Wilco as his platform. --Andrew Bartlett
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| Customer Reviews:
 Even Heavy Things are Weightless April 23, 2007
M. Swinney (Flower Mound, TX)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Do you want to mess around? / Do you want to spend the night? / 'Cept what I'm going to do / With a pair of idle hands/ They're tearing the Buick City Complex down / I think we're the only people left in town."
Ever so often an album comes along that's transcendent, weightless among the others, floating in orbit, high. That's where The Old 97's "Satellite Rides" fall, an elevated pop-rock slightly twang gem that these hometown boys from Dallas, Texas, have off and elevated their art and perfected their craft. It seems lyrics and catchy sing-a-long choruses just pour from their front man Rhett Miller and they do all over this "must be in your collection" work "Satellite Rides."
Speaking of Rhett Miller, he seems to be the forlorn lover, that falls in love easily and once there falls hard and fast crashing on the barrel head spent on the other end. He breaks his heart it seems about 13 times on each Old 97 album...once for each song. And it's good for us, the fans, because lyrically there's nothing to populate a song like heartbreak. Just listen to these lyrics, "Standing on the corner of 6th and how to forget / trying to do right by you all night Annette / You can go ahead and get married / And that'll be our secret thing / I won't tell a soul except the people in the night club where I sing / I don't want to get you all worked up / except secretly I do / I'd be lying if I said I didn't have designs on you," from "Designs on You." This song along with "King of All The World," "Rollerskate Skinny," and "Bird in A Cage" are all 97's concert standards and mind-numbingly infectious.
The Old 97's career is now a paced one in it for the long haul it seems. When Satellite Rides came out in 2001 by Elektra Records it seemed a meteoric rise from alt-country punk-a-billy rave up band to hit-friendly radio top 40 (but still rocking) gems. Well the burning up the radio waves and being ubiquitous on the pop charts never really panned out leaving us fans kind of scratching our heads. This ultimately is a good thing so we can still go to an Old 97's concert with 3,000 other fans and have the time of our lives paying $18 bones dancing in the Melt Show 6th row. Good for us but criminally insane for the band. Success can change one and thank God the 97's haven't strayed too far from their influences and roots (Johnny Cash, The Pixies, Bowie, The Beatles, and last but not least...Merle Haggard).
God bless the Old 97's making their hometown Texas folks proud. Sure you may poo poo Miller and his lyrics as back of a cocktail napkin drunken horny college boy whip-smart (those usually don't go together) but if you listen closely you too will have your favorite quips and lines, and find yourself at their concert stomping your boots, dancing like there is no tomorrow, and loving life if only for a couple hours. And if you are older and married (like Miller, Hammond, Peeples, and blazing talented guitarist Ken Bethea) stay away from "all night Annette" and live vicariously through the great music and lyrics of the 97's.
You aren't gonna wanna miss a second of "Satellite Rides." Once you stick it in your shopping cart here at Amazon and have it spinning in your CD player, your head will be spinning and the choruses will be burned in your brain for years to come. Enjoy the ride...mmw
"Poppy"? Yes, but with some pretty clever lyrics January 5, 2007
SUPERMAN (THE 40 WATT IN ATHENS)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Sometimes I think the Old 97's have a lot of people fooled. Many like to dismiss them as Country-Alternative Lite. However, just because a band has finely crafted hooks does not mean they are just another silly pop band. What I believe prevents this outstanding band from falling into that previously decribed category, is that they come up with some of the most clever lyrics and choruses around and the more you listen, the more depth you start to find in their music. Oh yeah, this is one of their greatest albums with plenty of Old 97 staples like "Designs On You" and "Rollerskate Skinny."
 Not the best Old 97's but not the worst either August 11, 2006
Mark B. (Burlington, VT)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Having lived in Nashville at the time of the country alternative explosion in the 90's, the Old 97's were one of the later bands to come from that time.
Most were probably exposed to the Old 97's by the single "What I wouldn't do" and purchased this disc. Sadly they probably didn't purchase any other Old 97's because this one feels a little "tired".
The country altenative movement can definitely trace its roots back to the late 70's new wave movement. To me no disc realizes this country alternative genre from the 70's better than Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers "You're Gonna Get It" album.
My recommendation is if you want to purchase an Old 97's is there are a couple better than Satellite Rides and purchase some of the songs from Rides individually.
Don't believe the negativity, buy this album August 4, 2005
Up The Stairs (Seattle, WA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is simply great stuff. Whether you want to call it power pop, alternative country, or whatever, it is great stuff. "Buick City Complex" and "Designs On You" are brilliant. While I would agree that this album isn't as tight as Too Far To Care, it is still a great rock and roll album. Don't bother putting a tag on the 97's, they transcend titles. They rock and boogie and country. It's simply American music. Rhett Miller is a very strong song writer, and he carries the band well. Hooks, choruses, solid beat, nifty guitar breaks, and enthusiastic singing. What else matters? Give me that "Roller Skate Skinny," let's rock.
 Reminds me of Wilco's poppier moments April 30, 2005
Greg Brady (Capital City)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is my first contact with the Old 97's so I can't compare to other releases which I gather leaned harder to the alt-country sound than this one. The frequently chiming guitars and singalong choruses on many of the songs here make me think of it as more "power pop" than alt-country, though there's enough twang still in evidence to see their roots. "Designs on you" is about a 50/50 synthesis of twang and pop.
HIGHLIGHTS:
"Rollerskate Skinny" lodges its hook in your brain within a few plays. "Question" is little more than Rhett Miller's voice and a guitar and as such it's perfect to capture that moment when you ask someone to share their life with you ("Someday somebody's gonna ask you/A question that you should say yes to/Once in your life/Maybe tonight I've got a question for you"). "Am I Too Late?" appears to be a throwback to the old alt-country song, an uptempo stomper celebrating Rhett's late grandmother. "Can't Get a Line" is the 97's at their most Beatlesque.
LOWS:
Despite the beautiful "ghostly" vocals on the intro and scattered throughout, in the end "Up the Devil's Pay" doesn't have enough lyrical oomph to stick with you. "What I Wouldn't Do" is a pretty good pop song but it feels half-baked. Where are the harmonies on the hook? What should have been Beatlesque just ends up ho-hum.
BOTTOM LINE:
In power pop, you live and die by the choruses. In the end, the number of "can't help but sing along" songs doesn't place this among the upper echelon of power pop, but there's enough to recommend it for power pop fiends. Those who aren't as genre minded will probably find this album to be good but not great.
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