Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Austin Chronicle
The Boston Phoenix
Chicago Tribune
Christgau's Consumer Guide	B+
PopMatters	9/10
Rolling Stone
The Rolling Stone Album Guide

Too Far to Care: Expanded Edition / They Made a Monster: The Too Far to Care Demos

Studio album by Old 97's

Released

2012

Genre

Alternative country, country rock

Label

Omnivore Recordings / Elektra / Wea

Producer

Wally Gagel

Old 97's chronology

The Grand Theatre, Volume Two
(2011)

Too Far to Care: Expanded Edition
(2012)

Old 97's & Waylon Jennings EP
(2013)

Too Far to Care is the third studio album by American country/rock band Old 97's, first released on June 17, 1997 (see 1997 in music). The album's title comes from the song "Streets of Where I'm From."

The album was the band's first on Elektra Records. Unlike the later two Elektra recordings, the band retained some of their country twang, making this another fan favorite. Lyrically, the band's constant touring is evident in songs like "Barrier Reef" (with references to Chicago), "Broadway" (in New York City), and "Niteclub" (inspired, according to the band, by clubs in Cleveland, Ohio and Ann Arbor, Michigan). "Four Leaf Clover", re-recorded from the band's first album, Hitchhike To Rhome, is performed here as a duet with Exene Cervenka of the band, X. "Big Brown Eyes" is also re-recorded, this time from the second album, Wreck Your Life.

Rhett has clarified that, although his name is Stewart Ransom Miller (The Second) the song "Barrier Reef" is not really autobiographical. Stewart Ransom Miller is technically Rhett's father, who apparently is sometimes asked "are you the Stewart Ransom Miller?” and answers “yes, but I think you may have me confused with my son.” Instead, it's "the guy in that song, the guy who gets laid and finds himself unsurprised at how little solace there is in the coupling."

"Broadway" was written while Miller was in a hotel room in New York City during their courtship with Elektra Records Miller felt very out of place, saying "As I stood in that tiny room, I did the math. I could live for a month in my East Dallas garage apartment for the amount of money Elektra was paying per night at the Paramount Hotel. Granted, my accommodations in Dallas were humble to say the least, but this was some serious opulence. If you ever wonder why the old “major label” business model failed, look no further than the money lavished on our little Texas rock band by the dozen or so labels that wooed us that summer. Ridiculous."

...
Wikipedia