Old Ramon is the sixth and final studio album by American indie rock band Red House Painters, released on April 10, 2001 on Sub Pop. Originally completed in 1998, band leader Mark Kozelek had to wait until 2001 to release the album. The band had previously been signed to Island/Supreme Records, but a series of major label mergers in the late '90s left the band without a label. This meant the album had to be shelved until three years later, when Kozelek managed to buy back the album from Island Records and Sub Pop signed the group.
| Old Ramon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 10, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | Fall 1997–spring 1998 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, slowcore | |||
| Length | 71:50 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Sub Pop | |||
| Producer | Mark Kozelek | |||
| Red House Painters chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 84/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| NME | 8/10[3] |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.0[4] |
During the wait for the album's release, Old Ramon built up a reputation as one of the greatest "lost" albums of the modern era, and one of the saddest cases of a band being left in limbo during the major label mergers. Once it was finally released, reviews were generally very positive. Alternative Press gave the album a perfect 5 out 5 rating, praising its "timeless beauty."
Many regard Old Ramon as a more lighthearted, optimistic recording than previous Red House Painters releases. The first track, "Wop-a-Din-Din" is Mark's tribute to his cat, while "Byrd Joel," "Michigan" and "Kavita" are love songs. Elsewhere, however, the languid, lengthy "River" and "Void", and the melancholic "Smokey", confirmed that Kozelek hadn't lost his touch for articulating regret and sadness. The album also retained Songs for a Blue Guitar's mix of introspective acoustic folk-rock and heavier electric rock.
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Mark Kozelek
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wop-a-Din-Din" | 5:37 |
| 2. | "Byrd Joel" | 6:25 |
| 3. | "Void" | 9:33 |
| 4. | "Between Days" | 8:35 |
| 5. | "Cruiser" | 8:39 |
| 6. | "Michigan" | 4:50 |
| 7. | "River" | 11:20 |
| 8. | "Smokey" | 6:54 |
| 9. | "Golden" | 3:53 |
| 10. | "Kavita" | 6:04 |
Personnel
edit- Red House Painters
- Mark Kozelek
- Anthony Koutsos
- Jerry Vessel
- Phil Carney
with:
- Craig Ross
- David Perales
- Michael Urbano
- Mike Hardwick
- Paul Revelli
Release history
edit| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | April 10, 2001 | Sub Pop | CD | SPCD 565 |
| Double LP | SP 565 | |||
| United Kingdom | April 23, 2001 | CD | SPCD 565 |
References
edit- ^ "Old Ramon by Red House Painters Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ Phares, Heather. Old Ramon at AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Mulvey, John (May 10, 2001). "NME Album Reviews - Red House Painters : Old Ramon". IPC MEDIA. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Kearney, Ryan (April 10, 2001). "Red House Painters: Old Ramon | Album Reviews". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved February 17, 2012.