Rhett Miller - 'The Believer' (full review)

When Rhett Miller of the Old 97’s released his solo debut The Instigator a few years ago, it was surprising how closely it resembled previous efforts by his band. Though produced by master popsmith Jon Brion, the effort rarely steered too far of the beaten path. True to form, the album was a solid, occasionally dazzling, effort, but fans (including myself) were no doubt left wondering, “So what’s the point?”

We now have our answer in Miller’s second solo album The Believer. If The Instigator was the Miller half of the 97’s distilled into its essence, this album has tossed that concoction in a shaker with a twist and poured it over ice with a splash of Midori. Surprisingly, it is L.A. uber-producer George Drakoulias, not Brion (who appears as a musician), who has squeezed this polished gem out of Rhett Miller. Drakoulias – better known for his meat-and-potatoes work with Tom Petty and The Jayhawks – shamelessly pours on the studio polish, enlisting a terrific group of musicians to help out (not unlike the impressive job he recently did on Tift Merritt’s Tambourine). Instead of a twanged-down Old 97’s, we get Miller at his romantic and pop-savvy best.

A good part of Miller’s inherent appeal comes from his sharp and insightful lyrics on the subject of failed love. That requires some suspension of disbelief these days - if you happen to know that Miller is married to a model and lives a seemingly idyllic existence in upstate New York (well, when he’s not recording or touring). No doubt, his solo career has provided some additional balance to his life as well. But if you think back to the gangly frontman of the Old 97’s circa '94-'95, it’s a little easier to reconcile the heartbroken loser of his songs with his current fashion-spread image. Showing a surprising kinship with the doomed Elliot Smith on the title track, Miller even bravely ties his own troubled adolescence together with Smith’s tragic fate. Elsewhere, Miller gets away with straightforward declarations like this (from “Meteor Shower”):

Love gets you in the gut,
Takes the top off of your head,
And makes you wish that you were dead.

Direct and brutal, but deceptively paired with some Ziggy-era Bowie production that lifts the song to spectacular heights. Likewise, “Ain’t That Strange” rocks as hard as anything in the 97’s catalog, but leans more heavily on T. Rex swagger than country-punk assault. “Fireflies”, on the other hand, mines a slightly more familiar country vein, coasting along on the sultry vocals of duet partner Rachel Yamagata. Throughout the proceedings, Drakoulias and Miller never shy away from committing alt-country heresy by plopping gorgeous strings and chiming keyboards all over the place whenever it suits their tastes.

The Believer sags every now and then – notably on two Old 97’s retreads “Singular Girl” and “Question” (probably one of Miller’s better known and best loved straight love songs) – but those moments simply pale in comparison to the considerable high points of the rest of the album. It's really gratifying to hear an artist pull off a solo record that really stands apart from, yet alongside, his best work with his regular band. The Believer also reinforces Rhett Miller's reputation as Ray Davies' closest heir, a true master of melodic hooks and memorable lyrics.

(I should note, in hindsight, that I think the Old 97’s “retreads” are pretty good, too. “Singular Girl” is, after all, a relative obscurity and receives a better recording here. I can see why “Question” fits thematically with the rest of the album, and the minor embellishments make it seem a bit more whole (the original version on Satellite Rides was entirely acoustic).

Look, I don’t want anyone questioning my fanboy cred. So I thought I should clear that up.)