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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Old Ramon
EMAILPRINTby Red House Painters
Universal acclaim
Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 12 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Sub Pop
Release Date: 10 April 2001
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Alternative, Rock
Summary
Stuck in label limbo since 1997, 'Old Ramon' finally sees the light of day, thanks to Sub Pop records. It is the first official RHP release since 1996's 'Songs For A Blue Guitar,' although frontman Mark Kozelek released the solo album 'What's Next to the Moon' and appeared in the film "Almost Famous" in the interim.
Also On Metacritic
MUSIC: Mark Kozelek: What's Next To The Moon Sun Kil Moon: Ghosts Of The Great Highway Sun Kil Moon: Tiny Cities
Also On The Web: Mark Kozelek Fan Site Sub Pop Records
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Alternative Press
Kozelek's unique arrangements and breathtaking melodies set him far above his contemporaries. [#154, p.93]
Magnet
With the release of Old Ramon, Kozelek shows he's capable of sustained inspiration.... It's Kozelek's most successful LP: consistent, heartbreakingly sad and filled with gems that will linger in his fans' psyches. [#49, p.85]
PopMatters
Taken as a whole, Old Ramon is a brilliant mopey stroll through San Francisco's slate gray streets.
Read Full Review >CDNow
Although they were written as early as 1996 and recorded in 1997-98, the songs on Old Ramon (like most Red House Painters material) have a timeless, dreamy quality to them that prevent them from sounding stale. An album this beautiful can never come too late.
Read Full Review >Spin
Old Ramon is sinuous and unhurried, a beautiful downer of a folk rock record that has the lithe and shadowy promise of the ocean.
Read Full Review >Spin Cycle
Much of the Painters’ power stems from Kozelek’s arresting voice, which meets its deep, moody match in the band’s exquisite renderings of rootsy gothic grace.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Many slower outfits-- Low, American Music Club, Codeine, et al.-- are sometimes pinned with the theory that if you've heard one of their albums, you've heard them all. Such is no longer the case with the Red House Painters.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
While Kozelek consistently sustains beauty that's equal parts stately and awkward, Old Ramon's songs don't quite live up to the career highlights that dominate the warmer Ocean Beach or the more emotionally gripping Red House Painters (the one with the roller-coaster, not the bridge, on its cover). Still, after such a long involuntary hiatus, it's worth the several listens it takes to fully digest Old Ramon.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
The album's long-delayed release only makes its joyous sound that much more refreshing; its inviting mix of gentle and fuzzy guitars and Kozelek's empathetic vocals make it the Painters' most hopeful, accessible work.
Read Full Review >Nude As The News
Unlike past efforts, the songs don't overstay their welcome, evoking more smile-enducing moments than one would come to expect from RHP
Read Full Review >Neumu.net
Across Old Ramon's sprawling 70-minute set, Kozelek is still a master of his sly charade, disguising sprawling webs of complex guitar chords and considered narratives as humble, simple acoustic ditties.
Read Full Review >Launch.com
Wade through a couple of outtake-sounding openers that consist mainly of mechanical strumming on an acoustic 12-string and Kozelek's duo-toned vocals and you'll be rewarded with some of the his most fully realized songs to date.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
They're the sentiments and sounds of West Coast rock becalmed and quietened, stripped of fretwanking excess, and invested with a warmth that transcends cliché. A fortunate, if belated release, and a tragedy averted.
Read Full Review >Wall of Sound
It would have been a shame if this album went unheard, as it is the most fully realized Painters album to date and finds the band, as well as Kozelek's songwriting, in peak form.
Read Full Review >Splendid
But as wonderful as parts of Old Ramon are, the spaces between the high points are at times, less than impressive.
Read Full Review >HOB.com
Emotionally generous to the point of near biography, the Red House Painters win over listeners with their ability to dress even the most depressing song in lyrical warmth...
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
Kozelek's less-than-euphoric vocals become wearying after a few tracks, though the band shuffle basic resources with some brio. Worth the wait, but only just.
Read Full Review >Dot Music
'Old Ramon' is a slight affair cut from similar cloth to '...Blue Guitar', fuzzy with distortion, hampered by less than inspirational songwriting.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
D R gave it a9:
I love this band. They have such an effortless talent, they make the 8-9 minute songs just drift by blissfully. One of their best, sad but more reassured than Roller-coaster. Among their best.
paul k gave it a7:
While one great song does not a great album make, the purchase price is covered by the poignant and beautiful SMOKEY. We also get a MBV wokout with Between Days, Americana can can with Michigan and an ode to a Feline Furball in Wop a din din. Some others might overstay their welcome (River, Void, Cruiser) but as with all RHP releases even those not quite hitting the water-mark still can float most peoples boat!
TJ S gave it a10:
Listening to cruiser, you could feel yourself flying away, as LA sparkles on the ground. Classic, perfect, true.
Sheridan L gave it a 10:
When I hear the music in the top 20 etc. I could cry. I think of the beauty of the Red House Painters - and then I don't feel so bad. They are superb.
Luke C gave it an 8:
A beautiful album ("Cruiser" being the only musically weak track on here), but the Painters have done much better. Check out "Rollercoaster" for what a 10 sounds like.
Chad H. gave it a 9:
a wonderfully sad and heart-breakingly sweet album, the red house painters have been a comfort on many drunken lonely nights
Matt D gave it a 9:
Not the best Red House Painters cd, but a great place to start if you haven't heard of them; 'Byrd Joel' and 'Void' are incredible songs not just for RHP, but as far as any music out there now; buy it- give it a few listens and you'll understand what the hype has been concerning this band.
