Mythologies Review by Michael Frey

Mythologies finds young Texan Rhett Miller sounding curiously British at times during a collection of bare, acoustic folk tracks. Erroneous accent aside, the 1989 offering gives fans an opportunity to observe the early stages of development in the career of a great young songwriter. Miller’s longtime partner in crime Murry Hammond, who would later join Miller in Sleepy Heroes and finally the Old 97s, produces all 13 tracks and performs on ten of them as well. Though nothing on Mythologies quite reaches the level of quality of later Miller/Hammond collaborations, there is some strong material here. “Iron Child,” “Song for Truman Capote,” “Redbird Song,” and “I’m Coming Home” show the potential that would be realized on later releases, while the playful “Candy Apple Corkscrew Hair” is more fun than anything you’d expect to find on a folk album. As to be expected given the young age at which Miller wrote these songs, there are some awkward moments like the unfortunate “Honey in My Tea,” but for the most part Mythologies is not only a great find for curious Old 97s fans but is also an album that can stand alone on their own merit.