Old Ramon

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
Red House Painters
ReleasedApril 10, 2001
Recorded1997-1998
GenreFolk rock, slowcore
Length71:54
LanguageEnglish
LabelSub Pop
ProducerMark Kozelek
Red House Painters chronology
Retrospective
(1999)		 Old Ramon
(2001)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
NME8/10[3]
Pitchfork Media8.0[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

All tracks are written by Mark Kozelek.

No.TitleLength
1."Wop-a-Din-Din"5:37
2."Byrd Joel"6:26
3."Void"9:34
4."Between Days"8:35
5."Cruiser"8:39
6."Michigan"4:50
7."River"11:21
8."Smokey"6:55
9."Golden"3:53
10."Kavita"6:05

Release history
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
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References
  1. "Old Ramon by Red House Painters Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  2. Phares, Heather. Old Ramon at AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  3. Mulvey, John (May 10, 2001). "NME Album Reviews - Red House Painters : Old Ramon". IPC MEDIA. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  4. Kearney, Ryan (April 10, 2001). "Red House Painters: Old Ramon | Album Reviews". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
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