1989: Rhett Miller's Mythologies

Rhett Miller: Candy Apple Corkscrew Hair
Rhett Miller: Iron Child

[purchase]

Like most people, I first came to know Rhett Miller through his work with Alt-Country icons, The Old 97's. When Rhett released The Instigator in 2002, I was under the impression that it was his first solo album. I thought this to be true for quite a while until I stumbled upon something called Mythologies.

It seems that an 18-year-old Rhett Miller recorded and released the album with an extremely limited run in 1989. Who knew?

The album itself is mostly an acoustic affair featuring Rhett on vocals and guitar with future Old 97's bandmate Murry Hammond as producer. Hammond also appears on most of the album's 13 tracks. It's a fairly straightforward album that never quite reaches the heights Miller and Hammond would later achieve with their more famous collaborations. Still... it offers an interesting look at Miller's early songwriting efforts and is (mostly) an enjoyable listen.

I've provided a "purchase" link above. However, the only copy amazon.com seems to have available comes with an asking price of $999.00. If that's a bit too steep, try Rhett's other, more affordable, solo efforts The Instigator and The Believer.