Red House Painters: Old Ramon

Red House Painters leader Mark Kozelek is far from your run-of-the-mill mope. His stock in trade may be sad, meandering ballads, but he's proved remarkably versatile within that framework, finding a place for everything from a collection of Bon Scott-era AC/DC covers to the sprawling, off-kilter epics that dominate the long-shelved 1998 album Old Ramon. Tied up in label disputes for three years—during which time Kozelek recorded solo material, assembled tribute albums, and acted in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous—Old Ramon is characteristically ambitious in theme and tone. With 10 songs drawn out to a whopping 72 minutes, it's a lot to take at once, but it's never monotonous, and surely the first record ever to feature an achingly sincere love song to a cat ("Wop-A-Din-Din") and a track name-checking Hanoi Rocks (the gorgeous "Cruiser"). The results are almost invariably striking, though they occasionally plod when songs like "Void" and "Between Days" approach (or, in the case of "River," exceed) the 10-minute mark. And, 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. That a collection this loose and lengthy is worth that kind of time commitment is a pretty good sign that it's got a lot going for it.