Aw, I'm sorry to be the one to let you know about his disdain! It's never fun to find out an artist dislikes a piece of work that's special to you. I agree with all of you that's there has got to be some personal reason Jeff dislikes "I Thought I Held You" so much.
A final comment on Tweedy and the BMI database. 398 titles is mucho-prolific, I mean out of the stratosphere prolific. Put it this way; Tom Petty, with a much longer career, has 364 titles listed. And he’s no slouch. (I did find one alt-country peer that blew even Tweedy out of the water, but for general purposes, Jeff Tweedy writes a lot of songs.)
He writes a lot of songs, and for me, many of these are growers if I didn't get it the first time. I didn't really get A.M. ever, finally bought an old CD copy in 2012, and what really made me get into this album is how many of these they still play at their live shows. But listening to A.M. now, I just hear a lot of Jeff's songwriting hallmarks.
Anybody catch Wilco when they were on the Horde Tour in 95? It looks like the tour passed the Chicago area (Tinley Park), on 8-17-95. I lived about 15 minutes away from that venue, I am guessing I was already down at school was the reason I did not go. I am also guessing management thought this tour would be a great way to gain a different type of audience.
A.M. for me is kind of like Pablo Honey in Radiohead’s catalog in that its not an album I revisit much and feels slight compared to their later work. But it’s still an album I enjoy and don’t find any major fault with. After the break up of Uncle Tupelo I wasn’t sure what to expect but after hearing “Box Full of Letters,” which surprisingly got a little airplay on my local alternative radio station, I was in. That’s still my favorite track on the album. Great chorus, guitar riff and vocals. The only song I dislike is “Dash 7,” which I find boring and lifeless, and while I enjoy “That’s Not the Issue” it seems out of place, even more so in hindsight. But otherwise the album holds up well with “I Must Be High,” “Casino Queen” and “Passenger Side” particular highlights. Both the strength and weakness of the album is that it seems a continuation of Uncle Tupelo rather than Wilco forging its own voice, something Jeff Tweedy has himself acknowledged. And as weaknesses go it’s not a huge one considering that with Anodyne he had improved as a singer and songwriter to where he was producing material that easily held its own against Jay Farrar’s songs. Fortunately, it was just the start of a career that’s gone in places I would never have anticipated based on A.M. with Wilco soon becoming one of my top 3 favorite bands and a live act I’ve been fortunate to see many times.
Oh no worries. I'm sort of used to that by now. Bob Dylan has always sort of ignored "Blind Willie McTell", Bruce Springsteen didn't play "The Price You Pay" in concert for nearly 30 years, I never saw R.E.M. play "Nightswimming", Neil Finn never even released "Spirit of the Stairs", Elton John's "Street Kids".... the list of personal favorites that have been, if not outright dismissed, at least quietly ignored, by some of my favorite artists is quite long.
I had seen them about 6-7 months prior to that show, but not on the Horde Tour. Didn't see them again until they toured behind their second album.
Regarding the show you saw, I am guessing he played some Uncle Tupelo's songs. Do you remember if he mentioned his 'old' band?
I was curious about the cover songs that were initially played by Wilco (not counting Uncle Tupelo songs or the Doug Sahm cover they included on Anodyne). Earliest , from April 28, 1995, Mississippi Nights, St. Louis: Listen To Her Heart—Tom Petty/Heartbreakers Reincarnation—Roger Miller Who Were You Thinking Of—Jim Glaser So one month after album’s release. I don’t know the Roger Miller song (and after listening to a few seconds...I’m perfectly happy not knowing. )
According to Wilcobase, the show I saw was their 10th ever show on February 20, 1995 (although all of the band's early performances may not be listed - for example, no concerts are shown for a month before or after the one I attended, which seems odd). Unfortunately, there's no setlist available and, because the show took place several weeks before the release of A.M., I was unfamiliar with all of the Wilco material. They certainly played several of Tweedy's Uncle Tupelo songs and I know I remember "Give Back the Key to My Heart" - it was essentially the same band from Anodyne, minus Farrar. Can't remember what Tweedy said in reference to UT. There were not a lot of us in the audience - maybe 100-ish? I do now recall Tweedy saying that they had recorded an album but that it wouldn't be out for awhile as they were negotiating with a label.
Wow, so they were playing shows already in February. Very interesting. I’ll see if Greg Kot’s book says anything about the set list.
Ha! He loves this song. He has ended several of the recent Tweedy shows, on Instagram, playing this song. It’s a fun and silly song that he seems to enjoy playing.
In the final Uncle Tupelo show (1994-05-01 Mississippi Nights, St. Louis), they covered Willin', Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Effigy, Gimme Three Steps, Give Back the Key to My Heart, Truck Drivin' Man, Atomic Power, and Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down. Possibly some others that I don't know. Here's the poster, billing them as "St. Louis's 4th Best Country Band": YouTube:
This really is an incredible feat. I am assuming that this spans all of his bands/collaborations? Uncle Tupelo, Loose Fur, Golden Smog, Tweedy, Solo, and Wilco. Then collaborations with Mavis, N. Jones, etc.
Well, one show at least. The one I went to is the only one listed for that month. Their first 8 shows all took place in late '94. Wilcobase shows a Mountain Stage appearance on January 1, but that can't be correct. It probably came later in the year after the album was out.
Yes. Any % of a song that he’s registered with BMI. To really check it out thoroughly one would probably have to look through the competition’s databases, too. For instance, I checked out Paul McCartney once and he has songs listed with both ASCAP and BMI. (Over 900, I think it was). But 398 is a lot of songs so I’m thinking Tweedy is all BMI. (Ryan Adams? You can just imagine.)
Very interesting that they did Listen to Her Heart. @Rainy Taxi referenced that exact song in our Box Full of Letters discussion. Those songs are definitely part of the same bloodline stretching back to the Byrds.
They also used to cover "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" in the early days. I have never understood that choice. I guess Jeff was just into that song.
Exactly! It’s not his best song but to be writing like that in his first outing without Jay forging the way? Add in banjo and pedal steel, and I think it’s an enjoyable tune.
