Jay Bennett could well have something to do with that (chords). Via Chicago and When You Wake Up... are all Tweedy but Bennett has co-writes (and actually wrote all of My Darling) on all the rest (well, just a bit on In A Future Age).
Definitely a factor. Speaking of Jay, did he go overboard on the bridge to "Summer Teeth"? Well yeah, he did. A bit. Probably could have used one less synth/keyboard overdub, or at least a less obnoxious mix. No one said this album is without its excesses! Still a great song though.
Well, certainly. But let's not forget Hummingbird is all Tweedy. And it has more than its fair share of chords (20 on my last count!)
Wilco could make albums like AM and Being There in their sleep. They took a sharp left turn starting with Summerteeth and continuing with YHF and AGIB. I think many of us would love for them to re-visit their Alt-Country roots one more time for old-times sake. However, I don't think that will ever happen. Certainly not for entire album.
I think with the Summerteeth album, the rule of thumb is, "Jay giveth, and Jay taketh away" in terms of production - over and under, or right on target. He clearly had a field day, as did Jeff, cutting loose and taking chances. Some worked, some didn't. I still think it's a brilliant album, regardless. As I noted earlier, I hear so much of "poppy" Lou Reed in this track. Think VU's "Who Love the Sun." Sunny sound for mildly depressive lyrics.
I'm experimenting with track placement, like trying "Summer Teeth" in the #4 slot in place of "We're Just Friends," or putting "Candyfloss" before "Summer Teeth" like on the advance copy, and moving "nothing'severgonna..." to the end, but I think it also would've been nice to end the album with the "ooh-oooooh, aah-aaaaah" backing vocal of this title track. It's not one of the most memorable songs, which is odd for a title track, but I like the breezy, summery feel. The noisy section of "Summer Teeth" would be better if they had gone for dreamy/surreal more than abrasive annoyance, though. I get that Wilco likes to muss up a song, and often it works to great effect, but here the result in that section just doesn't sound good to me.
"Summer Teeth" As a change up, this one has a less busy production, which works well its favour. A light, enjoyable tune set against a depressing lyric. Not quite sure what to make of it, especially considering that odd burst of keyboard sounds in the middle, which doesn't seem to fit in here at all. It's as though someone just couldn't leave well enough alone. A song I think I might like, but it never quite gets there.
Next we have the final 'proper' song on the album before the extras: In a Future Age I mark 'In a Future Age' down as one of the most genuinely pretty songs in Wilco's catalog. I just think this is gorgeous. The main riff is contemplative and gentle and I just love the sound of it on that acoustic piano (once again, piano is my favorite instrument--it's hard to beat well-recorded piano for me). The vocal melody is also wonderful and Jeff's voice has that late night husk to it here that really adds to the feelings of nostalgia and sweet sadness. Then we have the sawing cacophony that comes in on the second half, but I like it a lot. This song reminds me a bit of Automatic for the People era R.E.M. That same sweet melancholy. By the way, tomorrow we will cover 'Candyfloss' and do final wrap-up thoughts on the album. Thoughts on the remix of 'A Shot in the Arm' can be folded into that. I don't want to devote an entire day to a remix of a song we already covered in depth. We are nearing the end of Summerteeth...next up will be Mermaid Avenue Vol. 2.
In a future age A nice whimsical piano and acoustic guitar. I like the drum/percussion accents an the way they work with the vocal delivery. A nice album closer, that leaves us with a peaceful feeling after an album that really pushed and pulled the emotions around quite a bit.
It sounds as a song of acceptance of today and hope for the future. It has the right tone for it with all the strong Wilco ingredients. It would have been a very proper last song of the album.
In A Future Age: a late night wind-down, Sunken Treasure-tinged closer. And I think it really should have been the final song on the album.
Once again, I'm grateful to this thread : I just had my most rewarding listen ever of that song ! This has to be the Summerteeth track that sounds the most like a bridge between Being There and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. A bit like Via Chicago, but even more so, In A Future Age is musically equidistant from those two records. It could be on either one of them and be somewhat at home. It has one foot in the past of the band and one foot in its future. And what’s even more remarkable, is that it is in fact the very concept of the song, its purpose. How great are they to pull it off so gracefully ?
I'm going to be the outlier here and say that In a Future Age is just an average album track to me. I find it a little repetitive and the melody isn't all that. It's not bad, but it's not memorable.
In a Future Age is a fantastic song and closer. It may have been mentioned somewhere, but I love how the album opens with "Your prayers will never be answered again" and closes with "Let's turn our prayers into outrageous dares." As great as the full band version of "In a Future Age" is, I think the Jeff Tweedy solo version is even more gorgeous. It's that atypical tuning he uses that does it for me, which I think he also uses for "Pot Kettle Black" and "Chinese Apple," two of my other favorite solo acoustic songs.
Thanks. I never would have picked this up. It’s really too bad that the original track listing wasn’t used.
Time heals a lot of grudges and hurt feelings so you never know. Business wise, I know they consult and make decisions together.
"In A Future Age"- The perfect closing song for Summerteeth! It points the way to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, while also looking back at Being There. Fortuleo and Parachute Woman both summed up what I feel about this song. Lovely and haunting piano and guitar, nice drum sound, and a great vocal and lyric by Jeff. This would also make a spectacular end to a live show. Does anyone know how often they have play this song live? 5/5
Nice! I just found this wilcobase.com website. It says 44 times (but that includes Jeff solo), and looks like they haven't played it since 2011 in Chicago. They have only closed one show with it (Dallas, Texas- 2004).
