Wilco: Album by Album

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Parachute Woman, May 11, 2020.

  1. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Amazing what can be found when searching for Ken Coomer!
    “I bring this up because this is a story about American poets, who will be referred to hereafter as the rock band Wilco. And this is a story filled with insignificance: business deals, personnel changes, communication breakdowns, creative dysfunction and small personal failures. Basically, a lot of red wheelbarrows in the rain that so much depends upon. Not the least of which is Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which I’m pretty sure will be remembered one day as great American poetry in thought and word and sound and action.”

    —skip—-
    And!
    “...
    Uncle Tupelo or the people involved—and that was the end. Apparently, a lot of water has passed under that particular bridge. Tweedy actually seems open to the notion of a one-off reunion. “Actually, nobody has asked us,” he says. “There’s no weirdness between me and Jay, we just don’t talk. But you know, we never talked much when we were in a band together.”

    This is excellent. Extremely interesting:from 2002
    Wilco: Heroes And Villains - Magnet Magazine
     
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  2. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Yeah, I would definitely agree that it changed. But it’s a bit of a two-sided coin. Jay in retrospect says that with Ken leaving, the heart of the band. That old model of everyone pitching in died with Ken and Jay leaving. For them, the collaborative spirit of Wilco was over.

    For John, though, assuming he had accepted that he wasn’t going to be singing lead like he did on one AM track, he now had a chance to get back in the fold. And Glenn definitely served as a muse to Jeff (and still does), so he must have like it was a collaborative environment. Then Mikael works as an engineer, which becomes, “can you help us out in tour”, and one thing leads to another.

    So we’re entering a new era of Wilco. That band of brothers era comes to an end. But the new band is far from Tweedy and a bunch of sidemen. Instead it’s Jeff as the nucleus, and what seems to me to be the others learning the boundaries of where to collaborate and where to take some of their interests elsewhere... as each member will soon have active side projects that are supported by the Wilco camp. And it turns out to be a very stable model.
     
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  3. frightwigwam

    frightwigwam Talented Amateur

    Location:
    Oregon
    Also, while we're talking about record sales (figures on Wikipedia):

    Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: 674K
    Turn on the Bright Lights: 579K
    Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots: 570K
    Kill the Moonlight: 153K
    Murray St.: #126 on the Billboard 200
    One Beat: 90K
    Blacklisted: 113K
    Sea Change: 680K

    I think Nonesuch must have been pleased with that result. It's not like White Blood Cells and Elephant, because it didn't have any hit singles, or even alternative radio hits, to boost sales to the Platinum level, but it sold well relative to most other alternative/indie rock coming out at the time.
     
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  4. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    This is an excellent analysis. Thank you for writing this.
     
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  5. rancher

    rancher Unmade Bed

    Location:
    Ohio
    :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
    But as R.E.M. would say, “Good Advices”:D
     
  6. rancher

    rancher Unmade Bed

    Location:
    Ohio
    Yes, nice work. Murray St is one of my favorite albums ever, YHF and Yoshimi not far behind. A great year!
     
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  7. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    Thank you for writing all the info on these tracks. If you don’t mind, could you please explain the KCRW reference? Were these “demos” actually performances on KCRW? Thanks.
     
  8. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Wiki: Bennett also played on albums by Sheryl Crow, Allison Moorer, Sherry Richand Billy Joe Shaver, produced Michelle Anthony's 2004 release, "Stand Fall Repeat," West of Rome's 2005 release, "Drunk Tank Decoy,"[8] and Blues Traveler's 2005 release, ¡Bastardos! and mixed the album Double Barrelby Chicago country-rock band Old No. 8.“

    What Sheryl Crow album did Jay play on? I looked at Allmusic and don’t see anything. Does anybody know?
     
  9. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Yes. Didn’t intend to make these out to be demos. A live session from Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW. I believe these two had an official release at some point but I may be wrong. I found them years before Alpha Mike came out on a fan-compiled rarities collection.
     
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  10. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    One last comment on Yankee...

    If you can buy diet Coca Cola and unlit cigarettes for $3.63, how much does it cost if the cigarettes are already lit?

    [I figured a dad joke was appropriate here as Wilco are now evolving into the kings of dad rock].
     
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  11. rancher

    rancher Unmade Bed

    Location:
    Ohio
    And try that with inflation in 2020 :D
     
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  12. frightwigwam

    frightwigwam Talented Amateur

    Location:
    Oregon
    I think you can still listen to their Morning Becomes Eclectic episodes here: Search Results | wilco morning becomes eclectic
     
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  13. frightwigwam

    frightwigwam Talented Amateur

    Location:
    Oregon
    He plays electric guitar and Wurlitzer organ on "Resuscitation" from The Globe Sessions.
     
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  14. frightwigwam

    frightwigwam Talented Amateur

    Location:
    Oregon
    So, Jay got 50% of the publishing. While Jay included both songs on his 2002 album, Wilco never has released recordings of either song. Meanwhile, Jeff never performed "Venus" and has rarely played "Alone (Shakin' Sugar)" in concert--and actually didn't play it at all post-divorce, until after Jay had died. We might interpret this as Jeff airbrushing Jay out of the picture. Or, maybe they had some understanding that Jay could claim those songs in the breakup?

    Anyway, sorry if I missed you posting this one before, as well, but here's Jay's recording of "Shakin' Sugar" from The Palace at 4 am (Part 1). It's kind of like a Summerteeth outtake but with some twangy guitar. It also misses Jeff's voice. I like the Wilco demos better.


    "Shakin' Sugar"
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2020
  15. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Thanks! Wiki doesn’t show personnel for track 12. That solves that mystery. Now I’ll have to play the song and see what it’s like.
     
  16. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Yeah, they all miss Jeff’s voice.
     
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  17. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    I think you've heard that shuffle beat (and the whistling) in the Beatles' Two of Us. Otherwise, this sounds uncannily like a McCartney/McManus demo or a Finn bros' Woodface demo (which is essentially the same thing, both sets of demos are incredible and extremely similar).
    Thanks for the write up about all the outtakes. I agree with all your assessments and when listed, it's quite clear there was an album worth of excellent pop tracks there (Won't Let You Down, Not for the Season, Corduroy Cut Off Girl, Poor Places (demo version), Cars Can't Escape, Alone, Nothing Up My Sleeve, Magazine Called Sunset, Venus Stopped the Train, Let Me Come Home), Cars being the one great lost masterpiece of the bunch in my opinion, a desert island Wilco compilation track for me in its piano demo form.
    But in that parallel universe, Wilco kind of becomes a lesser Beulah (I once chatted with that band's leader Miles Kuroski who stated their album Yoko was the real follow up to Summerteeth, much more so that the "pretentious art pop" of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot; if you're not familiar with it, check it out, it's indeed a great mellotron-heavy indy pop LP). In any case, I think we're better off as it is.
    No, no, still one album to go before that !
    I'm 100% convinced there was an agreement on those songs.
    This is Jay's most blatant attempt at emulating the Jeff Lynne sound. Superb stuff !!
    100% agreed. Any other way of presenting it is in my opinion extremely dismissive to all involved. There's no Being There/Summerteeth/Mermaid/Yankee without Jay/Ken. But there's no A Ghost Is Born with them, precisely because they have such strong musical personalities and talent that push in a very different direction (see the list of outtakes above). And there's no AGIB/Sky Blue Sky/etc. without the new guys either.

    It is because all those musicians have HUGE musical personalities that Wilco is/was Wilco.
     
  18. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    [​IMG]

    A Ghost is Born

    Released June 22, 2004

    Wilco began recording A Ghost is Born in late 2003. This album features a unique lineup in the history of the band, with Jay Bennett now gone. Jeff Tweedy serves as the lead guitarist on this album, also playing bass and a variety of other instruments. Trusty John Stirratt is on bass, Glenn Kotche is on drums and this is the final album featuring Leroy Bach as a member of the band (mostly contributing keyboards, but other instruments as well). This is the first album to feature Mikael Jorgensen in a full-time capacity, also playing a variety of instruments. The band is supplemented by Jim O'Rourke, who also engineered, mixed and produced.

    Unlike the last few albums which were performed live in studio and then overdubbed, A Ghost is Born was first performed on Pro Tools. Jeff took inspiration from bands like Television for the guitar sound on this album. He didn't want 'jam band' style guitar solos and instead went for a more composed feeling that would allow him to express and highlight his emotional state through playing. The band started touring to promote the album before it had been released and another major line-up transition occurred. Leroy Bach left the band (on good terms) and was replaced by two new members: jazz guitarist extraordinaire Nels Cline and Swiss Army knife style multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone. This six-man lineup of Wilco (Tweedy, Stirratt, Kotche, Jorgensen, Cline and Sansone) has remained stable since 2004 and is now easily the longest-lasting incarnation of Wilco.

    Jeff Tweedy checked himself into rehab in May 2004, which delayed the release of the album by a few weeks. After years of migraines, anxiety and depression, Jeff had become highly dependent upon prescription medication. The album was actually webcast for free online at release time (we're getting into the 21st century now)!

    Reception was again highly positive. The album peaked at #8 on Billboard and sold 81,000 copies in its first week. The buzz was strong with Wilco. Critics were again very impressed and the band's winning streak continued. Rolling Stone praised it for being 'eerie' and for exploring 'what can happen in a song.' Billboard called it uncompromising and difficult. Multiple reviewers said they thought it was even better than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot had been. There were some mixed reviews as well, which generally thought it was unfocused, self-indulgent or uneven.

    The album won two Grammy Awards. One for Best Recording Package (awarded to Peter Buchanan-Smith and Dan Nadel) and one for Best Alternative Music Album. A live album (Kicking Television) was released from the tour supporting A Ghost is Born. We'll talk about that one next, never fear.

    On a personal note, A Ghost is Born is very special for me. This was my entry point for Wilco. Compared to all of you fine Wilco people, I'm a late comer. By summer 2004, I was in between my sophomore and junior years of high school and a certified music freak. My tastes had also matured and I was listening to 'adult' music and really starting to pay attention to a lot of what was happening on the modern scene. I bought A Ghost is Born without having heard a note of it (I listened to 107.7 The End, Seattle's alternative rock station, every day but they never played Wilco) and I grew to absolutely adore it. I used to play this album all the time while I was doing homework and editing stories for our school newspaper. It became a major part of the soundtrack of my life. As I began to dig deeper into the music and the words, I connected with it even more strongly. I bought Yankee, I became a huge fan of the band and here I am running a thread dedicated to them. :)

    At Least That's What You Said


    I would love to hear everyone's thoughts about the sequencing of A Ghost is Born. This album seems to deliberately begin with three 'difficult' or unusual songs in a row, almost daring the listener to find their way in to this work. The album begins quietly with Jeff Tweedy singing softly over gorgeous piano chords. He weaves a story like a scene from a novel. A couple has just been in what seems to be a huge fight, both emotional and physical. This is the aftermath, as they sit exhausted together on the bed, frustrated, hollowed-out and struggling to reconcile. It is a quietly intense tableau on which to open our scene.

    And then the guitar comes prowling in to the song--ferocious and blowing in with incredible emotional power. Jeff said that this guitar solo is a 'musical transcription' of a panic attack. After growing by leaps and bounds over the past few years as a guitarist, Jeff Tweedy really comes into his own on this album. He is the lead guitarist and he proves more than capable. His style is full of immense feeling to my ears. I listen to this guitar solo (taking up the entire last 2/3rds of the song) and I can feel exactly what he wanted me to feel, I think. The frustration, the pain, the confusion, the sadness, the panic. I have had a few panic attacks in my own life--fortunately only a handful of times--and I think this piece does a brilliant job of capturing that terrible emotional state. A Ghost is Born is an eloquent album. Jeff's writing continues to explore the realms of mental health in amazing ways. The fact that this was all written just prior to him going into rehab to get healthy makes it all the more dizzying. He was totally frayed down to the bone at this point and he shares it all with us.

    I just saw an interview with him where he said that he thinks mental health is in large part the ability to deal with ambiguity and the 'not knowing.' I'm going to keep that thought in mind as we explore this album. 'At Least That's What You Said' is an amazing opener. It's the first Wilco song I knowingly heard and it pummeled its way right into my soul.
     
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  19. chickendinna

    chickendinna Homegrown’s All Right With Me

    I've never figured out what to make of this album. AGIB plays a large role in Wilco's canon. For those of us who thought YHF was accessible weirdness, ABIG takes it one step further. It contains a lot of essential Wilco songs. The Late Greats is one my favorite tributes to garage bands everywhere. I've always thought O'Rourke and Tweedy were to Wilco what Eno and Byrne were to the Talking Heads. They were like these made scientists who pushed the limits of their creativity.
     
  20. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    You don't know what a Swiss Army knife is? It's a knife with lots of attachments in it like a corkscrew, tweezers, nail file, bottle opener, etc. It's a tool that 'does it all.' Like how Pat can 'do it all' and play lots of different instruments. I was just trying to be poetic, lol. :) Or are you kidding? It's hard to read tone.
     
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  21. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    You know what a Swiss army knife is, right? Self explanatory
     
  22. Gabe Walters

    Gabe Walters Forum Resident

    I love Beulah, including the criminally overlooked Yoko, but they really made a (too short) career out of aping Wilco.
     
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  23. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    A Ghost Is Born— the packaging is great with the egg on the outer sleeve and then broken eggshell on the cd cover. The cd itself rests on a bed of straw, so very well thought out. The booklet includes drawings, lyrics and (the return of) a song-by-song accounting of who plays what.

    I was generally happy with this when it was released. Tweedy had me pegged because I was ticked off at the song that he (gleefully?) anticipated pushback on. So I fit the profile, I guess.

    I will admit to member fatigue at this point. Found I wasn’t interested anymore. I guess it happens!

    I scribbled down some song by song thoughts a few days ago but my cat shredded the piece of paper...so I guess I’ll have to scratch my head and re-think this.
     
  24. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    I’m well aware of the knife. I also know what a multi-instrumentalist is. It’s okay. I guess it’s saying the same thing twice...or , yes, I should have gotten the poetic touch. Sorry for the controversy! :D
     
  25. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Now I’m thinking I better delete my post! In fact, I will!
     

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