My old Kinks obsession in plain sight ! Funny that you should ask, as I wanted to share this. In the mid Noughties, we French were not very well served as far as Wilco live shows were concerned. We had one date per tour if we were lucky, and they even skipped Paris sometimes on their way from London to Brussels, because they had difficulties finding good economic conditions to play here (taxes were high, venues were not big enough). But it played to our advantage for the early Ghost Is Born tour, for that very same reason : they had a show in the tiny "Maroquinerie", a club-sized venue, almost not big enough for them all to stand on stage together. The place was packed and they were just starting out as the six guys line-up. In a way, stars were aligned to raise the energy level to crazy heights. They were so close to each other, and so close to the audience, they were obviously reveling in the discovery of their own power. It's the only time I've seen the band in that spirit : they looked genuinely surprised by their own chemistry. Not in full command of it, but in awe of it ! They played almost all Ghost Is born (only Theologians, Wishful Thinking and Less Than You Think were left out of the set list) plus the usual YHF/Summerteeth fare, plus I think the Lonely 1 as the closing song). Whenever I've seen them before or since (and not only in France), I've been impressed by their proficiency but that time in July 2004 is my very best memory of Wilco live, because it looked like their genius was as much a revelation for them as it was for us. As for I'm a Wheel, it was part of a devastating Encore, just as it should be.
I believe that's a reference to Jeff's early draft about swingers in the '70s who would wrap their televisions in leather and change the channel with a flick of the whip. I like "I'm a Wheel," a nice throwback to Uncle Tupelo and Jeff's roots, but on the album it seems oddly restrained--like they're playing at 80% volume and intensity. A live version is included on Alpha Mike Foxtrot. I'm not sure where that might have originated; it wasn't part of the Tour EP. Is it the same performance that was on the Kicking Television vinyl bonus? I see that the studio version was the A-side of a single (b/w "Kicking Television"), released as a 7" vinyl record at least in the UK. Wiki tells me that it hit #23 on the Adult Alternative Songs chart, while peaking at #85 on the UK singles chart. Apparently another version was the B-side to a "Hummingbird" CD-single in Spain; Jim O'Rourke is credited with extra drums, T.J. Doherty is on Hi Hat, and Mikael Jorgenson plays piano and Farfisa organ. Maybe that's what we have here:
I know I've harped on poor single choices in the past but how in the world was 'I'm a Wheel' the only commercial single released for "A Ghost is Born"?!? I get that they might of wanted something to pair with the B-side ('Kicking Television') but neither song is terribly indicative of the rest of the album. I just looked over the WXRT listener poll for 2004 and it's as if "A Ghost is Born" was never released. No Wilco song /album made it into the top 30 of their respective end of year lists. You could blame changing dynamics of the station and its listeners but "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" was voted the #1 album of 2002 and "Kicking Television" the #4 album (and #2 concert) of 2005. Just to re-emphasize this fact, Wilco had the #2 & #11 concerts of the year in 2004 (June 12 @ the Vic / October 29-31 @ the Auditorium Theatre) so it's not like everyone suddenly forgot about the band. I never noticed this backlash before but I guess a lot of longtime fans really were fed up with the direction the band was taking... And I know everyone seems to fawn over "Kicking Television" (rightfully so) but at the time I would've thought Wilco considered the concerts a disaster. I know they were unhappy with the film footage and I seriously doubt we'll ever hear the complete performances as anyone who remembers the last night could tell you (more on that later). I know they played 'I'm A Wheel'->'Kicking Television' during the encores the first 3 nights. I'm sure they were planning on playing it on Night #4 as well but I think Jeff would have blown a gasket if he tried after all the delays / problems that plagued the final night. Thank goodness they were able to salvage something into a live album as this was a truly magical time for the band...
"I'm A Wheel" is certainly one of the lesser songs on the album but it works for me in this slot. It's a song for the old rockers in Wilco's fanbase and it takes me back to the vibe of the first two albums. The drums are missing the "thwack" of old though and the lyrics are, well, not among Tweedy's best let's just say. Still, it's a welcome shot of espresso at this point in the proceedings and it continues the mid-album run of quality quite nicely.
"I'm a Wheel" is a good song - I like it, but I agree with @robcar - its one of the lesser songs on the record for me. And, I agree with several of you (posted above), as much as I like it, I am not sure it "fits" on this record. I am pretty sure this is a song I have never, ever heard played live.
Setlist.fm says it's been played 337 times by Wilco, 18 times by Jeff, and twice by Tweedy the band. First played by Jeff at Abbey Pub in Chicago on June 2, 2002; last played by Jeff during a streaming show on April 17, between covers of "God" by John Lennon and "Ooh La La" by The Faces. I expected that they would've played "I'm a Wheel" on at least one of the late night shows back in 2004-05, but if they did, it's apparently not on YouTube.
I got to see the band do I'm A Wheel at my second Wilco show (Pittsburgh 2004). Jeff was playing a Flying V guitar.
The album needed a rocker. I prefer Kicking Television in a big way. But Wheel has grown on me... it’s grown from a 5/10 to an 8 over the years.
I suppose they could have released a “radio edit” of Spiders, but that would have been a REALLY bad idea. On the other hand, I feel like “The Late Greats” would have been a classic single though. More to say about that in a few days....
that whole 2004/early 2005 tour was really special imo. I feel like the band was still learning how to gel and getting by on fate a bit more than they did right after that. I have a recording of the Tampa show I saw in Feb 2005, and I haven’t heard any better wilco, from a setlist or performance perspective, and the recording is killer! Tweedy took the cellphone from a teenage girl in the front row in the middle of Kingpin and spoke to who turned out to be her mom. I guess she was past curfew and was calling her mom to let her know, but then tweedy jumped in and they had a quick chat in front of the 2,000 seat theatre!
This is a wonderful story! I love Jeff Tweedy. And that’s with his flaws. We've all got them and he worked so hard to overcome his addictions. I love the whole band! Proof that a bunch of pretty normal guys can make sensational music. Not wishing to jump ahead, but I listened to Sky Blue Sky today and was filled with immense affection for Wilco. I'm having so much fun discussing them with all of you.
Agree completely that 'Spiders' (radio edit) would've been a bad choice but I think something like 'Hummingbird' / 'Theologians' or either version of 'Handshake Drugs' would've made much more sense for a commercial release than 'I'm A Wheel'. I'm not even sure they really cared what was being played on the radio at this point to be honest but I'll get more into that when we get into 'Kicking Television' / 'The Late Greats' proper...
They did release a radio promo of "Theologians," which hit #14 on the Adult Alternative Songs chart, but it is odd that "Hummingbird" evidently didn't get a commercial or promotional issue in the US. For some reason, Nonesuch thought "Hummingbird" could get played on the radio--but just in Spain.
There's also a promo radio sampler which listed all of the tracks mentioned above. I honestly can't remember which songs from 'A Ghost is Born' were played on Chicago radio but apparently none of them were particularly popular judging from the WXRT 2004 Year End list I referenced earlier. I kinda remember "I'm A Wheel" being played but it's over so fast that it's easily missed. I figure "I'm A Wheel" was mainly released on 45 so they could put out the B-side "Kicking Television" since they kinda compliment each other. Imagine if they flipped the two sides and released "Kicking Television" as a single... "STOP BUYING THINGS!! AHHHHHH"....
This is a good spot in the album for a rocker, but I'm a Wheel just doesn't work for me. It doesn't have rocky lyrics and the rhythm is too stuttering to get going. It's possibly my least liked song on the album.
I just read this and thought it was a good conversation about A Ghost Is Born, if anyone is interested. Dusting 'Em Off: Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
"I'm a Wheel" was definitely the song XRT played in Chicago when the album came out. Count me as a fan of the song. The live version blows the studio version out of the water though. I saw them play it as a four piece in 2002 — it was great then. I've seen them play it with the current line up, with Pat's windmills, and it's great now. The studio version is good, and I'm glad it's included on the album, but it doesn't have the same energy.
Good Sunday all. Great discussions. I'd just say that I'm A Wheel was a song I gravitated towards when I first got the album. A welcome flat-out rocker. I liked Company In My Back too, catchy as hell. I always thought it was about pressure from the business side of music. But he could have made the line Company On My Back, so maybe it's his inner pressures?
Good morning! Theologians Jeff Tweedy: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar John Stirratt: bass Glenn Kotche: drums Leroy Bach: acoustic guitar Mikael Jorgensen: piano Jim O'Rourke: piano Another of my absolute favorite tracks on the album (top three with Muzzle of Bees and Hummingbird), 'Theologians' is just fab. It has a power pop feel to it with wonderful piano from both Jim and Mikael, an amazing melody, great vocals, a beautiful outro and a guitar solo to die for. What's not to love? The lyrics are interesting as well, with Jeff commenting upon spiritual leaders. When someone is thinking a lot about death (as he clearly was) it is only natural to frame that within religion and he is here finding that he doesn't feel understood by the traditional theological insights. "They don't know nothing about my soul." It even quotes the Latin phrase 'Inlitterati lumen fidei' which means 'faith illuminates the illiterate.' Interesting stuff. Towards the end, we get the repeated title phrase of 'a ghost is born' and then Jeff also saying he's a cherry ghost. Here is his explanation of what he meant by that: "I just wanted to put some words together that kind of implied what I was meaning in a way that wasn't, I guess if I was gonna write cherry ghost in a way that was more cliched, and directed to the point I would say, I wanna leave a sweet memory, I wanna be a sweet person. Basically a sweet ghost, an aftertaste in my life of sweetness, that people loved me and I was loving to people." This quote really affirms for me the fact that I do not believe Jeff Tweedy writes nonsense lyrics. Sometimes they may be hard to decipher, but I think he always has something in mind (a clear emotional meaning) with whatever words he writes. I love his lyrics. Anyway, this is a great song. Interesting that it came up on a Sunday...
Here's the version from Ashes of American Flags: I love this version. Lots of energy, great backing vocals from John and duel keyboard action from Pat and Mikael. And Glenn is rocking! Theologians, like I'm a Wheel, was only a bonus track on the vinyl version of Kicking Television. Click here to hear that version.
Theologians Very cool tune. I get a Randy Newman vibe from this one. This is an upbeat song without resorting to “dumb rocker” mode. As we get to the final few tracks on the album what is becoming clear is how much AGIB is an eclectic collection with a high overall standard of song quality. Lots of different approaches on display here and pretty much all of them work.
