yeah man, those liner notes quotes from Tweedy are hilarious! I forgot to mention them, so thanks for reminding me of Snagglepuss.
Ok. So here's everything I can remember about the 'Kicking Television' shows. Tickets were announced about 2 weeks before as "Wilco be part of a live taping! May 4, 5, 6 & 7 at 8pm Vic Theatre". After the shenanigans of their recent Holiday shows (Halloween / NYC NYE) and solo Tweedy Vic show from March (where 5/6 of the band came out for the encores [Nels was missing; apparently someone had stolen his cellphone!?!]) it didn't take a genius to know that this would be something special. I don't think we originally planned to go to every show but after striking out during the Music Today and Ticketmaster presales we were determined to get as many tickets as we could. So it came as a little shock when we scored the entire run during the general public sale. It was going to be a long week... The next week Wilco HQ hyped the concerts in their newsletter thusly: "Also, please note that for next week's 4 shows at the Vic in Chicago there are no support acts... These are what is known in rock show parlance as "an evening with Wilco". Tape and or film will definitely be rolling. Okay, you've been warned. Don't be late." When we got to venue the first night we were greeted with signs pointing out that the concerts were being taped and that by entering the premises you were allowing for your likeness to be captured for future use. Audio / video recording was prohibited as well as moshing / laser pointers etc. I remember being close enough in line to be able to sneak glimpses of the event poster / shirt as the merch guy set up his booth before the show. If I recall correctly the shirts sold out quickly but the posters remained spelling out the band's name in skyscrapers in 4 different color schemes (one for each night; 3 in tribute to the YHF slip covers [Tan, White,Baby Blue] the last in Brown <shown below>). All in all the first night seemed to go off without a hitch. The horn section to start the second set ("I'm the Man Who Loves You") was a nice surprise. Apparently they were members of Head of Femur (a Chicago based band that had opened up some Wilco shows earlier in the year). There was a point where Jeff realized the horn section didn't have a name yet so trotted out a few nicknames before settling on the "Horns of Femur". One of the first things I noticed the second night was the band was pretty much wearing the same clothes as before except Glenn who I swear wore his two red/blue hand sweatbands upside down. This became an inside joke by night 3 as he proceeded to mismatch the two sweatbands (one red/blue the other blue/red). He may have ended up with three or four sweatbands by night 4; at this point I'm guessing they knew any chance at continuity between shows was shot. Filming seemed to follow a pattern of 4 songs on then 1 off; I don't remember the cameras being terribly intrusive except for 'Jesus Etc.' when the director kept trying to film the audience 'unnoticed' from different positions behind the drum kit / speakers. Unfortunately this became a major distraction and turned into a game of "Where's Waldo" by night 3. I never really thought about this before but I'm kinda surprised at how little you can hear the crowd singing along to most of the songs on "Kicking Television". I guess there's some truth to Jeff's comment that Sam Jones somehow sapped the life out of the shows. There wasn't a lot of chatter between songs but I do remember Jeff going off on an extended tangent about some sort of conspiracy theory concerning American Idol's Scott Savol during one of the performances of 'Kingpin'. Apparently Scott had finally been voted off on 5/4 (the first night of these concerts) after consistently advancing while 'superior' artists like Constantine were eliminated. Who knew Jeff was a fan of "American Idol". 'Kicking Television' indeed... By the fourth night we all knew the general pattern. Or so we thought. The band started noticing some buzzing / crackling noises during the early songs that got so annoying that Jeff cut the first set short. After waiting for over an hour while the roadies tried to fix the problem the band came back out and replayed "I'm The Man Who Loves You". But the sound issues persisted and after a couple more songs the band stormed off the stage in frustration. There was another long delay at which point Jeff apologized and ended up giving away one of his guitars to some fans in the front row who had traveled all the way from Europe to see the shows. This was probably somewhere around midnight and the crowd was clearly getting restless if not giving up and going home. It's at this point the band stopped filming and threw out the planned set list. Judging by what was played the prior nights it looks like there were seven other songs they should've played ('Airline To Heaven','Hell Is Chrome','Kingpin','Monday','I'm A Wheel', 'Kicking Television' and 'Ashes Of American Flags') but didn't. The only song left they did play was the closer 'Comment' and I gotta say it was a pretty powerful moment. You could see all of Jeff's tensions dissipate as he realized there was nothing more he could do and the nightmare was finally over. He was so happy he even did a trust fall with the crowd. I don't think anyone expected an encore after that but the band thanked those who stuck around by playing another 12 songs, 10 of which they hadn't played the entire run. We didn't get out of the theater till about 1:30 Sunday morning hot, exhausted and flabbergasted at what we had just witnessed. Can't say any of us were all that surprised when we learned Wilco was scraping the idea of a DVD; at least they were able to salvage an album out of those nights. Sorry for the rambling but I don't think I've ever read any fan perspectives of the shows. Wished I had written one 15 years ago; some of these moments have reached mythical status in my mind...
"I'm A Wheel" One of those fun little excursions that Jeff takes once in a while. I've never been quite sure what to make of this track, it just seems like an interesting diversion and not much more. Still, I don't mind having a listen, it's a groovin' little tune. "Theologians" This one I like a lot, it's a pretty solid song all-around. Neat little groove, a curious lyrical theme, and I really like how the drums and piano move this along. Jeff puts in some nice guitar work as well. Certainly one of the album's notable tracks.
"Less Than You Think" I'm weird. Whenever I put on an album I will always listen to it straight through, without exception. I'm not a one song here, another song there type of listener. CD or LP, if it's being played I'll take it all in. So, when I get to this track, I ride it out to the end. But hey, that's just me. I approach this as avant garde Wilco. Originally, I just found it curious, although a bit odd. But learning about the motivation and concept here, I like to think that I understand the reasoning to present this on the album. Of course, there a certain degree of "eh, what the hell" behind the decision, but I'm O.K. with Jeff making this kind of statement. The main part of the song is fascinating, IMO, a quiet, contemplative piece. It almost seems haunting when you realize what the message is that Jeff is conveying. The rest is simply an exercise in dissonance. I've never tapped my foot or snapped my fingers along to it, but I suppose it's art?
"The Late Greats" Not sure if this would be considered an epilogue, or a coda, but in some respects this track seems like a decisive final comment, a kind of farewell that says, "hey, everything's going to be O.K.". Although, Jeff did go into rehab not long after this release. Still, it is quite an enjoyable track, and I think it manages to give the album a pleasant and agreeable conclusion. _______________________________ A Ghost Is Born is top tier Wilco for me. Jeff takes his songwriting up a notch, and the rest of the band make stellar contributions. It's always great to give this album a listen. But what I think makes this a truly notable work is that the band's sound here keeps evolving, and there is very little that's predictable. Once again, I have to mention the brilliant decision of bringing Glenn Kotche into the fold; this guy is a musician's musician, and he adds a whole new layer of sophistication and potential to the band.
This is the most amazing post! Thank you so much for sharing all of your memories. Today is for discussion on the second Loose Fur album, as well as any other side project stuff that happened in between A Ghost is Born and Sky Blue Sky. Born Again in the USA 'Hey Chicken,' the opener, is a pretty crunchy little rocker. I'm going to pretty much plead ignorance again on this Loose Fur album. I listened to it for the first time this morning. This was released on March 21, 2006. According to Wiki, most of the songs feature lyrics by Jim O'Rourke and the album in general is more focused on heaviness and harmonized guitar parts. On just my first cursory listen, it feels closer to a Wilco project than the first Loose Fur album did. Still a bit off-kilter and definitely playful, but the songs feel more 'songy' to me, if you get what I mean. Only one (Wreckroom) is lengthy, with the rest being about three minutes in length. Jeff has said that a third Loose Fur album is completed but it just hasn't been mixed and prepped for release. The Ruling Class A pleasant shimmering folk song with whistling. It sounds a bit like the cliched 'mid 2000s' indie rock song to me. Gotta be the whistling. Answers to Your Questions O'Rourke on lead vocals. This reminds me of Bill Callahan, with the guitar tone and the deeper baritone voice. Pretty. Apostolic Great drumming from Glenn, really groovy riff and general vibe. Kind of angular and post-punkish. Jeff on bass? Sounds good! Stupid as the Sun Thump, thump, thump. The stop-start breakdown is kind of interesting, but this one is a little bit annoying to me. Pretty Sparks A second stop-start, jittering kind of awkward rocker in a row. Trying to grasp on to it...quirky. An Ecumenical Matter Major props for using the word 'ecumenical' on what is ostensibly a rock song. More great bass from Jeff, an underrated skill. I like the piano on this as well. An instrumental and one of my favorite pieces here. Thou Shalt Wilt Pleasant enough. This kind of reminds me of XTC or something? Wreckroom The only really lengthy song on here, stretching out past eight minutes. The highlight for me. Really great song, ever-evolving with a very cool arrangement, lots of neat little bits and bobs and more amazing bass from who I must only assume is Jeff. He's a good bassist! The bursts of noise and guitar soloing is right from the Neil Young playbook and it works. It fades out into washes of noise. Glenn is great on this. I thought the discussion yesterday about Kotche versus Coomer was interesting because I am 100% a fan of loosey-goosey Stonesy rock versus straighter rock (the Stones themselves are literally my favorite band) but I prefer Glenn to Ken as a drummer by a pretty vast distance. He may not swing quite like Ken did, but I just love his playing. He keeps me interested, which not many drummers do. Wanted A bouncy piano rocker. The lyrics leapt out. "When I say that she's a rapist" are the opening words. Strangely also one of the most immediately catchy songs on here. The first Loose Fur album felt to me like an essential link in the story of Wilco, as well as a pretty fascinating album in it's own right. This one just feels like a somewhat interesting but ultimately non-essential diversion. Just my opinion and--again--I have literally just heard this album for the first time, so these are initial reactions and I have no emotional connection to this music.
I love the Loose Fur albums. Have you heard Jim O'Rourke's Insignificance from around 2000? It features Tweedy and Kotche, and it's one of my favourite albums ever. It sounds like a lost vintage Neil Young album or something. I believe it was one of the first things O'Rourke, Tweedy and Kotche recorded together, and pretty much led to Loose Fur. Incidentally, the title "An Ecumenical Matter" is a reference to the wonderful Irish sitcom Father Ted!
And poof !, just like that, the dark days are over. After his rehab, and sinus operation, the intermediary years between Ghost and Sky Blue Sky see Jeff adapting to, how to call it… non-suffering ? A quick look at the titles of the LPs give it away : Born Again in the USA (Loose Fur), Another Fine Day (Golden Smog), then Sky Blue Sky (Wilco). The general sentiment is pretty clear. The two 2006 side projects give a lot of insight to the frame of mind he was now in. I guess he’d gotten too big, or too busy, or too indifferent, or too sober, to remain a full fledged member of Golden Smog. Looking at the credits, it looks like he essentially spent a few days with his pal Louris, adding some overdubs to a few existing tracks (including a quite entertaining “screwdriver” guitar solo on the closing song !), and working on three acoustic duets : a marvelous Kinks cover (Strangers) and two co-written ballads, the best of which is by far the Louris-led Listen Joe, a grieving song of extreme sadness and beauty. The one lead vocal by Jeff is called Long Time Ago, it’s a nice (though slightly underdeveloped) folk tune, and Jeff even plays a bit of banjo on it. In these songs, Jeff sings some high harmonies (and some high pitch leads as well), indicative of his new vocal style. With no less than six Tweedy lead vocals, the Loose Fur LP was a big surprise at the time, mainly because of its light pop tone. We’d expect something heavy and “experimental” from those guys, and what we got was tongue in cheek lyrics, bouncing piano (Wanted) and good-natured whistling (The Ruling class), like it was a Gilbert O’Sullivan record or something. I’ve just named my two favorite Tweedy songs here, the former being a superb humorous classic while the latter is almost McCartneyesque in its charming tossed off quality, like a breezy Red Rose Speedway outtake, also showcasing a first taste of the Walken sound (without the guitar breaks). The opening track Hey Chicken sits perfectly between the two O’Rourke/Tweedy obsessions of the time : Television and the second Peter Gabriel LP (yes, again). There are quite a few prog moments as well (like the instrumental backing of Apostolic or the fractured arrhythmic yet melodic Pretty Sparks) but embedded in 3 minutes tight pop songs. As described by our thread queen, the only long track is Wreckroom, but half of it is a noise coda leading up to Wanted, perhaps to make clear that they thought the Less Than You Think /Late Greats combo was indeed an excellent idea. In Wreckroom, in addition to a beautiful "Jeff Lennon" part ("if the something that you missed is something you can't find"), you also get a first taste of the double scale guitar solo, in anticipation of Impossible Germany. The general feeling is one of fun, playfulness and contentment. The “I could die creating this music” years are gone, and this is the LP on which Jeff audibly adjusts himself (and his artistic ambitions) to his new healthy reality, before making it official in a Wilco context. It’s fair to say that what some like to call “dad rock” Tweedy is being born (again) on this album, a year before reaching the 40 y.o mark. About time, I'd say.
I haven't heard any of Jim O'Rourke material, no. Thank you for the recommendation. And for the info about Father Ted. I've seen some clips from that and it looks very funny. I love another Irish sitcom, Derry Girls, so that looks up my alley for sure. Great thoughts Fortuleo! I'm sure we will talk about 'dad rock' and all that it implies as we journey into this next phase of the Wilco. I guess I like dad rock, as another of my favorite modern bands (the National) also gets labeled that. I'm not a dad, not even male, but I have always liked when middle-aged people write from that more adult perspective. Less bitter angst of youth, more thoughtful inquiry into life and love. I've seen comments about a new vocal style from Jeff. I hear that too but can't quite describe it. Can anyone more musically knowledgeable than me expand on that idea? What exactly is different in the singing? Why do we think it happened?
I’m not at all familiar with the Loose Fur album and, with an album cover like that, have no interest. Oh well! Golden Smog ‘Another Fine Day.’ I have this but don’t think it’s anywhere close to the earlier albums. Much more poppier, kinda Jayhawks ‘Smile’-like.
The audio released on Kicking Television wasn't recorded by Sam Jones, though. There was a mobile recording studio patched into Stan Doty's soundboard. Stan mixed the record with Jim Scott. Sam Jones's crew filmed it, but if they had finished a DVD, presumably they would have synced the video with Stan and Jim's audio mix.
Born Again in the USA and Another Fine Day are a really interesting two sides of a coin. I’m going to be somewhat harsh on Golden Smog here. The first two albums with Tweedy (I think they have some earlier ones too), were fun, solid Americana albums. On this one they’ve moved into poppy songwriter territory, which is a place that a lot of my favourite artists have gone over time and it’s not a good one. Everything becomes well-crafted which is pleasant to listen to but for me becomes less memorable. I have lots of these later career albums in my collection, and I don’t dislike them, but I also never feel the urge to listen to them. Tweedy’s material here is good and a return to an earlier style. He revisits these songs on his solo tours. The other songs, though, feel like Americana artists chasing Wilco. The pop elements feel like Summerteeth territory, and then there are experimental bits that feel like Yankee, but don’t quite measure up. Beautiful Mind is the best example. It starts with some experimental drone noise and then at 1:30 comes in with an acoustic guitar that sounds just like I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. From there it goes in a different direction, but I find the similarity striking. In comparison, Born Again is a really loose feeling creative adventure. Not something that’s ever going to top any charts, but apart from a dip in the middle that @Parachute Woman picked up on in her first listen, it’s a really solid album. It just shows how this collaboration was really inspiring to Jeff. Glenn’s drumming tops anything he’s ever done with Wilco as well. He’s just on fire. If you’re not familiar with the album, crank Hey Chicken for one of Jeff’s best rockers ever. And then sit back through all of Wreckroom for a journey through pastoral fields, guitarmonies, and some of the heaviest noise Jeff ever laid done. So two albums that tie up an era for Jeff. One looking back that is good but not particularly inspiring and another that points the way forward. To be more positive toward Golden Smog, Jeff seems to have a genuine friendship with Gary and you can see that when Gary came on stage at a Tweedy date years later (Jim O’Rourke would do the same when Tweedy played Japan):
Loose Fur also did a more experimental track for the Japanese release - a re-recording of some of Jeff’s Chelsea Walls material:
Jeff had surgery to correct a deviated septum. His singing became less nasal and more open. But roughly at the same time, he also started exploring his upper register, perhaps because he felt more physically comfortable going there.
Okay, I humbly rescind what I said above in my dismissal of Another Fine Day. I’m playing it now and it’s much better than I remembered. The title track and Beautiful Mind, though not Tweedy co-writes, are seeped in Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Long Time Gone (Tweedy/Louris) features Tweedy’s Ghost vocals above a Being There banjo. That’s as far as I’ve gotten so far but my earlier description is pretty much total nonsense!
I never liked the second Loose Fur record as much as the first. Like Parachute Woman, I thought it was less essential and more a diversion. I even sold my vinyl copy. But now hearing "Wreckroom" again, it's going back on my to-buy list! I've only heard "The Ruling Class" live out of these songs, having seen Jeff perform it solo three times. The first was at Messiah College. I think I posted earlier in the thread about what he had to say about religion and the communal power of going to rock concerts after that performance of this song. If only we could have more of that right now.
I've just found that the performance with Roger McGuinn comes from an earlier Harry Smith tribute concert, recorded in 1997 at Wolf Trap outside of DC, and released on Smithsonian Folkways. Besides "James Alley Blues," Roger joined Jeff and Jay to play "East Virginia Blues" and "Sugar Baby." Here is "East Virginia Blues."
And here is "Sugar Baby." Various - The Harry Smith Connection (A Live Tribute To The Anthology Of American Folk Music)
Jeff did not have many songwriting partners in his career. There was Jay Farrar (though I’m not sure how closely they collaborated on their respective songs), then Bennett, Kotche, Jorgensen from Wilco, then Jim O’Rourke and Gary Louris. Those are the six guys he actively wrote music with. I know (because he repeatedly said so), Louris believes he had an extraordinary instinctive musical connection with Tweedy, and it’s clear he would’ve been happy to pursue it on more projects, had Jeff been willing to do so (= if he had been less successful on his own). Even though @jalexander has a very valid point (it is indeed meant to be well crafted pop), I think Another Fine Day is an admirable record, if only because it's more collaborative than the first two, where the members essentially brought their main band’s discarded songs to the table. This time, they really created something from scratch, and the highlights are fantastic. I also like its parent outtake EP Blood on the Slacks, with no Tweedy in sight but with one sublime song, called Scotch on Ice. But I’ll admit it’s more the Jayhawks fan in me that treasure those records. In a Wilco context, Another Fine Day is not a very important release. Still, if you add up all Jeff’s Golden Smog songs (with him as a writer and/or lead singer) and call it “Golden Tweedy”, you get something pretty magical : Pecan Pie/ Glad and Sorry / Walk Where He Walked / She Don’t Have To See You / Radio King / Lost Love / I Can’t Keep From Talking / Please Tell My Brother / Fear of Falling / All the Same to Me / Love & Mercy / Long Time Ago/ Listen Joe / Strangers. Now, that’s a phenomenal 14 tracks album!
Do I sense another playlist?! (I’m already working two: Post Jay Wilco and Drive-By Select (Drive-By Truckers).
