Here’s Bob Egan’s interprétation in 2015 at 3:15. Way better than I could ever play, but still lacking they smooth transition between notes that the masters achieve:
I'm not a lap steel player at all, so my extremely un-technical thought from my novice ear and brain is that Nels doesn't do full, thick, sustain type sounds. His playing just sounds, for lack of a more technical description, fast moving. @jalexander has much more intricate thoughts on that, but I I think he put it well that "pitch variation" is very central to Nels' playing. In general, I prefer the "Lonely 1" style, but Nels' work on "Sky Blue Sky" and other tracks like, for example, "Black Moon," are distinctive and fitting in their own way.
Thanks all for the discussion. I’m a novice guitarist just starting to play sound with open tuning and a slide. It’s slow going. I’m amazed at what pedal steel players can coax out of that instrument. I get what you mean about how Nels’s approach to lap steel translates from his usual approach to the Jazzmaster. Unmistakably Nels.
Another weekend with the kids running amok, another catch-up post. "You Are My Face": What stands out to me here is the three-part harmony with Jeff, John, and Pat. John's bass playing, too. This will be a recurring theme throughout this record, but with John's playing taking a step up, and the addition of very talented musicians in Pat and Nels, Wilco becomes much more harmonically advanced than they'd ever been. This opens them to the criticism that they're doing Steely Dan pastiche, sure, and it's not something the Pitchfork crowd wanted from them, but it goes to show that these guys are musicians' musicians. I've seen "You Are My Face" live three times: once in the fall of 2007, once in winter early in 2008, and once in early spring in 2010. It's a song I'd welcome anytime. In the fall of 2007, I'd been through my first year of law school, the end of a long-term and then long-distance relationship, and had started my second year. My roommate wasn't a Wilco fan, but he knew I was a nut and he really wanted to join me, so he did. He was blown away by the musicianship and had a blast at the show. "Impossible Germany": not one of my favorites, but it's another that demonstrates the prowess of the band, especially (obviously) Nels. The man was long a world-class avant garde jazz guitarist before joining Wilco, a move that he felt he had to explain to his snobby fans. In Jeff, he found a creative partner, and in Glenn he found a drummer who wasn't just your run-of-the-mill rocker. Next time you get a chance to see them live, and they play "Impossible Germany" or really anything else that gives Nels a chance to stretch out, watch the way he communicates with Glenn. These guys really do connect at the level of jazz players. The first time I saw "Impossible Germany" live was at that show with my roommate, and I'm pretty sure this was a high point for him. Since it debuted, I've seen Wilco six times and, as you might expect, I'm 6/6 for "Impossible Germany." "Sky Blue Sky": I love "Far, Far Away" and I love "Sky Blue Sky." This is a real album highlight for me. I've seen the band do it twice, once at that same show in 2007 as above, and then once in 2008; since then, they've rarely played it. Jeff did it during the solo set of the Tweedy show I caught in 2014, too. Nels' lap slide adds a nice ambiance here, and it's fun seeing him sit and rock on his slide guitars during shows--at times, he looks like he might just lose his balance and topple over, but of course he never does. He's a very physical player. I love the scene from Ashes of American Flags where the band is icing up after a show. Nels says something like, "I just want to levitate." This song doesn't give him a real opportunity to do that, but you can just about see it happening at other moments.
Very nice review of Sky Blue Sky by @Parachute Woman. The Gram mention gave me a big smile. I could hear somebody like The Old 97's doing this one. One of my favorites on this terrific album.
"Sky Blue Sky" takes me to Belleville and the surrounding areas of southern Illinois. The slightly country shuffle also seems like a return "home" for Wilco. I like the song but it doesn't truly stand out in the way that title tracks generally seem to. It doesn't call attention to itself and, in that respect, serves as a little bit of a respite after the guitar explosions of the previous track. I'm not entirely sure what Tweedy is writing about but the lyrics paint a distinct picture to me in the way that the last two songs' lyrics do not. I see an old, fading town populated with old houses that look worn and semi-abandoned brick factories with silent smokestacks and broken glass block windows. The singer is making his way through this terrain and reflecting on the fact that he's still here among the living under a blue sky. The music/melody here is certainly pleasant but doesn't make a deep impression on me in comparison to the first three songs on the album. On this song, the lyrics are the star and I think these are among Tweedy's best. (Getting whiplash from writing about Prince's "Sister" and this tune back-to-back today!)
Sky Blue Sky (the song) Whatever kind of steel guitar that is, it adds a ton of atmosphere. Comparisons to “Far Far Away”are apt, but this one is so much more..... somber, for lack of a better word. “Unknown Legend” by Neil Young could pair with this though, @Fortuleo. Tweedy is really dropping in the life-philosophy quotes at the end of each of these past two songs, isn’t he?
That’s why I was wondering what the thoughts of the various band members , especially Stirratt and Kotche, might have been during this Yankee through SBS time. Unsettled? Distraught? and then finally a feeling of relief? I don’t know but it would be interesting if John Stirratt wrote his own memoir (if he didn’t feel restrained by ‘knowing where his bread is buttered’ considerations). I suspect I’d be beaming with joy at Tweedy’s Sky Blue Sky lyrics if I was Stirratt.
Yeah, that could be Ken Bethea on countrified hollow body. (They just came out with a new one on the 21st. Instapurchase.) Looking forward to tomorrow's song . . .
I just wanted to start by saying that today, August 25, is Jeff Tweedy's birthday. He turns 53 today. Happy birthday, Jeff! Fortunately, a good song fell on his birthday. Side with the Seeds Jeff Tweedy: vocals, electric guitar John Stirratt: bass Glenn Kotche: drums Mikael Jorgensen: piano Nels Cline: lead electric guitar Pat Sansone: Hammond A100 organ, mellotron I will admit to being slightly puzzled by these lyrics for a long time. I liked the images presented, of weeds bursting through cracked pavement and the swings slowly dying to a stop in a park at dusk. I also like "the rain applauds," which reminds me of "The rain sounds like applause" from 'Time' by Tom Waits. These are vivid lyrics, but what is siding with the seeds? Wilcopedia says this, "Siding with the leaves, presumably soon to be 'filling up shopping bags' a la Ashes of American Flags,' could be taken as pessimistic, while siding with the seeds is obviously to be uniting oneself with something soon to bloom." Obviously? If you say so. In the end, I tend to listen to these lyrics mostly as a portrait of autumn and remaining optimistic in the face of dying things (the leaves in this song for me were always the crunchy brown leaves of fall, not the bright green leaves of summer). But others may get different things out of these words. I'm interested to hear what you guys think. What I do connect with fully is the music. This is a Tweedy/Jorgensen co-write. The ensemble is pretty straightforward on this song (sort of your classic E Street band lineup, minus sax) though Pat does bring out the mellotron (so subtle as to be almost non-existent). I love Jeff's vocal performance, which again leans into something more soulful and strained. I've been listening to some of the later Wilco albums the last few days, which are marked by a lot of hushed Jeff vocals, so this really stands out and sounds positively electric this morning. The music is beautiful, rich and has always had a warm, autumnal feel to me. Nels comes in for a solo, but it feels like the natural evolution of the song to me. I like how 'Side with the Seeds' evolves over it's runtime. Just a really great guitar break. This song feels like poetry to me, both lyrically and musically.
Side With the Seeds: Tweedy/Jorgensen I like this song until the end when it segues into what is now a samey-sort of guitar finale. It has a rawness, an ache, that I like. This is a Tweedy/Jorgensen co-write and, being curious, I took a look at Jorgensen’s writing credits (as pertains to Wilco). I found 16 songs associated with Wilco (including 4 that possibly haven’t been released. This is based on my own lack of knowledge; just trusting the ASCAP ‘Performers’ list). Side With the Seeds just so happens to be the most significant Jorgensen song. 35%. According to my rule of thumb, this essentially means that Jorgensen wrote the music. Rule of Thumb: Tweedy lyrics 50% + Jorgensen music 35% + Tweedy vocal melody 15% = 100%. Jorgensen has one other co-write at 25% (What Good Am I), a 20%er, a 16.5er, one 15%, three at 10%, one 7.5%, six 5% and one at 2.5%. Note: I haven’t double-checked to see if any of these other credits are just publishing (not writing) credits bestowed by Jeff.
SBS reminds me of Being There in a way. Neither release could be classified strictly as Alt-Country, Americana or whatever label you'd like to slap on it. But both of them have sometimes subtle and not so subtle flourishes or undertones of those genres. Overall SBS has a very pastoral feel to it. It's soothing whereas AGIB is jarring. In honor of Jeff's birthday, I'll be listening to SBS today. He shares his birthday with another phenomenal talent, Elvis Costello. Two amazing artists who between them are responsible for some of my favorite music ever. Happy Birthday Elvis and Jeff !
What a stunning track. This is incredibly infectious, mind-blowingly good, especially 13 years later, now that all expectations about what Wilco should or should not sound like have long been straighten out (they will sound just like they god damn please !). This is another one of their soul inspired songs, which makes me wonder if it may’ve been the concept for the whole record at some point? It’s an aspect I mostly missed out on at the time of release, I’m ashamed to say, as I was focused on the classic rock/soft rock vibes. When I heard The Thanks I Get single, I thought it was an isolated attempt, a mere genre exercise. But it turns out all the songs on Sky Blue Sky so far (bar the title track) have some of that soul flavor to them. Even Either Way could be described as a soul ballad, something Al Green could’ve easily sung. So it looks like it really was a phase for Jeff's writing. This is a big discovery for me right now (thank you, Thread !). Anyway, the chord change on “siiiiide / with the leaves” kills me, the solo is stunning, once again less for its dexterity but because it never fails to rely on pure emotion building. And boy does it build… But should it even be called a “solo” when the ensemble playing of the whole band reaches those heights ?? We’re at track 5 and so far, this is a perfect record. But if my calculations are correct, they’ll shake things off quite a bit tomorrow…
I think it is choosing to side with the good things that will bring hope and a future i.e. seeds. Awesome track, love the riff, probably my favourite from the album and in my top 5 Wilco songs. Another one I get very excited about when I hear it in concert 5/5 naturally.
A deceptively simple track. Starts out sounding like a soul ballad, but the insistent electric guitar riff moves it into a more 70s rock era ... hard to pin down. Roxy Music? Hunter-Wagner era Alice Cooper? 10cc? I don't know, but it's an interesting mix that works. The band is pitching a perfect game thus far in the album, but will give up a few walks and bunt singles before it's over.
@Fortuleo Check out the Alpha Mike Foxtrot notes for the B-sides and outtakes from this time period, and you’ll see Tweedy namecheck Solomon Burke, Otis Redding and Mavis Staples. I think he was “exploring” music genres again.
Side With The Seeds A very well done song with a great guitar break punctuating what is otherwise a soulful reminiscent lyric. I like it that after the break is over and done, Tweedy sings another verse and then the guitar break happens again. If they had ended without it then the song might have gone out on a down note and left us with a different impression. Instead it ends on an upper and we are left with a feeling of optimism. And for the third song in a row, Tweedy drops a bit of life-philosophy on us with the final words: “Embracing the situation Is our only chance to be free Oh, I'll side with you If you side with me” My overall take on the lyrics is: Some people side with the dead fallen leaves (the past) and some side with the seeds (the future). Let’s live in the present and just get through this together, you and me. I suppose he’s singing that to his wife.
He and I are both 53, but I am 20 days older!! Probably not wiser though OK- as for the song, Side With the Seeds is my favorite on this album and is top ten Wilco for me. The music is engaging and goes places. great instrumentation. It is indeed a stunning track!
For me, the best song on the album so far. I side with the seeds. This is the perfect marriage of Tweedy-Allmans-Soul or whatever he's going for here. The vocal has some effort behind it, almost soul, quasi-woodshedding. It ends too soon, this song.
I also love Side With the Seeds. The main sections roll along, and contrast so well with the angular guitar sections. The lyrics are certainly obtuse, but I think they're about two people finding common ground. This album is five for five so far, but I remember it being front-loaded and becoming more uneven from here on out.
Side with the seeds. Some waffling examination. Leaves are already formed Seeds are awaiting their full identity. Siding with, lean towards, favour. Do we lean towards things already developed or things yet to be fully formed. Tires type black Where the blacktop cracks Weeds spark through Dark green enough to be blue When the mysteries we believe in Aren't dreamed enough to be true Some side with the leaves Some side with the seeds The treetops nod The rain applauds The park grows dark And the swings all slowly die But you and I will be undefeated By agreeing to disagree No one wins but the thieves So why side with anything? The streetlights glow Comes and goes When the sun comes back As we all can plainly see Embracing the situation Is our only chance to be free Oh, I'll side with you If you side with me Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Jeffrey Scot Tweedy / Mikael Jorgensen Side With the Seeds lyrics © BMG Rights Management Really interesting lyric. We start with the activity of cars on the road. We have life going on around us, things growing and being. Then we have a sort of on coming storm, that seems to be in the weather and some form of argument trying to be diffused, by agreeing to disagree. And the day is now done, as it turns black. Then we have the deep night rolling back into day... It seems to be a cryptic look at rebirth, and the never ending cycle of life and the things in it, and how if we are more understanding of each other and accept each others differences, we have more chance of embracing freedom ... ?? Idk that's my little breakdown anyhow. Really rough, don't be too harsh on me lol Musically this is magnificent. Announced by a snare roll, we get a slowly waltzing piano groove, and the feel is really dreamlike. The vocal is pushing a really emotive feel, and that first change is fantastic. As it changes up again it is like this adrenaline charged rush forward, and the we slide back into the calm and dreamy semi-waltz. Then the two guitars essentially bring in these counter rhythms to create a tension that is released when we slide into the centre to get Nels deliver this beautiful unhinged rush of passion and adrenaline.... and the band is running down the street with him. This is a great song, and I have never really noticed it before. This may be my favourite track so far, certainly it is among them.
"Side With The Seeds"- I didn't expect this song to get so much love. Some really great observations so far. The guitar break does have some Alice Cooper qualities. John's bass is another highlight. This album makes his collaboration with Mavis Staples seem like a good match. Jeff is definitely listening to lots of 70s soul during this period. You would never think of Wilco as putting out a soul album, but here we are getting glimpses at what that would sound like. I like how he mixes it up with that very interesting guitar break. I'm not sure it needed Nels freaking out at the end. He has some tasteful parts, and the first break is played so well. He goes a little over the top, for my taste, on the ending, but I can see where this would work really well live. It's not a favorite of mine on the album, but it's still holding it all together. So far we have a really good record and I think it continues. It's not until near the end of the album that it fizzles out. 4/5
