"Dark Neon" is sort of interesting. It has a bit of a 70s rock feel to it. The lyrics don't add up to much of anything to me. I think this one was properly excluded from the album. Tweedy's lead vocal annoys on this one. I haven't heard the Mavis Staples albums that Tweedy was involved with so I have no thoughts on whether to discuss them or not.
I rebounded with The Whole Love (which I think is one of their best albums) but once Tweedy started making solo albums, I seemed to lose interest. I haven't heard any of them nor any of the Wilco albums after TWL. Can't really explain it. It will all be new to me from that point onward.
Hmm, overall I see most people aren't as high on "Dark Neon" as I am. Maybe Jeff was right to leave it off, but I think it has a place. I have heard some people say it would have made a great opening song, as @GlenCurtis mentioned above. I think it could work there, or in the number 2 spot, and it would set an entirely different tone for the album. I personally have always slotted it in right after "Solitaire," at a spot where I think the album needs a little pick me up. The funny thing about W(TA) is it is the only Wilco album that invites so much track order tinkering for me. Imagine how much different and bombastic it would've been if it started with a top 3 of 1. Wilco the Song 2. Dark Neon 3. You Never Know Or imagine the different taste it would leave in your mouth if "Sonny Feeling" were dropped and the album ended with 9. Dark Neon 10. I'll Fight 11. Everlasting Everything Or, as someone mentioned up thread a few days ago in an idea I had never considered before, imagine the entirely different picture "Bull Black Nova" -> "Country Disappeared" would paint, thematically and musically, back to back nearer the end of the album, maybe coming out of "Solitaire." Those different spins give the album an entirely different feel.
Just before we move on to The Whole Love, here’s a little gem from the WTA tour. Pat and Nels have a solo dual in which Pat plays a lick and Nels tops it. Pat does a respectable job, but it’s hard to compete with Nels. Until Pat whips out his rock star poses and we find Nels’ kryptonite. He literally cannot play a one note solo and pose! If you look in the background, Jeff has a good laugh. Enjoy!
The Whole Love Released: September 27, 2011 The Whole Love was the first Wilco album released on their own label, dBpm, and (if I am not mistaken) the first one with co-production credit to Tom Schick who has been engineering for the band on this and all subsequent albums. Production on The Whole Love is actually split three ways: Jeff Tweedy, Tom Schick and Pat Sansone, reflecting Pat’s heavy involvement with this project. I feel like this was sort of the beginning of Wilco as we know them now, primarily recording in the Loft and not beholden to any major record label. The artwork on the album was designed by Joanne Greenbaum. The deluxe edition had a slightly different (color) version. To be honest, the art does very little for me. It’s just abstract shapes. I’m no fan of this kind of art and would actually count this as one of my least favorite Wilco album covers. The Whole Love was originally titled Get Well Soon, Everybody, but that title was dropped because Jeff said, “it started to become jokey-sounding.” It’s interesting to me that almost this same thing happened with Ode to Joy (originally titled The Trouble with Caring). It is almost as if the longer Jeff lives with a title, the more he starts to question its tone. He’d play around with album titles on the next couple of releases, as we are sure to discuss! This album was received with very strong reviews that praised it for its eclectic and strong songwriting. Like (The Album), The Whole Love drew from many different creative wells, but the inspiration just seemed a bit brighter or tighter on this album. Perhaps this was the result of the whole band being able to record together in Chicago. Perhaps it was just a stronger overall batch of songs, but The Whole Love is generally regarded to be a very good Wilco album by fans. I definitely fall into that category, as I think this is a great album and one bursting with ideas, energy and a kind of fun-loving spirit we haven’t heard from the band in awhile. There are songs on here that remind me of the catchiest stuff on Summerteeth. There are songs as experimental as anything from Yankee or Ghost. There are songs that hint at the more downbeat singer-songwriter style material that would be coming in the future. It really does bridge a lot of styles, but it does so effortlessly. It was nominated for Best Rock Album at the Grammys (if you are counting, they have now been nominated in the categories Contemporary Folk, Alternative, Americana and Rock). It lost to Wasting Light by Foo Fighters, for shame. This was the band’s third consecutive album with the same lineup and their first album of a new decade. They were in a comfortable and creative place and the art is a great reflection of a positive and collaborative mindset. I think The Whole Love stands up with any of their great albums. It’s a very united album, very ‘whole’ (yes, I went there). And the first track is definitely key: Art of Almost We have full band song credits on this album, unlike the last one, which I will list on each song. Jeff Tweedy: acoustic guitar Nels Cline: electric guitar, loops Pat Sansone: Mellotron, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, tambourine Mikael Jorgensen: synthesizers, keyboards, programming John Stirratt: bass Glenn Kotche: drums, percussion, cimbalom The Whole Love opens with the seven-minute epic that is ‘Art of Almost.’ This is another of my all-time favorite Wilco songs, in my personal top ten. I really enjoy Sky Blue Sky and (The Album), but I can’t be the only fan who felt a certain something click back in to place upon first playing this album and hearing this song slink into the speakers. Yeah, that Wilco. They are still in there. This is a song that the band apparently labored over for months. Nels Cline called it a ‘science project’ and Jeff said he wanted to capture ‘the sound of broken hard drives, and the sound of data dying.’ And yet it isn’t a cold song. It is a perfect blend of atmosphere, experimental textures and straight-up funky grooves. John Stirratt absolutely crushes it on this song. Glenn Kotche: “There are sides of John that I’ve never heard, and I’ve played with him eleven years. Like, John can play funky? I didn’t know that. Wilco isn’t necessarily a funky band, but I don’t think there’s any other track where his fuzzed bass is sticking through.” John says that this track was subtitled “Sade Song” when it was still a demo. The song creeps in, kind of eerie and tense with that synthesizer hook tugging you along. Every band member does amazing work here, beyond just John. Nels caps the song off with a dizzying solo that doesn’t feel like it is grafted on—it is a natural evolution of the patient build the song has climbed. The loops and keyboards and programs and Mellotron are not too dense. The song in fact feels like it has a lot of air in it…a lot of space to breathe. Kotche is great, full of understanding as to when to push. This was just the right note to open the record on. Jeff said, “There’s a certain faction of Wilco fans that I think has felt maligned by the directness of the last couple of records. Art of Almost scratches that itch for them.” But he doesn’t appear to resent this song or those fans. The band seems very proud of Art of Almost (as they should be)! And I haven’t even touched on the words, which I love and which remind me a lot of the perfect balance Jeff Tweedy struck on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot between abstraction and emotion. Missed opportunities, missed chances, the road not traveled… The whole album opens with the lyric: No! I froze I can’t be so Far away from my wasteland Not understanding or recognizing yourself. Disassociation. I could open up my heart And fall in and I could blame it all on dust Wilcopedia speculates that this lyric about dust is inspired by T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land (“I will show you fear in a handful of dust”), especially because Jeff used the “wasteland” itself earlier in the song. That’s pretty interesting. Beautiful lyrics. Beautiful song. I never fail to get lost in it. It is an experience. Brilliant opener.
The Whole Love is a strong album, and it opens and closes with epic songs. I love Art of Almost. It's a fascinating choice to open the album and works perfectly. It feels like a companion piece musically to Spiders, yet it's totally different. I can't wrap my head around the rhythms in this song, they're incredible. The melodies are wonderful, and that's quite a (group) solo to close it out. It's a great track.
The Whole Love General Thoughts (Preliminary): In preparation for our discussion I listened through the entire album (deluxe) and was stunned to realize I was familiar with only one song off of the entire album. I knew I’d fallen off of the bandwagon after Sky Blue Sky but still thought I had al least an awareness of the new group’s output. Clearly I was wrong. The one song I knew is the final track, ‘One Sunday Morning...’ and this is because it had been included on the Jay Farrar message board year-end compilation that that particular forum used to put together when it was an on-going entity. Members would suggest one song from the year and that’s why I know the song. After my initial dry run, I have four songs earmarked for further scrutiny. This seems to be the pattern lately as SBS and The Album have four outstanding tracks apiece. And then, because I am listening to the bonus version, I’ve got a couple more tracks (one of which is a cover) tagged as of especial interest. I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks. Oh, and the cover: I like it. I look at it as depicting a reel-to-reel tape machine. A much better cover than that camel on a restaurant rooftop. Edit: I guess I’m looking and commenting on the deluxe cover.
I first heard Art of Almost in a live setting around the time the album was released. I had deliberately not listened to the album beforehand as I wanted to experience the songs first in a live setting. They opened the shows with it and it was mindblowing especially with the strobe lighting they used, with the band starting in near darkness. A psychedelic, disco mindf*** , absolutely incredible. However whisper it softly, I am not sure that underneath all of this, the song is particularly strong and these days I can take it or leave it especially in concert. I rarely listen to the album anymore, but I think there is stronger material on there 3/5
Five songs get the ‘star’ designation on Apple Music (am assuming this means most popular). True to form, as relates to New Wilco, I have tentatively singled out only one from the starred tracks.
I rank The Whole Love album toward the top of my favorite Wilco releases. The Art of Almost is a great opening recording with some tasty guitar work.
The song is gorgeous, and the recording really spectacular. All the background bleeps and boops are extraordinary musical, they never feel like “noises”, they feel like hooks. The dramatic progression of the music, the way things build and crash, then build again is nothing short of stunning. When the keys strings (mellotron ?) come in at 3’20’’, they reach a high-class film score level (like the obvious reference point Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor had just started to specialize in at the time). I love everything about that track, all the little bits and pieces, the reggae/Pixies moment (2’48’’), the John Carpenter pulsating bass (in the first verse) evolving into this fabulous John Stirratt display of power and inspiration (overall, we’ll see in the next 12 days that The Whole Love is indeed one of John's greatest achievement as a musician). And I love the idea that, for all its avant-pop electronica leanings, the song is ultimately caught up and overtaken by the fury of the organic guitar/bass/drum rock & roll band, in the last two minutes. All in all, this is a fantastic bombastic opener, but I have to say that whenever Jeff plays it solo on the acoustic, it’s still pretty great (and the banter is funny as hell).
Very nice. And funny. (I wonder what the next song was for ‘someone who can’t seem to get over the past.’)
Last night I was watching Warren Beatty in Shampoo, and it occurred to me what hair stylistic tribute Pat Sansone pays to him on a daily basis. "Art of Almost": I remember hearing this track and thinking, "Well, back to quirky obtuseness for this album." My issue with their obtuseness is I rarely hear a very good song underneath the experimentation. That's the feeling I got towards a lot of this album. On hearing this track again, it does sound better in retrospect. But, again, strangely unfulfilling after all these years. I know and appreciate what they're trying to do, but as always with Wilco, it's the songs underneath whatever stylistic experimentation is going on that get to me - and a few did on this album.
The Whole Love... listened to the Deluxe edition plus the Rose EP plus the extra vinyl track last night. There are a lot of similarities to WTA in that the album lacks a cohesive sound and instead covers a lot of Wilco styles. As I’ll argue over the next couple weeks, I think Whole Love is the stronger of the two. Pretty sure I’m not alone on that front! I will say the release of the album frustrated me. There was the regular CD. Then the vinyl had a bonus track (Also included with the iTunes release). The I Might 7” had a b-side. Then the Speak Into the Rose 10” (RSD release) had two b-sides, a demo and an alternate version. Then the Deluxe CD had a bonus disc including all of the b-sides, but not the vinyl bonus track and not the demo and alt version of Art of Almost. The band who used to give me free ep’s when I put my CD in my computer was now making me buy the album multiple times to get all the songs. Harumph. On to Art of Almost. Definitely an attempt to have another epic showstopper alongside Impossible Germany. For me it’s a decent song I never skip (and usually turn up loud), but it doesn’t have the same resonance. In particular the instrumental section of Germany flows out of the song’s narrative so nicely. Similarly with Nels’ coda to Ashes of American Flags. Here so much of the song just feels like random interesting bits that don’t create a cohesive whole. My favourite bit is Mikael’s cinematic synths, John’s bass is pretty cool, and I find Nels’ and Glenn’s outro a bit over the top, but I can equally imagine other listeners liking other bits just as much. Maybe the randomness of the song is kind of the point given the lyric? A final frustration I have is that the alternate version on Speak Into the Rose is really close to the album version. Given they experimented with this song for a year, it would have been interesting to have a more nascent version with a different arrangement.
Besides being a huge, huge fan of Wilco, I am also a fan of REM, U2 and David Bowie. Each of them at a late stage in their career made a record that sort of looked back to not necessarily their "glory days," but seemed to be an intentional nod to their past - to the things that had done and done well. I am thinking of records such as Reveal, All That You Can't Leave Behind, and The Next Day, where REM, U2 and Bowie made records that "sounded like REM, U2 and Bowie." In a lot of ways, The Real Love is like that - Wilco's record that sounds like Wilco - the things that they had done well in the past. I remember the day that this record came out, listening to "All Songs Considered" on NPR and Bob Boilen had Jeff on and the gist of his interview was praise for how this record was a return to the "experimental" Wilco - I am pretty sure the phrase "American Radiohead" came up once or twice. It was almost like Jeff (and the band) were being praised for once again pushing the envelope (after a couple of "safe" records). I think a lot of people looked at this record that way when it came out. I like this record a lot. I spent a good bit of time with it this weekend and listened to it again last night. It is certainly a record that they have not made since. I have a lengthy iPod playlist containing my favorite songs from every Wilco record after this one, and including songs off Jeff's solo record as well as the Tweedy record. Based on the two new solo songs released this week, my favorites from the upcoming record will fit on it nicely. But NOTHING from The Whole Love would fit. Way too much production, way too much going on. Its fascinating that they would never put this level of production/effect on a song or songs. (I cannot imagine any song that they have recorded since taking a month to record, like "Art of Almost." Not saying that is a bad thing, but it is very interesting that they would abandon this level of production after this record. One thing about this record that really stood out to me listening to it again is John's bass playing. He is prominent in a lot of the songs including today's "Art of Almost." I love this song. It is a great opener. I've heard it played live a good number of times (I think I even saw a show where it was the opener). I love the "build" and how it rises to a "wall of sound." I also love Jeff's voice. It's a great song and a great opener.
The Whole Love is a more successful version of the last album. Every part of Wilco is represented. The material is stronger and the newer band feels like it is starting to gel together. It's not a top Wilco album for me, but it was a small bit of relief that they still had some of that older Wilco magic left in them. I bought this on vinyl and what a beauty, as far as packaging goes. Super heavy gatefold and just a high quality vinyl release. Not sure what happened with Ode To Joy, but it deserved the same treatment. "Art Of Almost"- Lets us know that some freaky and experimental Wilco might be in the cards this time around. I love the opening sounds as you put the needle on the record. John's bass absolutely kills it and plays an incredible groove. There is so much going on in this song and I think all of it works. I wouldn't change a thing about it. It may not be my favorite on the album, but it's the perfect opening song for this record. A musical science project is a great description of all the musical ideas going on. They have never really touched on this again. I'm glad this song exists and that they took a bold step in this direction. I look forward to discussing this album. Lots of interesting and different styles are sprinkled throughout this track listing. The Whole Love really piqued my interest in Wilco albums once again. 4.5/5 I only had one word when I first watched them perform this on Letterman. WOW!
Yes, here we go... Whole Love is probably my favorite Wilco album (neck & neck with Being There, with Summerteeth not far behind). Still being a full-fledged Wilco fan at the time (not sure why, as the previous album left me cold), I went ahead and bought tickets to one of the first shows for the Whole Love tour at Central Park (I live in Southern California). The album wouldn't be released for a few weeks after the show, but I had downloaded it (it had leaked) and listened to it a few times on my iPod on the airplane trip to NY. I fell in love with the album almost immediately. It has a little bit of everything! It's almost like a best-of compilation record, as there are songs that could fit on all subsequent Wilco albums, but it still flows and coalesces into a complete album of it's own, as a good record should. It's brimming with fun, ever changing ideas. Seeing the songs done live just a few days after immersing myself in the tunes was magical. It was a fantastic show, and they toured so much for that album, I ended up seeing them 5 times just on this tour, all across the country! Art of Almost... probably my favorite track on the album, and with the album being one of my favorites, that puts the song in the running of my favorite Wilco song, I suppose. I love the textures of the song - it's got so many moving parts that end up clicking together so well. I'm all about aesthetics with it comes to song structure (more so than lyrics), and this song has some great aesthetics, IMO. From the quiet/loud dynamic, and the killer guitar solo, this is one of the most unpredictable and engaging Wilco songs to me. I still perk up when the ipod in my car will randomly play the song, and I hope I still have 7 minutes left on my drive to hear the whole thing - I especially love the outro delay.
On release, The Whole Love sat better with me than The Album, and it still does. I connect to the album more for some reason. That probably starts with the opener, Art of Almost. I like the eclectic frenzy here. Great bass work by John and frantic guitar by Nels. Thumbs up!!
Whole Love is where I got on board with Wilco. Not the album, but the tour. I was taken by what a good live band they were. As I have said, my wife loves them. I had essentially just got to the US and saw Wilco in Fayetteville and not too long after, in Memphis. The Whole Love is a great album, but it didn't grab me that much at first. It took me a few listens for the subtleties to break through. I think essentially, particularly after two revisits in the last few weeks, this rates up with the best Wilco albums. Art of Almost is fantastic, and if I get a chance I'll put some thoughts down later.
Okay, this is brilliant. I’ll have to revisit this song because, yeah, I would have gone nuts if I’d seen this performance. (I still chuckle every time I see what I think of as a ‘salaryman’ (Japanese term) playing the keyboards...but I gather I need to get over it.)
I was a bit baffled by all the Tweedy interviews from that time where it looked like he was spending his nights reading the viachicago forum, raging against his fan’s points of view. He seemed to be aware of the reactions to every song… Stop paying too much attention, Jeff! Let the fans react any way they god damn please! I’m pretty sure Art of Almost grew out of his frustration with the fans mocking the Feist duet and the car commercials – that whole “selling out” nonsense. He wanted to prove them that they were stupid and narrow-minded. But he also felt compelled to prove them that they were plain wrong. Sometimes great art comes from those impulses. Or maybe “almost” great art? I always had this interpretation of the song being an admission of the band feeling cursed to always fall short of the expectations – but only just. The Whole Love is an “art of almost” record. It’s almost the album many people expected from the band since Yankee (and maybe Ghost). And the 2011 Wilco is almost the visionary experimental band that some critics thought (or hoped) it was. The sequencing is there to prove it, starting with an epic, closing with an epic, both of them written with that purpose in mind. Both songs almost get us there – almost but not quite ‘cause in between, we mostly get (superb) pop tunes, (timeless) folk songs, (beautiful) ballads and great (dad) rockers. After all, that’s what Wilco is about, isn’t it? (just kidding about the dad thing) And then, whenever people would praise The Whole Love's return to experimentalism, Jeff would often respond “you say that because we put Art of Almost as the leading song. If Bull Black Nova had opened Wilco (the album) you would’ve said the same about that one”. Ever the resentful contrarian…
Wow. This must be the downside of being such a great interview, that he ends up saying too much on occasion. I don’t want to hear that certain songs are written as a bone to (whatever segment of fan base). It’s patronizing.
In a similar vein, these are the song ratings from Uncut Magazine's Wilco - The Ultimate Music Guide. I wouldn't take these too seriously as some of the scoring in some of their other guides can be a little bizarre. No idea if this is the view of the journalist who has written the accompanying two page review or not but I would assume so. Art of Almost ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I Might ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sunloathe ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dawned on Me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Black Moon ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Born Alone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Open Mind ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Capitol City ⭐️⭐️ Standing O ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Rising Red Lung ⭐️⭐️ Whole Love ⭐️⭐️⭐️ One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I hope it's okay to post these here rather than individually after each track is posted.
Wow, what more can be said about this album than @Parachute Woman's excellent intro. She summed up my feelings on it beautifully. The Whole Love feels like the band refining and perfecting their approach to the preceding album. And while I like Wilco (The album), I absolutely love The Whole Love. I consider it a top tier Wilco album, neck in neck with Sky Blue Sky for the best output of the current lineup over the 16 years they've been together. I also consider it the last album of its kind, with its sound, approach and production. Afterward, Jeff Tweedy's ambitions changed drastically, resulting in a new era for the Wilco-verse, and a new approach for Wilco records. Factors included his family's growing involvement in his music, his wife's illness, his subversion to music biz norms and his desire to find workarounds within Wilco's large lineup. For those reasons (and more, probably), everything after The Whole Love has been different. It is still very good, but it's not the same as The Whole Love.
