Capitol City is certainly an odd one, and I like it for what it is (whimsical is a good description). I think it would make a great b-side or bonus track. But it doesn't help the album and doesn't really belong there.
Well, I had no idea about it being from the Being There era. As I’m a Being There fanatic, what can I say!
At the time of release, I was overjoyed to hear Capitol City. I thought “Jeff still has it, that bouncy 60’s kinksian/nilssonian/newmanesque tunefulness I love so much”, a style that gave us Why Would You Wanna Live, Was I in your Dreams, Summerteeth (the song) or, especially, Hummingbird. Then I discovered it was a very old song. Is it less good because of that ? Of course not, but its was still a bit of a disappointment for me : it meant that no, Jeff was not writing in that style anymore. Nevertheless, count me in the @Zeki camp ! I love the throwaway quality of the song. It has a Lovin’ Spoonful charm to it, and the band approaches it like it’s an impromptu soundcheck go through, in which you almost expect to hear a little tap-dancing solo. Jeff’s New-Orleans Ray Davies delivery is spot on (again, like on many The Whole Love songs, there are subtle double tracked parts here and there that work wonders). As a kind of interlude, I find it more than charming : enchanting. And when they decide to take it seriously (the harmony vocals on the second ‘You wouldn't Like it Here / you Should Stay right There’ hook), it does come close to the soaring beauty of Hummingbird. Oh and one more thing : any "skyscrapers" Wilco song will always get my vote anyway.
For some odd reason, the only version I have on the Wilco playlist is the Being There acoustic demo. The song didn't register with me until the deluxe version of the album came out. There's nothing at all wrong with the TWL version. Clearly going for "The Band" vibe with the Garth Hudson organ and drums. (It also sounds like "Such a Night" by Dr. John.) I find this more palatable than trying to sound like Radiohead! Lyrically, more like their take on "Penny Lane." But I do love the acoustic demo version:
Open Mind - A nice enough song but not truly memorable for me. This section of the record kind of pales for me. Capitol City - It does feel like something they have done before and is fine but not a song I look forward to. For me, the album bounces back with the next few songs!
No pedal steel on Wilco albums after Mermaid II. Nels is playing lapsteel. His rig runs through an original Electro Harmonix Sixteen Second Delay. These are amazing early loopers that unlike the 90s reissues are always running. Nels is a wunderkind at playing away and then seamlessly reaching down fading in the loop, and messing with it through the inbuilt pitch shifting and reverse functionality, then messing with it further using a Korg Kaos pad. Whenever you hear the chirping bird sound, that’s what it is. The live video of Black Moon upthread shows this really clearly.
Do I love Capital City? No I do not. First major misstep on the album. Out of place, and I suspect John Lennon would call it a Tweedy Granny song. 3/5
I love Ringo tunes, and Capitol City is an enjoyable listen. For some reason it doesn’t fit in the running list, even though I think something like Yellow Submarine works great on Revolver. When I heard it, I was intrigued that we were going back to Summerteeth style. Then a few years later I learned it dated to Being There. I’m glad they finished it with this band. The synth clarinets are fun and would have been replaced with MORE MELLOTRON if it had been a Summerteeth track. @Zeki if you’re a fan of Being There and haven’t heard the outtakes you should. There’s basically an unreleased acoustic album there! Here’s a summary from earlier in the thread:
I agree with @Rockford & Roll, this is the point where the album sort of dips a bit for me before finishing strong. "Open Mind" and "Capital City" are nice songs. They carry the record along, but they are not songs that I would ever want to visit outside of the context of this album. I probably like "Open Mind" a bit more than "Capital City," but I am splitting hairs. I am fascinated by songs that artists have lying around that they come back to time and time again and may or may not ever get a version that they are happy enough to put out on record (Springsteen has a lot of these songs, including "Frankie"). I had no idea that Capital City was such an old song until the Being There reissue came out. I think that this song may have worked better there - but I also agree that it is more of a "B-side" song for me.
I like Capitol City fairly well, really. It's kinda fun, I can feel some toe tapping coming on at times. Certainly not a highlight of the catalog, but good enough ...
"Capitol City" is a refreshing change of pace on the album, especially coming right after one of the duller cuts. It has a very old-timey vibe to it. Strange that it's apparently about New York, which hasn't been the capitol of anything since around 1785. This is one of those songs that, the more you hear it, the more you like it. There's a warmth and vitality to it that has often been missing from the band's attempts at a more expansive sonic palette. A good album track.
"Capitol City"- I like the intent and the idea of the song, but it falls short. This is the part of the album where we hit a few minor bumps. It makes perfect sense that this song had been around for so long. It's a bit of a novelty song and has a hard time fitting in with any of the albums. I think it would be have been better as a bonus song or a b side. I'm not even sure why I don't connect with it more. It has that Summerteeth swing and a vaudeville Kinks vibe which I love. I guess I'm not crazy about Jeff's vocal and I much prefer the vocal on the Being There demo. I think they waited too long to capitalize on "Capitol City". There are elements of the song I really enjoy, but overall it's one of the weaker cuts on the album. 3.5/5
I agree with @John C Bradley Jr and @palisantrancho on "Capitol City." It has some nice moments and is an OK album track, but it's part of a mini dip in the album. Probably better suited as a B side. However, I see Jeff's perspective on how it did fit on The Whole Love, since it has that "collage pop" vibe and construct to it. I did see the band play this live a few times in 2011 (I'm pretty sure it's more or less sat on the shelf ever since). Certainly not a showstopper, but it was interesting to hear.
Chiming in to offer my defense of "Capitol City," it was one of the first Whole Love songs that really jumped out at me and is still one of my favorites, it is still remarkably odd to me that it would be singled out in any way as an exceptionally bad song, though I have seen it given that treatment many times. I don't know, I think apart from "Art of Almost" and "One Sunday Morning" it's my favorite song on the record. The chorus makes me think of the Grateful Dead.
"Capitol City" - one of Jeff's jaunty country-folk tunes that sounds just like he's taking a stroll, maybe with Mr. Bluebird on his shoulder. Reminds me of "When You Wake Up Feeling Old," and the Beatley sounds near the end completes the Summerteeth connection; but, I guess that you can tell it's from the Being There period because Jeff writes about being far away from his beloved, unable to call because the only currency he's got is a subway token, and anyway the phone's are all broken. "Far away, in love and unspoken/ I wish you were here, or I was there with you." It paints a romantic, fanciful picture of the big city, but it's not really about Grandpa's memories of what New York used to be like. That's just Jeff being self-deprecating. It's about feeling disconnected while in the midst of this vibrant scene--which his sweetheart probably wouldn't appreciate even if she were there to share it with him ("You wouldn't like it here/ You should stay right there"), and he can't completely get into it and enjoy himself, either, because he wishes that he could go back home to be with her. That's so Tweedy! It's a good song that works better in the program if you just drop "Open Mind," and better yet if you also move "Whole Love" into the preceding track 7 (Side C opener) slot like on the vinyl double-LP. Cheers.
Hmm, never thought of it, but I might agree with this. I think it would be more acceptable flowing straight out of "Born Alone" but drags a bit as a 1-2 punch with "Open Mind."
I think sometimes Wilco albums have that kind of problem on the back end, like Summerteeth starts to drag when "My Darling," "When You Wake Up Feeling Old," "Summer Teeth," and "In a Future Age" are sequenced in a row, but it clears up if you move "When You Wake Up" near the beginning and shuffle some other tracks (like putting "Nothing'severgonna..." at the end of the regular program, after "In a Future Age"). I'm used to the CD sequence of The Whole Love, so I'll have to listen to it with the title song moved to track 7 a few times before making up my mind, but right now I am liking the idea.
Standing O Jeff Tweedy: vocals, acoustic guitar Nels Cline: electric guitar, twelve-string guitars, ukulele Pat Sansone: electric guitar, percussion, vocals Mikael Jorgensen: keyboard, synthesizer John Stirratt: bass Glenn Kotche: drums, percussion 'Standing O' is a pretty rowdy little rocker that pounds along nicely. The album needs a shot in the arm (derp) right around this time, and this song fits the bill nicely. It's uptempo, it's infectious, it has a very solid and earwormy hook ("standing O, O, O, O") and the lyrics are actually kind of a swipe at the self-involvement of artists and how they learn to love the adulation they get. Jeff said, "I have a certain amount of disdain for the spoiled-brat nature of artists and rock bands. The idea that your suffering deserves a standing ovation. Artists are reinforced all the time and it is really difficult for some people to keep that in perspective." It seems like another meta commentary from Jeff about his own tendency towards self-pity. Instead turn my mood on a dime I'm finally off of my back I come from a long, long line I mope and I cry and attack I like the track. It's straightforward and powerful. The arrangement is kind of dense but I think that works for this song.
Capitol City It does kind of embrace this mellow skiffle kind of thing at the beginning, and then throws in a few semi psychedelic bits and bobs.... I think it is a cool little track. Not in my favourites, but I enjoy.... In some ways it reminds me of playful Bowie, circa Hunky Dory.
Standing O is a fun song. I'm not sure how seriously to take it - he's making fun, but there's a serious note to the lyrics in places. He sings that last "Instead turn my mood" section with such emotion that I think he's having a laugh. Musically it drives along with foot-tapping infectiousness. It's a winner.
The attack is pure Who, then it sounds like Devo Come Back Jonee played by the Attractions (yes, again : that’s what a farsifa will do to your sound !). Jeff sings in a very different voice, a style that he’ll come back to with better results on Star Wars’ The Joke explained. The song more or less fills the purpose of Walken or Sonny Feelling on the previous albums, the “dumb” rocking tune near the end of the LP (with Pat rejoicing at playing the big Townsend rhythm "pam pam pa-daaam" guitar parts). I could live without it, as some could live without Capitol City (it’s no coincidence they follow each other on the tracklist, as they both stick out in an otherwise pretty cohesive record). But it sure would not be the whole love without them.
