I love this idea! I do think it's time for a paradigm change in Wilco recordings. A reverse process like this could work. A live Sky Blue Sky like approach could work too, unless they feel it's too similar to the actual Sky Blue Sky. It's weird to say Jeff writes too many songs, but man, the guy's a machine!
A good idea until they re-watch the Jones film. Then they probably change their mind about about going down that path.
I really like "Rising Red lung." Great sounding dry guitar. Intriguing lyrics. Haunting background drone. Rising Red Lung, just what is it? The whole song sounds like a rising and falling breathing lung. Very visual for me. If I was an opium user this would definitely be my soundtrack, in a good way. 5/5
Here’s a nice profile on Tom Schick their in-house engineer. Formerly of Sear Sound. Tom Schick: Being Ready, Moving Fast!
Jeff made the iPhone comment somewhere, I’m sure I read it. In fairness, it might have related only to Sukierae, and not the Wilco albums.
It’s likely a mix. Here’s a quote from 2019: 5 Things We Learned From Wilco's Jeff Tweedy in Our Podcast Interview
I think the qualities of their loft driving the kind of records they have made since The Whole Love is unlikely. We live in an age when amazing things can be done with so much less investment than even 20 years ago. The direction they have gone is much more likely driven by where Jeff's muse has led him. There may be something to what kind of engineer they choose to utilize or not, but they could bring in an engineer that could help recreate the vibe of The Whole Love, AGIB or YHFT if that's they wanted.
Rising Red Lung - Another tune I kind of zone out on when listening to the album in one sitting. As a stand alone, a nice track and I really like his lyrics. It does seem like kin to Black Moon and for that matter Open Mind and One Sunday with Jeff's acoustic front and center.
I found this, too, that describes a bit more about The Loft - not sure if I posted this article earlier in the thread or another. It sounds like a strange space for a recording studio!
"Rising Red Lung" does sound like he's recording very late at night, or early in the morning, trying not wake the family. The bit of melody during the instrumental breaks is nice, and I like the arrangement, but the song itself seems undeveloped. Kind of like Jeff pulled a page from his poetry journal and murmured the lines into a mic, and later asked the band, "What do you think you can do with this?" There are a few quiet ballads like this on the album that I forget after they're done. Really, I've listened to "Rising Red Lung" at least 5 times today, but as soon as the next song starts it practically evaporates from my mind. It would've given the program a boost if Jeff had come up with a more memorable melody/riff for at least one more of those ballads that might stand up against the finale on the CD. Luckily, Jeff never would make whole albums of his solitary murmurings before sunrise, would he?
Agreed, there is no memorable melody or riff. The song is nice, but does not stick. Still, not bad at all
Btw, Wilco played "Rising Red Lung" 22 times in 2011-12, then retired it. But I am surprised that Jeff played it solo only once, and that was in one of his Tweedy Show streams this year. Never on stage. Here it is on the Tweedy Show. For some reason, Susie chants, "Please, 'Ring of Fire!' Please, 'Ring of Fire!' Please, 'Ring of Fire!'" during the intro. Maybe she was reading an Instagram comment. Jeff doesn't seem fazed. She laughs and says, "That's pretty," afterwards. Jeff asks, "You're laughing at my wrong note at the very end?" She laughs again, "The very end." "Thank you."
"Rising Red Lung" from Wilco's Daytrotter Session, recorded live at The Loft in December 2011, just before going on tour. You can hear the whole session at this Paste Magazine page: Listen to Wilco's Daytrotter Session, Recorded on This Day in 2011 1. I Might 2. One Sunday Morning 3. Born Alone 4. Rising Red Lung
"Rising Red Lung" is a really good song. Yes, there are some similarities to "Black Moon", but I don't think this one is quite as good. Still, I do like it and once the band comes in, the song receives a huge lift. I love the instrumental touches they give the melody and, while the lyrics are rather hard to decipher meaning from, they seem to work with the music to provide a tranquil sort of mood.
Thread guide Introduction and Uncle Tupelo Mar 1995 AM I Must Be High Casino Queen Box Full Of Letters Shouldn't Be Ashamed Pick Up The Change I Thought I Held You That's Not The Issue It's Just That Simple - live Should've Been In Love - live 1995 Passenger Side - live 1996 Dash 7 - live 2010 Blue Eyed Soul Too Far Apart Outtakes Oct 1996 Being There Misunderstood Far Far Away Monday Outtasite (outta mind) Forget The Flowers Red Eyed and Blue I Got You What's The World Got In Store Hotel Arizona Say You Miss Me Sunken Treasure Someday Soon Outta Mind (Outtasite) Someone Else's Song Kingpin (Was I) In Your Dreams Why Would You Wanna Live The Lonely 1 Dreamer In My Dreams Blasting Fonda (outtake?) Live 1996 - televised version Snow Job 97 June 1998 Mermaid Ave (with Billy Bragg) California Stars Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key Birds And Ships Hoodoo Voodoo She Came Along to Me At My Window Sad And Lonely Ingrid Bergman Christ For President I Guess I Planted One By One Eisler On The Go Hesitating Beauty Another Man's Done Gone The Unwelcome Guest March 1999 Summerteeth I Can't Stand It She's A Jar A Shot In The Arm We're Just Friends I'm Always In Love Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again) Pieholden Suite How To Fight Lonliness Via Chicago ELT My Darling When You Wake Up Feeling Old Summer Teeth In A Future Age Candyfloss Interview 1999 May 2000 Mermaid Ave vol 2 Airline To Heaven My Flying Saucer Feed Of Man Hot Rod Hotel I Was Born Secret Of The Sea Stetson Kennedy Remembering the Mountain Bed Blood Of The Lamb Against Th' Law All You Fascists Joe Dimaggio Done It Again Meanest Man Black Wind Blowing Someday, Some Morning, Sometime Mermaid Ave vol 3 Loose Fur Laminated Cat Sept 2001 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot I Am Trying To Break Your Heart Kamera Radio Cure War On War Jesus Etc Ashes Of American Flags Heavy Metal Drummer I'm The Man Who Loves You - live b-side Pot Kettle Black Poor Places Reservations b-side The Good Part Blasting Fonda The Minus 5 2003 More Like The Moon ep Camera Handshake drugs Woodgrain A Magazine Called Sunset Bob Dylan's 49th Beard More Like The Moon June 2004 A Ghost Is Born (inc. Kicking Tv versions) At Least That's What You Said Hell Is Chrome Spiders Muzzle Of Bees Hummingbird Handshake Drugs Wishful thinking Company In My Back I'm A Wheel Theologians Less Than You Think The Late Greats Nov 2005 Kicking Television + some b-sides and oddities March 2006 Loose Fur Born Again In The USA May 2007 Sky Blue Sky Either Way You Are My Face Impossible Germany Sky Blue Sky Side With The Seeds Shake It Off Please Be Patient With Me Hate It Here Leave Me (Like You Found Me) Walken What Light On and On And On Extra Tracks Tweedy Interview The Sun Came Out - 7 Worlds Collide June 2009 Wilco (The Album ) Wilco (The Song) Deeper Down One Wing Bull Black Nova You And I You Never Know Country Disappeared Solitaire I'll Fight Sonny Feeling Everlasting Everything Dark Neon Sept 2001 The Whole Love Art Of Almost I Might Sunloathe Dawned On Me Black Moon Born Alone Open Mind Capitol City Standing O Rising Red Lung
Whole Love Jeff Tweedy: vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar Nels Cline: electric guitar, loops Pat Sansone: electric guitar, glockenspiel, percussion, vocals Mikael Jorgensen: keyboard, synthesizer John Stirratt: bass Glenn Kotche: drums, percussion My favorite song on the album and one of my favorite Wilco songs period! This is the most wonderful, bouncy, shimmering love song. It has multiple great melodies, it has a fantastic arrangement and it plays the oldest trick in the book that never fails to 'get me'--make you wait until the very end of the song for the satisfaction of singing the title. Jeff has always written great love songs regarding his very real-world devotion to and love for his wife and this is another in that long line. The lyrics are just plain swoon-worthy. "I still love you to death and I won't ever forget how." I'm a sucker for great love songs born of real relationships and this one is warm and sweet without being the least bit saccharine. The melody is dreamy, there are sighing background vocals, there is a glistening little descending riff that makes my heart palpitate and it is just pure joy to me. I've loved it since the first time I heard it and I love it more every time since. This is a truly perfect song for me and proof that they still 'got it.'
The Whole Love The opening guitar riff, brings Simon and Garfunkel to mind ... in fact the breazy, easy feeling this song has sort of has that feel to it. Funnily enough both artists often worked in darker areas, but these happy breazy tracks get to stand out more because of that I think. I like the cool little guitar effects that come in and out. A nice and cruisy song that fits on the album perfectly.
In addition to being an ostensible homage to the Grateful Dead (Truckin’ in particular and American Beauty / Workingman’s Dead in general) + the Feelin' Groovy Simon & Garfunkel nod (good catch @mark winstanley !), there’s also one more subliminal Kinks reference in the other little guitar motif (starting at 0’30’’), that recalls Pictures in the Sand, one of the greatest “lost” Kinks songs as far as I’m concerned. Whole Love is such a nice tune, incredibly easy on the ear, bouncy, joyful, never forced, effortless. It’s one of Tweedy’s superpowers : he’s very good at effort but he’s arguably even better at making things sound easy flowing and natural ; he’s good at aching but once the addictions stopped, he turned out to be just as good at being good-natured and full of tender humor, as evidenced here and on half of this LP’s songs, something that would’ve been judged very unlikely only five or six years before. Whole Love is a treat, possibly their best tune ever in the folk-rock poppy style. This song should be called “Art of also”. As Jeff announced in the very beginning of the LP : this is “almost” an experimental art rock album but it’s “also” a wonderful pop record, full of hooks, musical fresh air and ear candy, as evidenced here. And it’s all the better for it.
