I've always been kinda annoyed by "Dash 7", not because of the song itself but because there was a rather devoted fanbase that would constantly request this song at nearly every Wilco concert I attended. I think Jeff actually got a little offended when it didn't get much applause when he finally broke it out after a 8 year absence. Rarely played, often misunderstood, I'm enjoying the analysis of "Dash 7" more than the song itself...
“Dash 7” is a great little song and I much prefer it over “Passenger Side”. It has a weariness that I respond to. Sometimes I wish it had been an instrumental instead. Tweedy’s morose vocal and the impressionistic lyrics sometimes get in the way of the sad and lovely music and I find myself just wanting to hear the guitars. This and the next song are hidden gems tucked away at the end of this album.
I know what you mean. Sometimes artists have a song that is so infrequently played live that it becomes heavily requested--not because of the quality of the song or any particular love the fans have for it, but just due to the rarity of it. Tori Amos has an experimental track called "Datura" that was like the holy grail for a live performance just because she never played it.
That's somewhat the case here but I know there are fans out there that just LOVE this song. One of the beautiful things about Wilco is how much they change from song to song / album to album while still maintaining an overall coherence / theme. Different people can love the band for wildly different reasons and still relate to the band in a similar way. It's also one of the reasons why Wilco is such a fun band live, you never really know what you're going to get next.
“Dash 7” sounds weary, but the weariness you get from pushing yourself way to hard; it goes by without a strong impression but carries enough raw emotion in it for it to stay with me. It also feels stoned. Lovely guitar and pedal steel work.
Dash 7. I've only heard it live once - at the very first Solid Sound in 2010. I really like Nels' work on this one:
I like "Dash 7" a lot. I could've sworn I'd seen them do it live, but I just checked and apparently not. According to Wilcobase and setlist.fm, this is rarely played live. It's lovely as played by the current group; check out the 2008 version from the five-night residency at the Riviera, 2008-02-16. I agree with the comment above; Nels' lap slide elevates what otherwise might be a fairly drab song. So did Lloyd Maine's pedal steel on the studio master. I didn't know the Dash 7 was a prop engine plane until now. I just never looked it up. In the late 80s, I lived across the street from a short air strip in Missouri. I wonder if I ever saw a Dash 7 in person, though I was a young kid at the time and wouldn't have paid attention to plane models. We used to race our bikes up and down the air strip, when it wasn't in use of course.
Dash-7 Another AM tune that falls into the "kind-of-like" category for me. It's another song that seems to me more about alt.country credentials than really standing up as being particularly strong, but I like it fine enough.
"Dash 7" If I remember right, this was one of my least favorite tracks during the first handful of times I listened to A.M. - the lyrics didn't strike me, the almost impressionistic vibe and associating about the airplanes just felt out of place with the more down to earth (see what I did there?) concerns of the rest of the record. I think it wasn't until after I had properly absorbed both Being There and Summerteeth that I came back to appreciate this for what it was - a harbinger of where Wilco would evolve over time. Even with the pedal steel, this is leading us towards a less, for lack of a better word I'll call it "traditional", style of songwriting and composing they'd get to - what with that hum at the end. When this album came out, this was nearly a skippable track for me, but with hindsight I can appreciate it much, much more. 4 out of 5.
Next up: Blue Eyed Soul Another of the songs on the album that is seldom pulled out for live performances, 'Blue Eyed Soul' continues the hazy drift of much of the back half of this album. I've always felt it was one of the most authentically 'country' songs in the Wilco catalog. I could see any number of country singers covering this song and doing a fine job of it. There is a fantastic guitar solo from Henneman on this track and many apparently speculated at the time that this was a song directed at Jay Farrar (basically claiming that he has 'fake' soul or isn't able to authentically reveal himself or something). I don't know about that. It's a nice song but it goes in the same basket as 'Dash 7' for me--tracks at the tail end that I enjoy well enough and that certainly set a palpable mood, but which have never been major standouts for me. I will give Jeff credit for another heartfelt low register vocal performance though. It's a sleepy kind of song, isn't it? But nice. We'll finish up the album tomorrow with 'Too Far Apart,' then have a day for general wrap-up thoughts on A.M. and thoughts on non-album tracks of the period and on Tuesday we will begin Being There!
A.M. is a flippin' brilliant album, it's aged incredibly well. I'm entirely allergic to Jay Farrar's voice so that's possibly why I could never understand the fuss over the Trace/A.M. arms race.
Blue Eyed Soul has a world weariness, a late night vibe. I suspect it was written after studio or rehearsal time as it describes the music making process: “Can you keep it simple? Can you let the snare crack? Can you let it move without holding back? Are you afraid to let it go...” A pensive song, I think. Naturally, I like it.
"Dash 7" and "Blue Eyed Soul" make for a sonic pair, to my ears. They are the molasses drip toward the end of the album; they are the down tempo, introspective withdrawing 'into' where the album began with such 'outward' poppy power. The trajectory of energy change as this album goes on is remarkable. "Dash 7" is so musically beautiful, but I have never liked either the lyrics or Jeff's really pronounced caesuras. Those pauses and hesitations are indeed a big part of his repertiore as lyricist and vocalist, but the music in "Dash 7" is defeated by the lazy, laconic lyrics and the lazy, laconic delivery. "Blue Eyed Soul," at around 1:11 with the drum run, strikes me as a harbinger of the sounds we'd soon hear ans associate with "Wilco." Again, there is something to the drum production on AM that I've always loved.
"Blue Eyed Soul"- Starts off strong and I'm starting to realize that side B is better than I previously thought. Then comes the second half of the song with more of the lead guitar playing. It ruins the song for me. I just don't like the playing on it. Later Wilco years might have seen this instrumental break filled in with some hammond organ. That would have worked much better, in my opinion. This guitar style seems out of place on this song. They could have also stuck with only the mandolin in the break. Despite it mostly being an unpopular opinion, I'm going to have some problems with the lead guitar playing as the years go by. 2/5
Interesting. I look forward to hearing more from you on this subject. Are you a fan of lead guitar in general? Or is there something about the way Wilco specifically employs it that you don't enjoy? I'm not a big fan of guitar heroes myself and my very favorite guitarists tend to be those with exceptional 'feel' who played for the song. I like all the guitar work in Wilco though no one in this band would rank among my absolute top favorite guitarists.
Blue-Eyed Soul is another good song that sounds like the last song of a particularly long night of drinking in a smoky beer-stinking bar. I really like the guitar solo,personally, and the drum sound, as someone mentioned, is pretty cool. This sounds like a band playing in a room which it probably is. I don’t get much from the lyric: the words sound good enough but don’t move me or particularly speak to me or anything. It’s all about the overall sound of the track.
Interesting question. I like lead guitar, but not a fan of many over the top guitar heroes. Without getting too much into yet, I love Jeff's playing on Ghost Is Born when he took over most of the guitars. I guess I like raw feel over technical bravura. It all depends though on the song and also the sound of the guitar and amp. There is a certain guitar player in the band now that I really didn't like in the beginning. I will save all those discussions for when they come up. The guitar solo on Blue Eyed Soul sounds like what my old guitar teacher might play. It may be technically good, but it lacks soul. I mostly don't like it because it doesn't seem to fit the song.
Not a great song, but a good track, I think, if that makes sense. I like the overall sound, with a lot of air between the loud drums and the very upfront voice and acoustic guitar.
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
Blue Eyed Soul I like the way it starts with the nice country/folk acoustic, and the chord change comes in before the vocal. It always feels like a nice change, even though not that unusual. The lyrics don't really do much for me, in a sense of knowing what he's on about, but as is often the case, that really doesn't make much difference to me. Here the lyrics and vocals are a pleasant addition to a nice feel, and a cool, slow groove. Interesting the thoughts on the lead guitar. It isn't anything I would consider to be guitar hero-ish, it is just a bunch of tasteful licks that go a long way to colouring the song in a way as to raise its value. The actual lead break is pleasant, and I like the clucky feel it has. The fills between the vocals are tasteful and work well for me. I think it is good judgement for the fills to only come in after the lead break, or it would have lost quite a bit of its flavour, but for me the way it is set up works very well. A pleasant song that requires no pushing of buttons to escape
