By the time we hit the end of side 4, it’s getting really late at this party. By Kingpin, everybody’s getting loose and giddy. With the next couple, it’s 2am and we go off into a quiet side room, getting introspective and melancholic. Then at 4am we go back into the main room and grab whatever instrument is lying around and all make a huge raucous noise, promising again and again that were done until we finally really do run out of steam. I would rarely if ever listen to Dreamer on its own, but as the closer to this double album it makes sense. Also, the long repetitive nature seems like a nod to the album’s centrepieces, Misunderstood and Sunken Treasure. Wilco would never go back to this kind of place again.
Misunderstood 5 Far Far Away 5 Monday 4 Outtasite (Out of Mind) 5 Forget the Flowers 4 Red-eyed and Blue 4 I Got You 5 What's the World Got In Store For ME 4 HOtel Arizona 4 Say You Miss Me 4 Sunken Treasure 4 Someday Soon 4 Outta Mind Outtasight 3 Someone Else's Song 4 Kingpin 3 WAs I In Your Dreams 4 Why Would You Wanna Live 4 Lonely 1 5 Dreamer In My Dreams 3 Overall score for me: 4.5/5
Apart from alternate versions and demos, here are some of the amazing outtakes and b-sides. Many of these are as good or better than album material. Thirteen - I don’t know the Big Star original, but this acoustic guitar, piano and pedal steel ballad is beautiful. More songs about music. Blasting Fonda - another melancholic piano ballad. A top notch song that, like Cars Can’t Escape, mystifiés me how it got left behind. Late Blooming Son - an upbeat acoustic tune. Feels like it belongs on Uncle Tupelo’s third album. Decent. Dynamite My Soul - another folky solo acoustic number. Losing Interest - a more poppy acoustic number. a good lyrical fit with the album. Sun’s a Star - a slower solo acoustic tune. Feels like a precursor to Pot Kettle Black. Again, a song about music that could have been developed for the album. Capitol City - they’d finally finish this song years later. Like Why Would You Want to Live, it pushed Jeff’s songwriting into Tin Pan Alley territory, which is a good development. Better When I’m Gone - probably the most country song Wilco ever recorded. Great chicken pickin’ on this one. I Can’t Keep From Talkin’ - a mid-tempo rocker that would have fit on AM East Virginia Blues/Sugar Baby/James Alley Blues - the boys got to play a live set with Roger McGuinn. Three great tunes and a major rite of passage. Combined with the upcoming Mermaid Avenue, and you see Jeff starting to eclipse Jay Farrar imo. Don’t You Honey Me - a cute little country song. And if you haven’t heard Live at the Troubadour you’re missing out. Pedal steel added to Gun is awesome.
I guess I have some homework to do! (side note: Cars Can’t Escape got the heave-ho because of the divorce. But we’ll get to that in about a month!)
To me, the two best sides of the album are the first and the last. I like every song here (except maybe Kingpin, the only boring track for me). Because they are so diverse, yet so interestingly linked (or complementary) musically and thematically, some of them seem even better in the context of this track by track thread than they would when compared to some of the band's best later work. But I have a hunch that @Zeki won't agree with me on this…
Being There is a great album. It was astonishing when I first listened when it was released. My expectations after AM were not that high. This album forced me to rethink Wilco, and to listen harder. Something that would be a Wilco requirement in coming years. Not a band for the casual listener. I will say that this record (and Summerteeth) had more of a mysterious aura to them, at least for me, until I started reading about the recording, band dynamics, Jeff’s health and demeanor. I am not always a fan of the demystification of a band and it’s art. Especially for sometimes impenetrable double records like The Beatles, Exile and Being There. Obviously the (laminated?) cat on Wilco and Jeff is already out of the bag, but sometimes it’s ok to just let the mystery be. My fondest non-live Wilco moments are listening to Being There and wondering how they put this big mess of great music together during an era where such things simply weren’t done.
Wow, you folks are serious. I really haven't even considered the deep dive that you've taken song by song. I always viewed BT as one piece of music. I don't think I've ever not played the album all the way through once I've started it. This is totally unrelated, but I was shopping at Whole Foods and Pot Kettle Black was playing. PKB may be my favorite Wilco deep cut. I never thought in a million years I would hear that song in a grocery store.
My favorite as an overall side is the second one. I meant to say that in my review. You hear all kinds of weird things in grocery stores and such these days. In my grocery store this morning, one of the guys in the bakery was singing along really loudly to 'Fame' as it was playing. "I'M GONNA LIVE FOREVER!" It was great. It made me smile.
I agree Paul. I was floored when I first heard Being There and the immediate albums that followed it. AM is an excellent album, but in no way did I see the band that made that album would then go on to make BT, YHF and AGIB. I'll have what Jeff's having.
I’m not sure what you think I might not agree with. Maybe the comparison to later work? Being There is, to me, (and as a complete package) the no-hesitation ‘put-the-damn-album-on-your-top-100-albums-list’ album. (If you’ve ever tackled such a project for yourself you might find, like I did, that at first it’s easy. Maybe up to 50. Then the albums start jockeying for position. Which is going to topple what. Etc.) Being There is my one Wilco album that doesn’t have to worry about getting knocked of its pedestal.
“Dreamer In My Dreams”- It’s already been mentioned, but this is far and away the most like a Faces/Rod Stewart song Wilco ever did. If you heard it from a distance you would think The Faces must be rehearsing in your basement. A good way to end the album with a little party atmosphere. It kind of makes you want to start the record all over again. 4/5 I listened to the entire album last night for the first time on vinyl. I love this album as much today as I did 24 years ago. I have always maintained that it’s my favorite Wilco album. It was my first and means the most to me. A couple other records are very close! My top three Wilco records could really go in any order depending on the day. Looking forward to Mermaid Avenue! This is the first long thread I have followed from the beginning. Great job Parachute Woman!
Yes, that is what I knew we would not agree on. To me, Being There is a massive record, a touchtone of its genre (americana) and time (the mid 90's). It beats the best albums by almost any band of that era. Yet, Wilco themselves topped it – or at least equalled it – and not only once. I like your playlist and I mostly concur with your choices. Myself, I would happily keep at least 10 BT songs for my own Wilco career spanning box set. But very few of them would be in my top 20 Wilco favorites. That's why I said that song by song, the album's quality is astonishing, but a little less so when compared to some of the brilliance they achieved elsewhere. Of course, I see it as a testament to the band's greatness.
I see. Yeah, as an entire package, BT is it for me. There’s plenty of good stuff to come, including one (two ?) album(s) that come close. I’ll see where I end up after we go through them in detail as I’m always happy to change my opinion.
"Dreamer in My Dreams" is such a fun way to end "Being There". I'm assuming it's a love letter to his new son Spencer (was his band "The Blisters" named after "Blister on his brain" ). I love the false endings on this one btw, as it feels like Jeff nodding off contemplating his future family. I guess it's similar in theme to "What's the World Got in Store" but more optimistic. Speaking of Spencer I have to assume that's him making a cameo at 1:35:52 of this concert from the Vic Theatre in Chicago:
I realized most of these are on the deluxe (which I have). I’m still not familiar enough by song title. I have Blasting Fonda on the soundtrack. Great song (and I’ve added to my list). Most of the other tracks sound like A.M. stuff to me. Which is good. But I bet they’d all sound a lot different if they had decided to pursue those for Being There. Personally, I find Capitol City the most interesting track. Sun’s A Star ranks up there, as well. And I Can’t Keep From Talking...I kept thinking, where’s the vocals? I know this song. And then realized it was released on Golden Smog Weird Tales (‘98). I haven’t heard the East Virginia etc yet. I’ll see if I can find it.
Here's the televised version of that Vic Theatre Chicago 1996 show from JBTV: Mainly wanted to post it for the spliced in interviews of the band. There's not enough footage of the band having fun / goofing around...
And then of course there's the Snow Job 97 concert footage. I honestly think they're having a lot of fun here but ymmv:
Here's the WXRT Chicago 1996 End of Year Listener's Poll to compliment the one I posted from '95. Unfortunately the station was sold in 1995 to Westinghouse/Infinity Radio so it started to become more generic "adult album alternative" instead of "Everything in no particular order" (one of their older slogans) but it's still an intriguing snapshot of the time: ####################### # 1996 Listener Poll # ####################### Top Albums 01. New Adventures in Hi-Fi – R.E.M. 02. No Code – Pearl Jam 03. Mr. Happy Go Lucky – John Mellencamp 04. Sheryl Crow – Sheryl Crow 05. Anthology 3 – The Beatles 06. Crash – Dave Matthews Band 07. The Road to Ensenada – Lyle Lovett 08. Colossal Head – Los Lobos 09. Being There – Wilco 10. Anthology 2 – The Beatles 11. Bringing Down the Horse – The Wallflowers 12. Recovering the Satellites – Counting Crows 13. Songs and Music From the Motion Picture She’s the One – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 14. I Feel Alright – Steve Earle 15. Eventually – Paul Westerberg 16. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness – The Smashing Pumpkins 17. Breathe – Midnight Oil 18. Gone Again – Patti Smith 19. Mercury Falling – Sting 20. Blend – BoDeans 21. Nine Objects of Desire – Suzanne Vega 22. Primitive Streak – The Subdues 23. From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – Nirvana 24. All This Useless Beauty – Elvis Costello and the Attractions 25. Trouble at the Henhouse – The Tragically Hip 26. Billy Breathes – Phish 27. Odelay – Beck 28. A Few Small Repairs – Shawn Colvin 29. Down on the Upside – Soundgarden 30. New Beginning – Tracy Chapman Top Concerts 01. The Who @ United Center, October 31 – November 1 02. The Smashing Pumpkins @ Rosemont Horizon, October 4 – 6 03. XRT Shows: Poi Dog Pondering @ The Vic, November 29 – December 3 04. XRT Show: Poi Dog Pondering with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra @ Grant Park, July 25 05. XRT Free 4th of July Concert: Del Amitri, Paul Westerberg, and Wilco @ Grant Park, July 4 06. XRT Show: Melissa Etheridge @ Rosemont Horizon, October 12 07. XRT Show: Paul Westerberg @ Metro, July 2 08. XRT Show: Chris Isaak @ Arie Crown Theatre, October 24 09. XRT Show: Elvis Costello with Steve Nieve @ Park West, May 18 10. XRT Show: Los Lobos @ Riviera, October 18 11. XRT Show: Midnight Oil @ Metro, October 10 Top Movies 01. Fargo 02. Independence Day 03. Trainspotting 04. Ransom 05. Twister Top TV Shows 01. Seinfeld 02. The X Files 03. ER 04. NYPD Blue 05. The Simpsons