WILCO NEWS!! Ongoing Thread On All Things Wilco- Which Will Be Updated As Needed

Purchasers of the Flycast stream as well? Nothing yet over here, but, will update if I receive.

 

Mis-read your post originally...

 

I am flycast only and got the email.

 

I think Tweedy & Co have successfully escaped the trappings of what it means to be "Wilco" while not succumbing to the dirge of the last few albums.

On early listen, this is good stuff.

But if you weren't a fan of Love Is The King, this will not be for you.

 

I was absolutely crazy for both of the recent, more roots oriented Jeff solo albums-"Warm" & "Love Is The King" ("Warmer" was merely good... "Sukierae", by Tweedy, was amazing, but less roots centered)...
... and... I absolutely love "Falling Apart (Right Now)" & "Tired If Taking It Out On You". Thefew early reviews so far are pretty much raves. Looking very forward to hearing the reactions around here... hoping the rest of us might get another/third preview track.

 

One takeaway for me is that the Wilco of today is a brand more than a band (at least per the old-school way in which I define the term). I divide it as:

Wilco—A.M., Being There, Mermaid Avenue I and II, Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

Wilco in Limbo: More Like the Moon

Wilco in Angst: A Ghost is Born

Team Wilco: Sky Blue Sky

New Wilco: Wilco (The Album), The Whole Love

Jeff Tweedy with New Wilco: Star Wars, Schmilco, Ode To Joy

I posted the above on album-by-album thread but am dusting it off after reading through the last couple of pages of this thread.

 

There's some real classic sounding Wilco studio tricks on here, as well as some jamming on songs like Many Worlds.

Really enjoying the album, but I think this is going to be a scorcher live. I may end up listening to the Solid Sound performance more than the album itself if it goes the way I expect it to!

 

I think that’s a fair comment. I’ve always thought about there being a transitional period of Yankee through Ghost (including Loose Fur) and the emergence of new Wilco with SBS. But in retrospect there’s also a shift with Star Wars (and Sukierae).

I’d say it really is a shift from Wilco as a band, to Jeff working in a certain creative mode with a certain set of collaborators. Which is just fine by me.

It’s important to recognize that these are not a bunch of struggling musicians in their 20s. These are aging men - Nels is in his 60s now is he not? They all have their own artistic endeavours. And they have a mighty fine pay cheque and an interesting collaboration with Jeff. Plus their own endeavours get more attention by being associated with the Wilco brand.

It’s not different in any business. I think of a lot of entrepreneurial start ups. There is often a founder and early employees. If they’re successful, more people join the company and often some of the early employees go away, sometimes bitterly as the company changes. If the company grows and is successful, it sells or goes public. The founder makes piles and piles of lineup disproportionate to the others. But the others do pretty well for themselves.

 

Yes, though this kind of ‘brand band’ doesn’t fit my old-school mentality!

It’s a far cry from the days when Tony the Manager was griping about the others “whoring out the Wilco sound,” telling the band members that Jeff was their meal ticket and saying to Jonathan Parker that it wouldn’t be long before it’d be just Jeff and him (Parker) on stage. (The manager never gets mentioned in the Great Demise of Jay…but, as above, he sounds pretty poisonous to me and odds are didn’t try to mediate. I can’t help but feel he was a factor.)

Anyway, Stirratt excepted, all the others didn’t experience that period when separate endeavors were discouraged. Which is a positive development.

Back to the soon-to-be-released one: I can’t wait to over-think its category placement!

 

This is an interesting way of viewing things. Wilco is essentially a business, comprising individuals making their own somewhat independent career choices underneath that umbrella. Jeff and John were together as kids in a band setting, but the other members each joined at different parts of their adult careers, and their previous work was more as an independent professionals than as members of a band. it wasn't like Ronnie Wood leaving the Faces to join the Rolling Stones or anything like that.

Nels, for example, was a high-profile and well-respected guitarist, but one without much security before joining Wilco. I think he has admitted that, financially, he wasn't doing so well before agreeing to join the band. Not that joining Wilco wasn't an artistically fulfilling choice for him — of course it was. But it was also a good decision for income and career stability.

Obviously Wilco isn't the same group it started out as in 1994. It's not even the same group as 10 years in, when Jeff, John, Glenn, Leroy and Mike all lived in the same city. Now it's six individuals all spread in different cities across the country. Being decentralized like that has changed the way the band works, but it still works. And it's still a good career choice for each of the individuals involved.

 

Band as a "brand" is nothing different now than it was in 1962. We just hear more about contracts and other business matters now due to the proliferation of social media & our "always connected, always on" culture.
Your favorite band being a gang was always the illusion in the magazine. All bands who achieve any level of renown are companies with shareholders, just as with any other business endeavor.

The economics have shifted, how the band earns a living is always in flux (hence the over-abundance of merch) but, all of the other conversation points are the same as they've always been.

 

Maybe, but I think it’s valid to say that each addition/subtraction/fluctuation changes the dynamic. And fans can hear it. That’s what I’m talking about (not whether Tweedy is the brand name holder: of course, he is).

 

The Solid Sound shows always end up as being available as Roadcase downloads eventually... so a live version of "Cruel Country" is in the works/wings, just waiting...

 

I’m loving this new album after two times through. Some gorgeous melodies and arrangements.

Love is the King is the only Tweedy recording I find to be an unpleasant listen.

I can’t compare Cruel Country to any particular album, but at different points it reminds me of Sky Blue Sky, The Whole Love, and March 16-20.

 

Musically? Oh, of course...no question! There are undoubtedly going to be clearly-defined eras in the lifespan of any band with a career the length of Wilco's. As passionate fans on this side of the fence, these conversations are a part of our role! We project onto the band our life memories, how our experiences connect to the albums, our favorite periods. All part and parcel of the wonderful joy of being a music nerd.

Relationships flower and sour, people change, tastes change, ideas about life change, and, these records are signposts along the way. If there are other eras that appeal to us more, they haven't gone anywhere.

As a fan, at the end of the day, it is ultimately their life journey we're documenting here. . I'm interested in getting an update from wherever that band happens to be in their musical lives. I have preferred eras of course, but, I do genuinely make an effort not to let my desires or preferences affect how I absorb their current work. It's important to just try to appreciate where they are currently, especially when the members start getting up there in age.

 

Folks, indulge me in a selfish post, if you would. I still have yet to receive a copy of the album from my three-day Flycast pass. Did the album come from them or Wilco? Wondering who I should e-mail. Thank you for the help!

 

This is a slow, contemplative, rainy day type record so I don’t want to judge it too harshly when I’m not in that headspace but I don’t think this is going to win over anyone disaffected by the last few records.

 

Same here

 

my email was from hq at wilcoworld dot net.

 

So of course it makes perfect sense to release it on Memorial Day weekend, just in time for the backyard barbecue and brews, road trips, festivals, and summer vacation, you're saying. Let's get this party started!

(I kid, because I care.)

 

I’m also wondering if this only comes with the three-day pass? I’m thinking of just getting the Friday stream.

 

I've bought the 3 day pass and received nothing yet

 

Thank you, brother. Friday night, but, I'll shoot an e-mail over and cross my fingers.

I'm not sure, sorry. I know a non-answer can be annoying, but just wanted to acknowledge your question since you quoted me.

I'm sorry about that. I'll update you if I hear anything back, and, please feel free to do the same, ok? Thanks, and I hope you get it soon!

 

1st listen impressions

I agree with @TimeandTempo take on the record.. they really succeed here at not sounding like a retread Wilco record nor the dirge of Ode to Joy. Jeff's vocals are much much better. This is a mostly acoustic record.. when the electric guitars come in they come often with that Bakersfield sound - bright, twangy, reverb. The keyboard playing standards out .. organs, pianos, and even synths that give some of the country and folk songs a stranger texture that I really like.

First listen standout tracks - "Hints" .. the lyrics are great; "Darkness is Cheap" the french horn is a fantastic addition; "All Across the World" has lovely piano and dobro (?) playing in parts; "Many Worlds" is fantastic .. guitars come out in the second half; "A Lifetime to Find" I just love the sentiment of the lyrics; "Sad Kind of Way" generates a beautiful pacing with its strumming interplay.

No idea where this record ranks in Wilco's discography (too early for that!) but really excited to keep listening.

 

More piano/keyboard/organ/synth parts means more Mikael & Pat, which is a real pleasant surprise!