Wilco: A Ghost Is Born poll

“the late greats” is awesome wtf. i don’t think “adding more songs and keeping the album at an hour-plus” is the interesting way to play god here but whatever

the studio versions of these songs suit the material. while i love what cline brings to it live, tweedy’s spikey, ruminative, neil young-ish playing really puts you in the anxious and restless feeling that pervades the record

i think my favorite region of this record is “handshake drugs” -> “wishful thinking” -> “company in my back,” like the world shuddering to a halt when you’re coming off speed

The roominess and scope of this album is its key selling point; you don't listen so much as wander around in it. Less Than You Think into The Late Greats is a fabulous ending gambit. Handshake Drugs is the best song though imo

+1 for "Late Greats", one of my fav songs on this record. "Theologians" is my #1.

As a Bennett stan I might have been bringing my own baggage to this album but "Less Than You Think" and the studio version of "Spiders" both seemed like very clumsy & deliberate moves to me at the time, playing to critics who were showering them w/praise for transforming into a challenging art rock band. Its easy to forget at the time how ott some the praise for YHF's weirdness was. And it obv is a weird arty record, but I think the fact that it was Wilco doing it (who still coded to many critics as alt-country), some people were wrote about YHF like it was Amon Duul II or something. "Less" felt like Tweedy noticing how much attention the noise parts of YHF got and trying to do it again, but with less of an idea.

fwiw my cat has serious issues with "Less Than You Think."

This whole album is great, the pre-nels space filled in with piano. The singing on some tracks (Theologians) is lifeless, but I don't see how it applies to the playing.

i think my favorite region of this record is “handshake drugs” -> “wishful thinking” -> “company in my back,” like the world shuddering to a halt when you’re coming off speed

I feel this. Ghost is one of my favorite hangover albums. Sonically all the rough edges are sanded off, even on the noisy parts like the second half of "At Least That's What You Said," giving the whole record a gentle, cozy warm-blanket vibe. "Hissing radiator tunes." And the drums have that dry, muted thump characteristic of Jim O'Rourke's productions, and it suits the mood perfectly here. It's really obvious this record was made in the depths of Tweedy's opioid addiction--it sounds like being hungover and popping a few vicodin and feeling the edge come off. I'm really glad he got clean after this, but I'm also grateful he was able to produce this beautiful work of art under those unfortunate circumstances. Still my favorite Wilco record.

otm, used to play this a lot on "the morning after" in my heaviest drinking days. felt very comforting at the time, but probably explains why i don't revisit very often these days lol. to learn that jt was dealing with substance issues during its creation was an odd feeling. at the time, i thought it was an upgrade over yankee hotel foxtrot by just a bit, but i've cooled on it somewhat since. some absolutely gorgeous music on here, but nothing will ever top "theologians" for me. when it's all said and done, that's probably my favorite wilco song.

also i hate "i'm a wheel." just . . . ugh, no. stop being a wheel, it's not working.

Dang yall hungover people really started your day with the piercing guitar freakout on track 1? I would absolutely be skipping to "Hell Is Chrome" on a morning like that.

^lol yeah I should have clarified I usually do exactly this in that situation. Though I maintain that the first track is still easier on the ears than most piercing guitar freakouts

"I'm a Wheel" is the most B-side-sounding piece of garbage. I kinda like the start of the verses, but then it...turns.

i lol at "once in germany someone said 'nein' / one two three four five six seven eight nine" every time

it'll never be anyone's favorite track on the record but i'm glad it's there

listening to it feels like hanging out with a couple engaged in gross PDA and pet name calling. but you're hanging with jeff and his song. the PDA is counting. the pet names are puns.

I could see the opening track working - it’s got that peaceful intro before coming in to jolt you back as a reminder you still went overboard the night before.

I enjoy the octave harmony on Theologians. the main vocal sorta talks the lyric. the harmony vocal is lower volume but has more tone* -- jeff's soul. you can picture cartoon casper jeff tweedy singing that harmony, always in sync with the jeff of this world even after the song ends. grabbing the pale semi-transparent bag of funyuns within a hidden realm.

*perhaps this is jeff straining to sing the higher notes

"I'm a Wheel" always struck me as a classic example of one of those condescending token rock songs, like "we can still do 'catchy rock & roll', but just know that we find it quaint and silly"

I had no idea I'm a Wheel was so dismissed! I too would never consider it my fav track on the record or anything, and it's pretty out of place on this album, but I like it. It sounds like Pearl Jam.

"Less Than You Think" and the studio version of "Spiders" both seemed like very clumsy & deliberate moves to me at the time, playing to critics who were showering them w/praise for transforming into a challenging art rock band. Its easy to forget at the time how ott some the praise for YHF's weirdness was.

I love both the live and studio versions of "Spiders" but this is otm. I believe that the "Less Than You Think" drone is supposed to be a representation of Jeff's migraines. Successful in that regard imo, but I don't enjoy hearing it and at other points in the band's career I don't think they would have made the decision to release it. I will grant that it is a nice buildup to the just beautifully consonant and satisfying sound of "The Late Greats." It feels like the clouds parting after the storm and just revealing this sweet sunny day. I wish "The Late Greats" was longer and more epic, and I do think of it more like a bonus track. But while its placement is undeniably weird, I like it.

once heard Less Than You Think while lying in bed suffering from an extremely bad cold and it made perfect, transcendent sense

https://imgc.artprintimages.com/img/print/you-were-right-sir-it-was-dishwater-the-chef-regrets-the-error-new-yorker-cartoon_u-l-pgrfc7o3qj7.jpg?artPerspective=n
"the third course is a representation of the chef's migraines."

lol

not sure which thread to mention this on because they're all getting bumped but I just bought tix to bring my whole family (3 youngish children) to Solid Sound over memorial day weekend. Pretty excited, will have a full report for ilm

the drone on "less than you think" is a fine concept just i don't find the execution compelling at all as far as drones go. even the drone is better live, though they usually only go for a few minutes before transitioning into "art of almost" or "ashes of american flags" or something.

i agree with hideous lump re: it coming across better if "the late greats" was a hidden track but i don't really care for "the late greats" at all so cutting it completely would be fine.

"i'm a wheel" is inessential but fun and i have no problem with it, it's nice to have that burst of energy on the album. it would have been good to have something like "kicking television" on the album too but the studio version is pretty bad, that's the biggest transformation live.

“the late greats” is awesome wtf. i don’t think “adding more songs and keeping the album at an hour-plus” is the interesting way to play god here but whatever

"The Late Greats" is awesome. God schmod, adding those two tracks in those exact spots and ditching most of the noise made me a fan.

i lol at "once in germany someone said 'nein' / one two three four five six seven eight nine" every time

There's a bootleg of their May 2002 show at the Riviera in Chicago (for Northwestern University's "ball") and the friendly-to-a-fault crowd constantly screams at them to play new stuff, as in unreleased stuff. Tweedy almost obliges when he says with a straight face, "we have something called "Someone in Germany said 'Nein'"." A bunch of people start cracking up at that, but the band decides not to play it and go straight into "Jesus, Etc."

'Kicking Television (the song) sounded less demented in live versions prior to the album's release, not sure why the studio version took the route it did... Previously it just sounded like a cousin of 'I'm A Wheel', which was why I assumed they only picked one for AGIB.

also tweedy still plays a bunch of the lead parts from this album live, like the main solo on "at least that's what you said" and most of the solos on "spiders" are him. cline just really helps fill out all the songs live, in addition to assisting with shredding.

Just a head’s up that when I tried to post a link to “Spiders” on FB I got flagged for “promoting suicide,” or some bullshit.

I guess at least one friend is not a fan

I mean, I guess?!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9wMLyIxGNs

this is much better than the version on the album, which i've always thought was too mellow. tweedy's soloing over pretty much the whole song and it's wonderful

this reissue has four cds of studio improvisations which is pretty wild, on top of 2 discs of a live show & 2 discs of alternate takes & outtakes (including some early versions of "impossible germany"?)

One of my very first concerts was Wilco in Chicago, May 2002. I very rarely went to concerts then so it was a pretty big deal for me. The crowd was very friendly, almost to a fault as they openly demanded new songs they hadn't heard yet, which bewildered Tweedy. He said they had a new one but he wasn't sure they were ready to play it - with a completely straight, unsmiling face, he said the title was "Somebody in Germany Said 'Nein'" which cracked everyone up, as if it was a deadpan joke. Anyway after conferring with the band, they didn't play it.

This thing is crazy:

WILCO – A GHOST IS BORN 20TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE REISSUE TRACKLIST

A Ghost Is Born

1. At Least That’s What You Said
2. Hell Is Chrome
3. Spiders (Kidsmoke)
4. Muzzle of Bees
5. Hummingbird
6. Handshake Drugs
7. Wishful Thinking
8. Company in My Back
9. I’m a Wheel
10. Theologians
11. Less Than You Think
12. The Late Greats

dBpm: Outtakes/Alternates 1

1. At Least That’s What You Said (8/13/02 SOMA-Chicago)
2. Hell Is Chrome (10/5/03 SOMA-Chicago)
3. Spiders (Kidsmoke) (9/28/03 SOMA-Chicago)
4. Muzzle Of Bees (7/15/03 SOMA-Chicago)
5. Hummingbird (2/8/02 SOMA-Chicago)
6. Handshake Drugs (11/13/03 Sear Sound-NYC)
7. Wishful Thinking (11/1/03 Sear Sound-NYC)
8. Company In My Back (2/8/03 Hothouse-St. Kilda, Melbourne, Australia)
9. I’m A Wheel (August 2002 SOMA-Chicago)
10. Theologians (3/19/03 SOMA-Chicago)
11. Less Than You Think (11/11/03 Sear Sound-NYC)
12. The Late Greats (7/19/03 SOMA-Chicago)
13. Kicking Television (3/18/03 SOMA-Chicago)
14. The High Heat (2/5/02 SOMA-Chicago)
15. Panthers (March 2003 SOMA-Chicago)
16. Diamond Claw (3/21/03 SOMA-Chicago)
17. Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard (June 2002 SOMA-Chicago)
18. More Like The Moon
19. Improbable Germany (10/7/03 SOMA-Chicago)

Unstitched: Outtakes/Alternates 2

1. Handshake Drugs (First Version) (6/26/02 SOMA-Chicago)
2. Hummingbird (February 2002 recorded live during tracking at SOMA-Chicago)
3. The High Heat (2/4/02 SOMA-Chicago)
4. Spiders (Kidsmoke) (February 2002 SOMA-Chicago)
5. Diamond Claw (March 2003 SOMA-Chicago)
6. Muzzle Of Bees (October 2003 Sear Sound-NYC)
7. Like A Stone (11/10/03 Sear Sound-NYC)
8. Leave Me (Like You Found Me) (6/26/02 SOMA-Chicago)
9. Losing Interest (11/11/03 Sear Sound-NYC)
10. Old Maid (6/26/02 SOMA-Chicago)
11. Spiders (Kidsmoke) (August 2002 SOMA-Chicago)
12. Panthers (October 2003 Sear Sound-NYC)
13. Muzzle Of Bees (7/16/03 SOMA-Chicago)
14. Diamond Claw (10/9/03 SOMA-Chicago)
15. Losing Interest (7/20/03 SOMA-Chicago)
16. Spiders (Kidsmoke) (October 2003 SOMA-Chicago)
17. The Thanks I Get (6/26/02 SOMA-Chicago)
18. Two Hat Blues (March 2003 SOMA-Chicago)
19. Improbable Germany (January 2002 Pre-Production Loft session-Chicago)

The Hook at The Wang
(Live October 2, 2004 at the Wang Center-Boston, MA)

1. Muzzle Of Bees
2. Company In My Back
3. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
4. A Shot In The Arm
5. Hell Is Chrome
6. Handshake Drugs
7. Jesus, Etc.
8. Hummingbird
9. I’m Always In Love
10. At Least That’s What You Said
11. Ashes Of American Flags
12. Theologians
13. I’m The Man Who Loves You
14. Poor Places
15. Spiders (Kidsmoke)
16. She’s A Jar
17. A Magazine Called Sunset
18. Kingpin
19. The Late Greats
20. I’m A Wheel
21. Via Chicago
22. California Stars
23. Christ For President

Fundamentals

1. Fundamental 1
2. Fundamental 2
3. Fundamental 3
4. Fundamental 4
5. Fundamental 5
6. Fundamental 6
7. Fundamental 7

great double bill when i saw them tour it with the fiery furnaces. "poor places" into "spiders (kidsmoke)" should be a standard "china cat/sunflower" number for them imo.

i actually just checked if that '04 Boston show was form the same tour because i was pretty sure when i saw them was within a day or two and it turns out that date they have listed is incorrect - it was 10/1.

Anyone knows if the Fundamental sessions contain music that ended up on the Wilco Book cd and/or the drone recordings in "Less than you think"?

i think the wilco book is mostly (entirely?) excerpts from the fundamentals jams

hah, that just reminded me that i was a complete sucker and bought the wilco book in hopes the cd had better material than had been on AGIB.

the version of "hummingbird" on it is pretty cool at least

it's like something from amnesiac

just relistened to that version and i could see that version have making the final cut if bennett had still been in tow. it's trying for the YHF vibe but missing the mark.

thesis: _the wilco book_ hummingbird is the best hummingbird that isn't a real bird.

exposition on _the wilco book_ and whathaveyou:
mostly obsolete by now, but this is where i first heard the alternate take of "hummingbird" and that's the best thing wilco ever did. it thankfully has showed up again and is easily heard on the proper rarities set. the rest of the music portion is generally highly entertaining for yhf/ghost era fans. peak 2000s ephemera. fun stuff. (three mics)

bonus track thoughts for ilxors: amnesiac comparison otm. that's the appeal for me. to be more specific, always thought the alt "hummingbird" was the band's attempt at a postal service kinda sound. can't wait to dig into the deluxe reissue; the yhf one was like an unnarrated longform documentary and am hoping for similar vibes here.

I blasted "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" the first time in 10 years a couple days ago and....it sounded labored.

yeah that's how nearly all of a ghost is born sounds, the live versions are universally better

it's frustrating because the material is some of their best but "at least that's what you said" is the only thing that's really done justice by the version on the album

i'm hoping the set of alternate takes from the reissue will prove to be a superior version of the album given how much better the version of "handshake drugs" is

AGIB seems to be a lot of folks' favorite Wilco album, but to me it's the first step in a long, slow decline. labored is a good criticism of it.

I like it a lot, and I also came to like SBS after I got over its dadrock sounds, I also love Star Wars as much as any Wilco and even think Cousin is pretty excellent. There are a few in between records with slim rewards but I’ve been regularly surprised at their ability to regroup and reach the peaks again.

the version of "hummingbird" on it is pretty cool at least

― ufo, Tuesday, November 26, 2024 12:22 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBF8rxC8E9k

"A Ghost is Born" is not bad, but it sort of is their post "YHF" "New Jersey." Regardless, it's a clear demarcation line, the last Tweedy made before getting sober and the last before adding Nels Cline. Most of the lineup of this album can play guitar, but I think it's also the last one where Tweedy is essentially the lead guitarist (dunno if it's before or after he took a few lessons with Richard Lloyd).

I was trying to figure out the last Wilco album that featured song titles that didn't ring a bell, and maybe it's because I live here and hear the group pretty often, it's surprisingly late in their discography. Weirdly, it may be "Star Wars," an album I know I liked yet still scans totally unfamiliar to me. "Schmilco" and "Ode to Joy," I'm pretty sure I've never heard them, for no good reason, though I feel like I heard a lovely song from the latter on a TV show or in a commercial or something. Maybe this one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VamTQr4kcKA

"Cruel Country" and "Cousins," I'm back to recognizing a couple of tracks on each, but again, I think that's because they are more recent and got some airplay here.

we discussed (i think? can't find it now) in another thread how Star Wars feels like a relatively small blip in their catalog because they surprise released it and, if i recall correctly, were experimenting with ... not promoting it? or, like, "what if we put out a record with no run-up / narrative" or something like that.

shame, as it's the best one post-YHF, imo.