Another Wilco/Ghost is Born thread....

[heylow]

So I've been listening to this record a lot lately. I dig it, though I didn't at first. It grew on me. The thing I really dig about it is the drum sound. I feel strangely drawn to it....it's odd....kinda 70's-ish in spots but very interesting to me.

The guitars are nice as well. I think the vocals were captured better on YHF but, still, everything fits into that wierd late 60's/early 70's vibe.

I don't suppose anybody here knows anything about the inner workings of this record, do they? Besides, of course, lots of painkillers.

DOH! Tweedy got SERVED! (Can you say that about your own "serve"? I hope so.)



heylow

[inverseroom]

Actually, I'm glad this came up again--I got it recently too--and I like it quite a lot more than "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," which is an album I admire more than love. I felt like, back then, they were overreaching for the quality of material--whereas here they're understating excellent material.

Also: that overdriven guitar sound is absolutely beautiful.

[XXGABEXX]

warning - PERSONAL OPINION TO FOLLOW - warning

YHF is, to me, what a rock album is supposed to sound like. It has a good amount of everything: electric guitar/bass, acoustic guitar, electronic drums, acoustic drums, strings, synths, piano, organs, general spacey sounds. All of these are used to make more out of what are already some simple catchy songs. When I gave it the first full listen, I declared it a perfect rock album based on what I think one should sound like.

A Ghost is Born... well the jury's still out for me. It really does sound like an album by someone on painkillers. I haven't decided if I think this is a good thing or not.

[pedrohead]

love the record.

can't quite get my head around how every wilco album can sound and feel so completely different...but the music is still rooted in the same principles and songwriting.

i mean we're really not talking 'the bends' vs. 'kid a' type transitions in songwriting, but each album is so distinct from the next. i love those guys.

[wallace]

I really like "Handshake Drugs" and "Theologians". It's cool that they steam the album on their website too. Wasn't it recorded at Sear Sound? That's interesting after reading the Sear interview in the last tapeop.

[trashy]

I can't stand it.

I'm terribly terribly disappointed by it every time I listen to it.

67 minutes long? Give me an f-ing break... I'm a firm believer that an album should be 35 to 45 minutes long. That is, unless it's meant to invoke a sort of wholeness, a total artistic statement outside of the songs (see: Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out, Exile on Main Street, et al.) I don't get the sense of wholeness; it's just a collection of songs - which (again) is fine if the album is 35 minutes long.

The songs are subpar. Subsubpar. "Once in germany someone said nein"??? WTF?? That's not a lyric you keep, that's the practice lyrics you use until you get home from rehersal and can rewrite the thing. It feels like a collection of b-sides. A very very long collection of b-sides.

I don't like the production.

Yeah, I said it. I don't like the production. Here's another thing I realized with this album: I don't like Jim O'Rourke. That's right. Besides his work with Sonic Youth, I've never liked anything he's done or recorded. His production on this record is WAY off-base. It's like he said this to himself: "Ragged bunch of half-written songs played by a ragged bunch of dudes? I know, I'll make this record sound pristine as hell." I hate the production on this record. It's clynical and lifeless.

The pacing on the album is way off. Should the third track on a record be a twelve minute opus to spiders? No. Should a twelve minute opus to spiders have made this album? No.

I love wilco, and I think they are the best band in America and have been for years. Summerteeth is brilliant, and the rest of their output has been really really geat. I'll sit this one out, though.

[aurelialuz]

wow, trashy, it's like yer readin my mail...except for the "best band in america" part...

[JASIII]

I was listening to A Ghost Is Born last night and realized that there's something that I like about every song on the album, except the last one. That's extremely rare for me. I think this is a fantastic album. I'm starting to like it more than YHF. My favorite album so far this year.

[XXGABEXX]

Yea, I'm not a big fan of 10 minute+ drone epics to begin with, but if they are part of an artistic statement that's cool. Two 10 minute+ drone epics however... I just can't wrap my brain around that. Sorry.

I really like Handshake Drugs and Theologians though. That much I know.

You can call me close-minded if you want. I'm cool with that. I've been called worse.

[substitute]

I agree with inverseroom, YHF seems like they we're trying to prove something to the indie rockers when compared to Ghost. I like all there albums though, I like pain killers too, and long songs, and the "nein" lyric made me giggle.

=|:^=

[inverseroom]

{rant}

Yowza!

I do skip the ten-minute drones, of course. Any sane person would.

[trashy]

{rant}

Yowza!

I do skip the ten-minute drones, of course. Any sane person would.

Ha Ha! Jerk!

[JASIII]

"Theologians" wins my award for Best John Lennon Song of the Year. I like it a lot though. The first track's guitar solos remind me of Neil Young.

[Turbo7]

Upon first listen, I wasnt very impressed. But for some reason, I couldnt stop listening to it. The songs are good, but not great, but each has something that makes me want to put it on repeat... like painkillers maybe.

I really like the guitar sounds, but really don't like the drum sounds, especially compared to YHF.

Hummingbird is also a tribute to the Beatles.

[sad iron]

As much as I wanted to dislike it for a lot of reasons; some personal, some not. Regardless, it has ended up the only thing i've listened to recently. I agree that there are great sounding part of every song and some songs are great. not the best Wilco album start to finish but interesting in the scope of all things wilco.

the noise stuff gets a little silly after a while though.