DiamondClaw

I've been thinking about this lately. On the one hand, Wilco has never really had a true outside producer. O'Rourke would be the closest thing to that. And they don't need direction or anything. On the other hand, I do think Jeff needs someone to challenge him on some of his ideas or at least play devil's advocate with him, to objectively tell him to reconsider some of his first-blush choices (lyrics, vocals, arrangements). Tom Schick is a talented guy, but Jeff would benefit from a shaking things up sound-wise a bit, even if that means a more labor-intensive project.

I wonder if part of the reasoning for releasing Cruel Country so quickly was to allow for another new album relatively soon. Something else this year seems unlikely, but maybe something spring 2023? Even though we don't really know much about this other album aside from Jeff saying it's a "sculpted art pop" with "alien song forms," I'm really looking forward to it.

Update: Just saw footage of "Forget the Flowers." Some extremely kind soul posted a bulk of the show on Youtube. Wow, don't want to sound like sacrilege, but I think Pat plays it better than Nels. Have to get him out from behind the piano on that one from now on!

3 hours ago, lost highway said:

I watched some videos some generoso caballeros put up of this and it was fascinating. I don't imagine that it will make a lot of fans call for dropping one of the best living guitarists from the lineup, but it's kind of an exciting alternate for those of us who have been following this band for decades. They sound surprisingly fragile as a five piece which is captivating but less grand.

 

The "play it like the record" I'm the Man Who Loves You is well suited for 5 with Pat's strummy acoustic carrying the rhythm and Jeff's fuzz leads sounding needly without the usual wall of guitars.

I watched those videos this morning too. Is it weird that it felt a little exhilarating? I mean, like you said, no one is longing to remove Nels' virtuosity from this band, but there was something novel yet nostalgic about seeing this more "fragile" stripped back lineup.

5 hours ago, Boss_Tweedy said:

What's so maddening to me is that there are a few songs I can't get enough of like "Falling Apart (Right Now)" and "A Lifetime to Find" (the songs that actually sound like country songs). But then there's the litany of slow, sad, and rather boring songs that remind me of Ode to Joy and some of the music I like less on the solo albums (although I much prefer Jeff's solo albums to anything released by Wilco since The Whole Love). Definitely not what I was in the mood for as we enter what will hopefully be the tail-end of the pandemic. As I suspected I mistakenly got my hopes up based on the first single and the description of the album as a "country" album. It's probably still my favorite Wilco album since The Whole Love, and the songs sound better live. Still I'll probably never get my hopes up for another Being There again because it's not going to happen. 

Just curious, given your style preferences and expectations, why you rank the new one ahead of Star Wars in the post-Whole Love era. That one certainly has more energy and spunk.

*And by deconstructed I don't just mean "noise" or "weird." I mean a song where a more complex or dynamic arrangement, where Jeff's acoustic strumming doesn't take up quite as much room. I like the bulk of Cruel Country, but I understand the "same-y" complaint from some people, because most of these songs don't sound vastly advanced from Jeff sitting on the couch with his acoustic, except there is some beautiful but soft ambient accompaniment.

11 hours ago, 5hake1t0ff said:

I think those are some good observations, but I also think they only describe about half the album. The guitar playing by all the guys has become more rhythm and textures in the last two to three albums than riff and solo-heavy, for sure. I’m not really bothered by it and still think it’s a product of the band’s creative evolution, not just Jeff’s.
 

Also, if I had to guess, I’d say Wilco’s next album will be much more experimental and less “songs.” Jeff even talked in a recent interview about them having started making a very different “art pop” record during the pandemic. 
 

I just bridle at the despair I hear about Jeff’s solo albums and Wilco sounding like a leader/backing band, because I think it’s selling their collective process short. I guess I love the subtleties of the last three records more than some, even if they are somewhat less deconstructed versions of Jeff’s songwriting.

I agree the collective process is still there, and the collaboration makes this significantly different than a Jeff Tweedy solo album, even with the more subtle approach. I like both straightforward and deconstructed Jeff Tweedy songs — the straightforward ones are beautiful. I just feel like we've been getting a lot less of the deconstructed ones now, and those are the bold and adventurous sonic statements and deviations that would balance the ledger a little.

3 hours ago, jff said:

 

Arranged, I suppose, though it probably has something to do with the mixes as well.  The songs used to be arranged in such a way that significant portions of a song would be set aside for the instrumental track to develop and build, or go near silent, or take off in a surprising new direction.  For example, Muzzle of Bees, You Are My Face, Hell is Chrome.  IMO, one of the more creative things Wilco does is finds unexpected places and ways for the instruments to do the talking (and I don't mean guitar solos).   I feel that if this is still something they do, they've gotten too subtle with it and are over-relying on the lyrical direction of the song.

 

TL;DR:  The lyrics didn't used to tell the whole story.  Now they do, and that's less interesting to me.

It's definitely an arrangement and a mix thing. In addition to the songs' dependency on the vocals, as you mentioned, I notice how all these songs are built so tightly around Jeff's acoustic rhythm guitar (arrangement). Jeff's acoustic strumming is also much more prominent relative to the rest of the band's playing (mix). Their playing is there, very tasteful, but it's subtle and less up front. Jeff's rhythm guitar has always been there in the past, of course. It's just that it wasn't as ever-present as it is these days. 

I've read a handful of reviews, and the one that captures the album the best to me, context and all, is this one from Stereogum:

https://www.stereogum.com/2187467/wilco-cruel-country/reviews/premature-evaluation/

13 hours ago, Blackberry Rust said:

 

Read somewhere that it's definitely Pat on the left channel playing a Telecaster with a Parsons/White B-bender. Certainly suited more to Pat's background. Brilliant guitarist in my opinion, his 12-string solo on Emma Swift's Dylan cover of "Queen Jane Approximately" (Blonde On The Tracks) demonstrates just how good his sense of phrasing and space is. 

Wow, I just played that track based on your comments. Beautiful! It really shows how talented Pat is. Hopefully he gets a chance to shine like this somewhere on Cruel Country.

10 hours ago, jff said:

Not crazy about this new one.  Might be incredible in context of the album, but on its own it strikes me as a pretty generic “new Wilco” song.  As a teaser track, it doesn’t have me rushing to the cash register.
 

I did like Faliing Apart quite a bit.  Haven’t heard the other songs yet, but I’d be happier if Falling Apart, and not this song, is more representative of the new album.

Just heard the new one, and I have the opposite reaction! I liked "Falling Apart" OK, but "Tired of Taking it Out on You" is just exquisite.

I haven't seen all the new songs Jeff has debuted on the Tweedy Show, etc., but there was one that really impressed me a while back called "Sunlight's End." I really thought that would be a great Wilco track, but it doesn't appear to be on the list for CC. For all the dedicated Tweedy Show followers, anyone think there's a chance that one's on here under a different name?

21 minutes ago, lost highway said:

If I had to gauge from the unfinished stuff he's shared on his newsletter (which could be misleading), I'm expecting something multi-layered and vibrant like some of the stuff on The Whole Love. Kind of the yin to  Ode to Joy's yang. A little less stark. But who knows.

 

They've been talking about doing a double album for years. I'm excited this one was made with a lot of the team all together for major portions of it.

Me too! The fact that they all got together to record at the same time is a big factor for me. And The Whole Love is my favorite "modern" Wilco album, so if your read is right, that only adds to the excitement. Can't wait for the official announcement for all this!

I have two amazing seats for tonight’s show. Second row dead center in the orchestra. Asking $300 for the pair, which is under face + fees, but am open to offers.  Thanks!

Thanks for the detailed recaps @bböp. Always a pleasure to read these and pore over the details. My head has already exploded from the intersection of my two favorite bands, Spoon and Wilco, in watching the video of Britt singing "Kamera." Here's hoping that performance of "Sunloathe" was taped!! I'd love to see that.

2 hours ago, uncool2pillow said:

Roseanne Cash's induction speech was beautiful. I loved the whole episode.

It really was. The whole show was great, and it was cool to see the different spins on Wilco songs, but I was really blown away by how beautiful Roseanne Cash's speech was.

20 hours ago, bböp said:

And yeah, thanks also for your comments here. It's nice to have folks chime in on these post-show threads. Makes me hopeful that not everything has migrated over to that one social media site whose name we shall not utter. It took me a while, but I finally got my last show recap posted above if anyone still has interest. It's been nice to have an outlet to do some regular corresponding, so thanks to anyone who's taken the time to read and/or follow along.

Count me in as one of those appreciative readers of yours, Paul. Always a pleasure!

9 hours ago, lost highway said:

 

Same. I don't chime in much because I don't have anything to add, but there's something comforting in these recaps, beyond the vicarious concert-going element. Like I wake up in the morning and drink my coffee and go, well it's a high of 56 degrees today, the Packers won, and ooh, Wilco played Wishful Thinking last night. Paul had to watch Jeff wrangle a couple of drunken hecklers, and then they played a mega rock encore.

 

This world must be a decent place if we know these things are happening.

Sub "White Sox" for "Packers," and this perfectly describes me as well!

22 hours ago, nalafej said:

How can you not play Casino Queen in Las Vegas?????

...or "Kingpin" in a bowling alley?!

I have to believe that Tweedy's anti-Grohl thing is more of a shtick now, right? I can't see him really disliking the guy at this point.

Thanks for picking up with the recaps @u2roolz! I watched part of this today and was blown away by "Moonlight Mile." Just fantastic!

Anybody know this new one they've been playing?

Seriously though, can we talk about this song for a second? For all of eternity, I always thought the chords were a straight D-G-Gm throughout. But when I went to look it up for a refresher the other day, that middle G chord has come into question. Some tabs claim it's an Em, which sounds strange to me, but darned if it doesn't look like that's what Jeff plays in some videos (like this one). Could it just look like an Em because he's in drop D and thus not playing the low E string for that chord? Or is he playing something completely different there? It's also suggested that he varies that chord at different parts of the song, going to a diminished version.

I've also been struggling a little with the riff the throws in the verse during the D. It seems like 4-0-2-4-0 on the A string. It doesn't feel perfect, but it's the best I can come up with.

Can anyone shed some light on the chords and tab to this song?

56 minutes ago, arjaykay said:

I have the 45.  "Half Life" is a full band version.  Three guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, three part vocals on the chorus.  Glenn's drums up front in the mix.

"I Can't" is also a full band version.  Two or three guitars, bass, drums, more prominent keyboards, two or three part harmony vocals.  Glenn's drums up front in the mix.

 

Both songs sound as if they could have been from the "Ode To Joy" sessions.  Same type of feel to the songs as the songs on "Ode To Joy".

Thank you! Those descriptions sound great — I hope we get to hear these soon.

On 8/7/2021 at 12:52 PM, u2roolz said:

Here’s the Wilco single that you’re talking about. The b-side is I Can’t which I’ve never heard of either. It’s possible that it’s been played on TTS. I don’t have this in my hands, but I’m the one that asked about this other mystery 7 inch because Paul mentioned it in his recap. 

Another person in the thread mentioned that there’s a bundle deal if you buy both 7 inch singles.

So, has anyone heard these two new Wilco studio tracks yet? It's strange there's been literally no reviews of the songs themselves! I wonder how fleshed out "Half Life" is from the acoustic Tweedy Show version. And seemingly nothing at all is known about "I Can't." I'm hoping, at the very least, these songs make their way to streaming or something soon.

Popping in as a dedicated @bböp reader to say thank you yet again for the wonderful reviews throughout the tour.

I thought I was going to sit this show out until I was lucky enough to have tickets come my way at the last moment (even though the torrential downpour in the afternoon knocked power out at my house and I left my wife and kid at home to deal with it while I gallivanted into the city to see a concert ) .

Fantastic show by the band. I loved the high-energy approach. When last seen at the Chicago Theatre, they were opening shows with Bright Leaves -> Before Us. Maybe they'll head back in that direction this fall, but I think the rocking openers were a good fit for the return-to-the-sheds summer shows. I'll echo what everyone has said that the 90-minute set felt really short (by our standards anyway) but the band really packed every minute of time with as much power as possible. I was really happy to see "Art of Almost" back in the setlists this tour, as it's one of my favorites and i missed it in 2019, and it blew my socks off as usual.

There's always a little hope for "something special" at a Chicago show, but alas that wasn't in the cards this time around. Great to see to them back on the road though, and it'll be fun to follow the shows this fall to see what changes.

One other thing — that was my first time seeing S-K live and I have to say, Carrie is one badass rock star! I was really impressed.

On 8/9/2021 at 5:08 PM, bböp said:

 

Cheers! Glad a few people still get something out of them...

More than a few! I always look forward to these too. Thanks Paul!