newbornghost

I'm surprised given the amount of excellent touring and positive press Wilco has done since the release of WTA. Anybody know how the Nonesuch promotion budget compares to Anti-/dBpm?? Also, I wonder if Wilco's efforts to promote the vinyl may have helped their bottom line but hurt their Billboard #. Lastly, who gives a ****. It's already changed my life. I find myself humming different parts/songs every day. It's just a fantastic album, and time will tell as much.

I pretty much agree with most of what's been said here. What I love about TWL is the way some of the songs have the flowing, seemingly effortless melodies and rhythms that define JT's songwriting legacy, in my opinion...and which seemed to be slightly lacking on SBS and W(TA) (though I truly LOVE those albums...just for different reasons).

Though they haven't been doing there thing for nearly as long, Arcade Fire deserves a seat at the table of current indie-rock standard-bearers. (The National and Modest Mouse fall just short, in my book.)

I know. Referring to it as 'classic rock,' 'accessible,' and 'comfort food' kinda bothered me. I mean, the first time I listened to it I thought, hmm, this needs to be 'poured over.' Whereas this guy reserves such time and attention only for the 'subliminal melodies' found on King of Limbs. Not knocking King of Limbs, but if you ask me, The Whole Love requires every bit as much of the listener.

Wow. What is it with college kids these days? (besides the fact that they really still think drugs are cool) Some angles never die: Exhibit A: "It’s always a strange thing to wish someone were back on drugs. Jeff Tweedy wrote two of the most critically claimed albums of the 2000s—“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and “A Ghost is Born”—while under the influence of painkillers and depression. Then he got clean, released the hokey “Sky Blue Sky” and the irritatingly self-referential, though marginally improved “Wilco (The Album).” Wilco’s latest, “The Whole Love,” suggests a similar move towards retro-p

I really like this song. It's grown on me consistently with each listen. The melodies are strong and I love Glenn's selection of field recordings. It's got a county fair / ragtime feel. It's like Nilsson/Beatles crossed with Tom Waits. In terms of Wilco, it reminds me a little of both Why Would You Wanna Live and parts of Pieholden Suite.

It just seems to me short sighted and predictable. In my opinion, if this thread had been had 2-3 years ago, we would have seen nowhere near as many SBS songs. W(TA) gets slighted because its still young in our ears. One Wing, Bull Black Nova and Country Disappeared especially will grow to be seen as live gems. You'll see....

Let's see Wilco (the song) Deeper Down .... .... Jesus, etc. .... .... Country Disappeared ... ... Monday ... ... You Never Know Sonny Feeling ... ... Handshake Drugs ... ... One Wing Seriously, people. The anti W(TA) bias here is laughable.

If you listen to when Jeff sings (what sounds to me like) the words 'brother' and 'mother' (around 2:23 and 2:30) there's something overdubbed there that sounds like a sample to me. Maybe they just did the sample as a sort of additional tribute?...to the Stooges' song to acknowledge its clear influence on the style/structure of I Might.

Basically, I'm in agreement with all the Abbey-Road medly fans. I would love to see Wilco do the whole musical costume thing for a Halloween show. Either The White Album or Abbey Road would suit them very well.

Very nice photos!

Oh, and I loved the band intro public announcement voice thing during W(TS). Quite hilarious.

Agreed with previous reviews that this show was excellent. The band carried a really high energy level all the way to 'Jesus, etc', but the sing-a-long kept the crowd into it at that pt. There was definitely a great vibe between crowd and band. 'Theologians' was the peak, in my estimation. Broken Arrow was really impressive, and it was very cool that they brought Bill Frissell on stage (joking that he had always been 'the 7th member of Wilco') for CA Stars. Bummer about the curfew, because you could tell the band still had plenty in the tank. I was highly revved up for this show, and

Is this the wild speculation part, or do we know this much?

+1

First of all, I didn't mean imply W(TA) is secretly Citizen Kane for those who 'listen harder.' I highly doubt W(TA) will ever be my favorite Wilco album. I never said 'listen harder,' I only said I feel Wilco deserves more patience than some are giving W(TA). What I really meant was more 'listen longer.' Like any piece of artwork, you have to spend significant time with it in order to fully appreciate it. Now, I do understand that people listen to music for different reasons, and I do need to be reminded of that being totally legitimate. I do think there is something to 'listening har

Wow. I'm reading this thread and wondering how many people have really given the album the time of day. I'll admit that I had a VERY hard time with SBS upon first listen. Now, there are days when SBS is by far the Wilco album I want to spin most. For those who profess love for Wilco, show it by spending a little time with the new release before completely writing it off in bitter resentment. I honestly don't see how anyone can listen to all of Wilco's catalogue and not see the overall progression in musical and lyrical maturity. Name 1 songwriter who has been as consistently excellent

(Ok, I'm a few days late in reporting this, but it IS noteworthy, esp on this thread.) I've been following Lance Armstrong's daily video updates on the Tour de France, and right before Stage 9, he recorded a video, and he was totally blasting (slight exaggeration) 'Solitaire' in his hotel room! Link YOU GO LANCE!!! Keep listening to W(TA) and you might win the thing!

touche. you may be right. i'm really not in a position to judge.

I think everyone's making too much of the melodic comparison to 'On and On and On'...sure, it's there, but you can do that with lots of songwriters, and the overall song structure of I'll Fight is much different. The same melody leads in two very different directions in each song. These two are nowhere near as close to each other as 'Far, Far Away' and 'Sky Blue Sky', IMHO.

Thanks for that. I just got to it in time and heard most of the interview. Not sure what to make of it. Lots of conflicting thoughts. I found myself sympathizing with Jay's suffering, then annoyed by all his childish comments about Jeff and Tony, and finally wishing that Jeff would man-up and answer the phone! Sad stuff.

Jeff does seem to take the meanings of Jesus pretty seriously in a number of his songs. I love 'The Ruling Class' as Jeff's rebuke of those who try to remake Jesus into their own image.

So, Jeff conceded that maybe this album is a 'summing up.' Got me to thinking about which songs on W(TA) triggered associations to which albums. Feel free to disagree/offer up your own: Wilco (The Song) - Summerteeth Deeper Down - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot One Wing - A Ghost Is Born Bull Black Nova - A Ghost Is Born You and I - hmmm... You Never Know - A.M. Country Disappeared - Sky Blue Sky Solitaire - hmmm... I'll Fight - Sky Ble Sky Sonny Feeling - Being There Everlasting Everything - Summerteeth

Oh, well now, isn't this a fun idea....here's my quick stab (not ranked) Black Eye Acuff-Rose Blue-Eyed Soul Misunderstood Far, Far Away Red-Eyed and Blue Sunken Treasure Someone Else's Song She's a Jar Summer Teeth Family Gardener Long Time Ago I Am Trying To Break Your Heart Radio Cure Ashes of American Flags Jesus, Etc Poor Places Hell Is Chrome Muzzle of Bees One Wing

Interesting. I definitely feel that Nels is more himself on W(TA) than SBS. I actually had trouble with Nels when he first joined Wilco, because the first impression he made on me was that of a 'shredder.' Since then, Nels has done much to win me over, and I love what he does to add that extra dimension at several moments in W(TA). It is interesting, though, that he had much more of a typical studio musician's role on this album, recording virtually everything on his own as overdubs (he wasn't in New Zealand for most of the live recording of the base tracks). That said, to my ears, it doe