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I got to thinking about AGIB's release....I checked and it was released June 22, 2004.

 

 

I just now gave it a full spin and still think it's a very beautiful disc. Some of the songs (Hell is Chrome, Handshake Drugs, Theologians...) all may have improved live...but I still find something special about the overall recorded sound on the disc.

 

 

 

Has it gotten better/worse for anyone?

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There is some extremely good material on that album. I'll come right out and say it - Wilco is the best band in America currently operating and the best band in America since the Replacements, Husker Du and Bad Brains.

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For some reason last night, right before I fell asleep, I realized that the AGIB version of Handshake Drugs is my favorite Wilco song, even though I have not listened to the complete disc for at least 2 weeks. Something about the bass line in that song just knocks my socks off.

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I had been listening to basically live/solo shows the past few months, and I finally just threw AGIB in and loved hearing it again. My favorite is hearing the songs on "random" with a bunch of other music (iPod shuffle), it sounds so much better IMO.

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There is some extremely good material on that album. I'll come right out and say it - Wilco is the best band in America currently operating and the best band in America since the Replacements, Husker Du and Bad Brains.

 

Hey now, that's a pretty controversial statement to be making around these parts! :P

 

I haven't listened to it for a while, so maybe I'll throw it into the car today. I've never liked Wishful Thinking for some reason. It just doesn't sound finished - great lyrics but rather dull IMHO.

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I find that when I'm listening to all of my wilco material--albums, concerts, demos, etc.--on the ipod, etc. that I routinely skip when it comes to a track off this album, as I've typically found 2, 3, 12 live versions that have taken the place of the original for me...

 

But you bring up an interesting point and so I shall play the album through again and see what happens.

 

:)

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I can't stop listening to AGIB. I reached the point that I told myself that if I didn't stop listening to it so much, I would get tired of it. That was six months ago. Incredible disc top to bottom; it's getting better with age. I must admit that I trimmed off the feedback from "Less Than You Think" and added "Kicking Television" and "Panthers" to the end of the disc.

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studio Hummingbird is unstoppable. the viola work is killer.

 

I really like the Wilco Book Unreleased version of hummingbird. Its got a really different feel to the whole song with some sync stuff in place of the normal insturments. The lyrics are slightly different, but most of the original lyrics were unchanged on the studio version.

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I like AGIB a lot. I still listen mostly to the live concerts, but I appreciate the subtle nuances of the studio versions. They tend to be quieter and more delicate, where the live versions are more aggresive.

 

That said, I'm currently listening to other stuff. I over listened to Wilco - I need some distance.

 

Going to Jeff's solo show in Raleigh, so I want to wet my appetite for that.

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My initially high opinion of it hasn't quite held up, but that's largely because many of its great-to-begin-with songs have only grown better in a live setting (especially Theologians, which has improved immeasurably; it's a dead fuck on the album). Hummingbird and Muzzle of Bees (arguably Jeff's best song) still can't be topped live, though, IMO.

 

Oh, and Spiders is still the biggest turd/misstep in the band's entire history. Having to sit through it at every show only makes me hate it more.

 

Overall, if I can ignore Spiders long enough to rank Wilco's albums, this one falls just below YHF and Being There for me. A bit bumpy, but generally spectacular.

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I really like the Wilco Book Unreleased version of hummingbird. Its got a really different feel to the whole song with some sync stuff in place of the normal insturments. The lyrics are slightly different, but most of the original lyrics were unchanged on the studio version.

 

when i hear this version i think i'm at a rave. which makes me want to throw up.

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I wasn't a huge fan of it initially. However, I was compiling a sampler-type thing for a younger friend who had never heard of them to try and get him into Wilco in about December, and was blown away by how much I had gotten into many of the tracks - seemingly without knowing it - through "Kicking Television" and live shows. There's songs on there that are among the best Jeff Tweedy songs ever: Hummingbird, Handshake Drugs, Wishful Thinking (Is any song worth singing if it doesn't help?), and I think Company in my Back is very underrated in the canon.

 

It's not "Being There" for me, but it's close.

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this is awesome, an entire thread where people actually are appreciating agib. im not saying it's their best... but to me all the wilco albums are very close in greatness. i am so sick of people ripping apart either agib and/or the new material... this is a band that we all love, thats why we come to this site. i know that we have the right as loyal fans to hold opinions on the band's material, but it just seems like people love to tear apart a lot of the band's recent music. so, here's to agib :cheers (and the new material for that matter).

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Oh, and Spiders is still the biggest turd/misstep in the band's entire history. Having to sit through it at every show only makes me hate it more.

Spiders is sort of a love or hate song isn't it? I started off listening to AGIB skipping the behemoth that is track 3 only to find myself now listening to it more and more. Spiders has grown on me more than any other song on the disc. Meanwhile, I'm a Wheel started off being a highlight for me on AGIB, now I find myself skipping it more often than not. Overall though, this has been a very dynamic album for me; it doesn't hit me the same way very often. ALTWYS is my favorite track on the album, closely followed by Company...ah hell, they're all good.

 

I agree with some other posters that it's hard to beat Being There, but AGIB definitely represents a different band in a different spot artistically.

 

It will be interesting to see where Wilco will go from here. I've heard the new stuff, but can we judge their new album based on this (yet)?

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I've heard the new stuff, but can we judge their new album based on this (yet)?

 

We certainly CAN judge.

 

Just not accurately.

 

But who wants to be accurate these days?

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"Theologians," is by far the highlight for me. The first time I heard it during soundcheck at the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh three years ago I just about cried it was so good. As far as the album proper, I rarely listen to it anymore and rank it only above "A.M." & "Mermaid Vol II." I do however really like early, live, drone-less versions of "Less Than You Think."

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Love AGIB. Essential to AWATT.

 

Neil Young-like guitar on opening, ALTWYS rocks. :rock

Hell is Chrome became a favorite after seeing it live. :o

Spiders...a masterpiece :thumbup

Muzzle and Hummingbird are lovely and some of JT's best lyrics :music

Handshake, Wishful, and Company from the very first listen struck me as the best series of songs strung together since Abbey Road, and first two live transport to another freakin' plane :w00t

I'm a Wheel took a while but have come to enjoy its rambunctiousness :P

Theologians is particularly valued in my small world of study of religion :pirate

Less Than You Think I have to skip because it makes my head spin :barf

The Late Greats is one of the best ending songs for any album :cheers

 

Listen to it everyday.

 

:music

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