jakobnicholas Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 It seems MANY on this board are big-time and knowledgeable fans of Wilco and R.E.M. Also, it seems most concur that both bands most recent ouputs are their weakest. Both bands have such AMAZING albums in their past that, when they release material that falls short of their lofty back catalog, we can't help but feel the albums are mediocre at best. How would you rank the 2 bands' last 3 records? I'd say: 1. A Ghost is Born (this, for me, is the EASY choice for #1)2. Reveal (Easy #2 choice, for me)3. Wilco (The Album) (I'm STILL not sure if I like it better than Sky Blue Sky...but lyrically it's better I think)4. Sky Blue Sky5. Around the Sun (This album has a handful of standouts, but an equal # of bad songs)6. Accelerate (To me, it was good the first 2 listens. Then it just sounded like a once-inspired band trying way too hard to sound inspired.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
auctioneer69 Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 It seems MANY on this board are big-time and knowledgeable fans of Wilco and R.E.M. Also, it seems most concur that both bands most recent ouputs are their weakest. Both bands have such AMAZING albums in their past that, when they release material that falls short of their lofty back catalog, we can't help but feel the albums are mediocre at best. How would you rank the 2 bands' last 3 records? I'd say: 1. A Ghost is Born (this, for me, is the EASY choice for #1)2. Reveal (Easy #2 choice, for me)3. Wilco (The Album) (I'm STILL not sure if I like it better than Sky Blue Sky...but lyrically it's better I think)4. Sky Blue Sky5. Around the Sun (This album has a handful of standouts, but an equal # of bad songs)6. Accelerate (To me, it was good the first 2 listens. Then it just sounded like a once-inspired band trying way too hard to sound inspired.) Totally off the mark in my humble opinion. Wilco's canon from "AM" to "WTA" including the Mermaid Albums and "Kicking Television" is up there (I don't want to make a direct comparison) with what REM released from "Chronic Town" to "New Adventures in Hi-Fi". For both bands, I don't think they released a true dud or stinker in those periods. You can make arguments as to what are the best albums and when the bands peaked but to me "AGIB", "SBS" and "WTA" are all great albums individually and as part of Wilco's body of work. It's unrealistic to think that every album by the respective bands will hit the highs of a "Life's Rich Pageant" or "Being There". As for "Accelerate": I really like it though find it overproduced. How many bands were releasing songs as good as "Living Well...", "Horse To Water" and "Houston" 25 + years into their career. REM have only made one truly awful records in "Around The Sun". Again not bad in the context of a long career. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rusty Shackleford Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I would quibble with the original premise. At any given time, I might put Ghost as the best Wilco album overall, and I don't see a serious dropoff between the rest of the catalog and the last three records. R.E.M. is a different story. I'm a huge R.E.M. fan (yesterday became the proud owner of my third different copy of Reckoning), but their albums these days are not close to Wilco's, or (more to the point) their earlier work. You go back and listen to any of the albums up through Berry's tenure, or even Up, and there's a marked dropoff. R.E.M.'s run from Chronic Town to Green saw them releasing a record every year, and each one is a classic. Now, they go 2-3 years between albums, and they're not exactly worth the wait. That said, here goes: 1. Ghost2. W(TA)3. Sky Blue Sky4. Reveal5. Accelerate6. Around the Sun Ghost is a clear winner among the Wilco albums (IMHO), but W(TA) is still growing on me. All 3 have some classics, and none have any real duds. These could be interchangeable depending on my mood. I've been harsh on Reveal in the past, and I still think both it and some of its songs (Reno, Chorus and the Ring) are way too long, but taken on its own terms it's not a bad album. It's just so different from the rest of the catalog that it's hard to evaluate. The Accelerate material works fine live, but it's pretty much all filler. It's too aggressively up-tempo (that is, the songs don't really earn the urgency with which the band tries to play them), and the record is engineered in a way to be almost painfully loud. I greatly enjoyed the live show last summer, but I pretty much never play the record. Around the Sun has a few decent points, but no real high ones, and there are some abysmal lows (Worst Joke Ever, Make it All Okay). It's all filler, and mostly boring filler at that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 I would quibble with the original premise. At any given time, I might put Ghost as the best Wilco album overall, and I don't see a serious dropoff between the rest of the catalog and the last three records. Ghost is a clear winner among the Wilco albums (IMHO), but W(TA) is still growing on me. All 3 have some classics, and none have any real duds. These could be interchangeable depending on my mood. I've been harsh on Reveal in the past, and I still think both it and some of its songs (Reno, Chorus and the Ring) are way too long, but taken on its own terms it's not a bad album. It's just so different from the rest of the catalog that it's hard to evaluate. That's pretty fair. I thought it was OK to start at Ghost, as it was prior to its release that Bennett left and it seemed like a new beginning for Wilco. I agree that SBS and W(TA) both have classics, but to me, neither have anything at the level of ALTWTS, Hell is Chrome and Spiders. Reveal might sound better now than when it came out. At the time it seemed too over-produced and pretty and mellow. But now it sounds like a very pleasant summer record, with some cool layered textures. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hardwood floor Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 There's an obvious parallel. Both bands are cursed by the absolute brilliance of their early and mid-period work. Both are fronted by a remarkable songwriter but got big contributions from others. Both lost a critical member and were never the same. Both have released later records that are perceived by many as drastically inferior. Both are still universally acclaimed as terrific live acts, even though their recorded output is uneven. But as much as I found Sky Blue Sky average and the new record quite weak, REM's last few records - all of which I revisited recently - are far, far worse. REM went from the best band in the world to one of the worst. That's not easy to do. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Francis X. Hummel Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 All Wilco albums are better than any REM album. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hardwood floor Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 All Wilco albums are better than any REM album. not even remotely close Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 All Wilco albums are better than any REM album. Alrighty then. That settles that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 All Wilco albums are better than any REM album.This is your opinion, and I disagree with it vehemently. I'll take the first four R.E.M. albums over everything Wilco has done except Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Being There. To answer the original question ... my opinion: 1. SBS2. AGIB3. 4. W(TA)5. 6. 7. 8. Reveal9. Accelerate10. Around The Sun I have little use for recent R.E.M., as you can see. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 All Wilco albums are better than any REM album. Everyone is entitled to their opinons but here is how I would rank all the proper albums by both bands... keep in mind my 3 favorite bands areREM, Radiohead then Wilco 1) Automatic2) Murmur3) Reckoning4) Fables5) Being There6) Summerteeth7) Life's Rich Pagent8) Yankee9) Green10) New Adventures11) Monster12) Document13) Accelerate14) A.M.15) Out of Time16) Wilco (The Album)17) UP18) Ghost19) Reveal20) Around Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 There's an obvious parallel. Both bands are cursed by the absolute brilliance of their early and mid-period work. Both are fronted by a remarkable songwriter but got big contributions from others. Both lost a critical member and were never the same. Both have released later records that are perceived by many as drastically inferior. Both are still universally acclaimed as terrific live acts, even though their recorded output is uneven. But as much as I found Sky Blue Sky average and the new record quite weak, REM's last few records - all of which I revisited recently - are far, far worse. REM went from the best band in the world to one of the worst. That's not easy to do. Good post. Maybe it's because it's Summer, but Reveal sounds very listenable right now. It's got a really nice vibe to it. It also makes me remember the Imitation of Life video, which is one of the greatest music videos ever made. Around the Sun and Accelerate, to me, are definitely worse than any Wilco record. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jules Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 W(TA) is definitely the best album released in June by either band. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 W(TA) is definitely the best album released in June by either band.Fables of the Reconstruction was released in June (of '85). Just saying. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 W(TA) is definitely the best album released in June by either band. June of what year? If so I go with.... 1985 Fables of the Reconstruction Released: June 10, 1985 Fables of the Reconstruction was released in June (of '85). Just saying. We were thinking the same thing PS. Ghost and Mermaid 1 were also released in June...also still going with Fables... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jules Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 OK, last week of June. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 1) Automatic2) Murmur3) Reckoning4) Fables5) Being There6) Summerteeth7) Life's Rich Pagent8) Yankee9) Green10) New Adventures11) Monster12) Document13) Accelerate14) A.M.15) Out of Time16) Wilco (The Album)17) UP18) Ghost19) Reveal20) Around That's interesting to think about, but pretty much impossible to rank. I'll take a stab at a top 10: 1. Murmur2. Reckoning3. Being There4. Out of Time5. Summerteeth6. Fales of Reconstruction7. Green8. Automatic for the People9. Up10. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 OK, last week of June.I agree! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 That's interesting to think about, but pretty much impossible to rank. I'll take a stab at a top 10: 1. Murmur2. Reckoning3. Being There4. Out of Time5. Summerteeth6. Fales of Reconstruction7. Green8. Automatic for the People9. Up10. Yankee Hotel FoxtrotIn my humble opinion, ranking Out of Time, Green, and Up above YHF is cause to question your sanity. I disagree with ranking the rest of that stuff above YHF too, but I could at least understand it in most cases. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Artifice Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I probably like REM's early catalogue as much or more than anything Wilco has done. That's not a slight to Jeff & Co. They were an amazing band. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 In my humble opinion, ranking Out of Time, Green, and Up above YHF is cause to question your sanity. I disagree with ranking the rest of that stuff above YHF too, but I could at least understand it in most cases. I decided to rank them based on which albums I like RIGHT NOW. YHF seriously had me mesmerized for almost 2 years. I found mp3's of Kamera and Pot Kettle Black, then tracked down the others over a 2 week span in the Summer before its release. IATTBYH gave me goosebumps. But for some reason, I just don't listen to the album much anymore. I still find much of it very great. But it's not holding up for me now. Now YOU explain how AGIB gets rated behind SBS. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Now YOU explain how AGIB gets rated behind SBS.AGIB has just never connected with me, or I with it. There's not a single song on there that I absolutely love, and several that I really don't care about (but they're Wilco, so I still listen to them occasionally). I've warmed up to it, slightly, over the last year or so, but only after SBS seemed to put it in perspective a bit. As for SBS, there are two songs that I don't really care for ("Walken" and "What Light"), but I love the rest. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I agree with what's been said by many. Old REM is comparable to Wilco but the new stuff, not so much. 1. AGIB2. W(TA)3. SBS4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Accelerate9. Reveal10. Around The Sun Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imsjry Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Why are we comparing these two bands again? All I know is the last REM album was horrible and Wilco have never released anything half as clunky. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hardwood floor Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Why are we comparing these two bands again? All I know is the last REM album was horrible and Wilco have never released anything half as clunky. no, i agree ... Wilco at its worst is still very listenable and hardly offensive. REM at its worst is mind-blowingly bad and impossible to stomach Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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