Official reviews of The Whole Love

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

This PopMatters review absolutely nails it, I think.

 

Which part of the review?

The rave that was the text of the review or the meh that was the rating?

 

The Daily Star - ooh err missus

 

http://www.dailystar...e-Album-Review/

Heck...the banner adds for the big boobed chick pics were better than that review...

[-seven]

This is more about the Central Park show than the album but,

From the Village Voice

http://blogs.village...r_23_review.php

 

I love this review.

 

Here's a little excerpt:

"Throughout the two-hour-plus set, the rain pisses down constantly, and Wilco demonstrate their ability to put over modern blazer-rock better than any of the toothless/hookless/mirthless sensitivos in The National, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, and others—and they don't resort to Hornsbyisms, try to be U2/Springsteen, or add a fucking saxophone."

[Autumnteeth]

The way I look at is that is fashionable to bang out the group that is on top and supoort the underdog. I trluy love this album, wolud give it a 10 of 10, and until people hear it in high fidelity they have no right to judge. This is amastrwork, love it, and as much as the posers want to bash I will not back off my opinion that it is genius. Sure I am wrong, have heard that from so many people on this board I almost started to believe it, but this album gives me the giggles. It is great.

[Al.Ducts]

This is more about the Central Park show than the album but,

From the Village Voice

http://blogs.village...r_23_review.php

 

I love this review.

 

Here's a little excerpt:

"Throughout the two-hour-plus set, the rain pisses down constantly, and Wilco demonstrate their ability to put over modern blazer-rock better than any of the toothless/hookless/mirthless sensitivos in The National, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, and others—and they don't resort to Hornsbyisms, try to be U2/Springsteen, or add a fucking saxophone."

 

 

I sort-of like The National, Bon Iver, and Grizzly Bear. But fuck yes. This is correct.

[-seven]

 

I sort-of like The National, Bon Iver, and Grizzly Bear. But fuck yes. This is correct.

 

Me too, but I guess that' s why I found it so funny.

[SeattleC]

This is more about the Central Park show than the album but,

From the Village Voice

http://blogs.village...r_23_review.php

 

 

 

I love this review.

 

Here's a little excerpt:

"Throughout the two-hour-plus set, the rain pisses down constantly, and Wilco demonstrate their ability to put over modern blazer-rock better than any of the toothless/hookless/mirthless sensitivos in The National, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, and others—and they don't resort to Hornsbyisms, try to be U2/Springsteen, or add a fucking saxophone."

 

That is is really a great line. Wilco with saxophone? That is a frightening thought. Also, having experienced this venue in a torrential downpour that stopped a show for awhile, I have to say it added to the experience and weeded out the 'don't really care about the band, but I'm in the park for a show' crowd.

[Guest Jules]

What about the Total Pros?

[anthony]

I just don't know how they gave WTA a higher score.... It got a 7.4... Really?

PF gave AGiB a fucking 6.6; so they lose credibility, no?

[bleedorange]

This is more about the Central Park show than the album but,

From the Village Voice

http://blogs.village...r_23_review.php

 

I love this review.

 

Here's a little excerpt:

"Throughout the two-hour-plus set, the rain pisses down constantly, and Wilco demonstrate their ability to put over modern blazer-rock better than any of the toothless/hookless/mirthless sensitivos in The National, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, and others—and they don't resort to Hornsbyisms, try to be U2/Springsteen, or add a fucking saxophone."

 

The thing I don't like about reviews like that is that there is no reason for the writer to bash other artists in order to prop up the artist he or she is writing about. It's weak writing and reeks of having some sort of axe to grind. Plus, The National put on a hell of a show.

[ih8music]

What about the Total Pros?

Indeed. I have no problem with a horns section, when done properly.

 

Still a funny line, though.

[Scott Gyrrr]

What about the Total Pros?

I guess their saxophones aren't the fucking kind.

[Scott Gyrrr]

I'm surprised by how many reviews are coming in. I generally don't read reviews and I haven't read any of the ones posted here but it seems like there is a hell of a lot media writing about Wilco. I've always found it hard to gauge how big Wilco is around the world. Does this seem like the normal level for a Wilco release or are they reaching a wider audience this time around?

[gryffe]

I'm surprised by how many reviews are coming in. I generally don't read reviews and I haven't read any of the ones posted here but it seems like there is a hell of a lot media writing about Wilco. I've always found it hard to gauge how big Wilco is around the world. Does this seem like the normal level for a Wilco release or are they reaching a wider audience this time around?

 

I guess there are just so many review sites out there now and Wilco are a revered and respected band on a critical level so they will get maximum coverage.

 

At this stage of their career I would think Wilco will be absolutely thrilled with the positivity of the majority of the reviews. Even the most critical(if we go by the score)review from Pitchfork appeared to be positive, in fact there is a school of thought that the review merited at least an 8 going by what the guy said but apparently Pitchfork have some communal scoring system in which other writers determine the eventual rating!!

 

Anyway, loads of reviews collated here

 

http://www.metacriti...s?dist=positive

[Albert Tatlock]

I'm surprised by how many reviews are coming in. I generally don't read reviews and I haven't read any of the ones posted here but it seems like there is a hell of a lot media writing about Wilco. I've always found it hard to gauge how big Wilco is around the world. Does this seem like the normal level for a Wilco release or are they reaching a wider audience this time around?

Seems like more than usual to me - maybe the band mamber themselves are more inclined to give their time for soundbites etc. given that they're totally working for themselves with their own label now.

 

Meanwhile ...

 

Drowned In Sound 7 / 10

 

http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16532/reviews/4143654

 

Wilco

The Whole Love

 

by Aaron Lavery 09:05 September 27th, 2011

 

 

It’s common to talk of constant change when it comes to Wilco, and for a while it was a tried and trusted catch-all comment to make. Constant line-up changes and stylistic jumps meant that from debut A.M. to 2004’s A Ghost Is Born, fans could expect something different from each new Wilco record. Gritty country-rock? Dark avant-pop? Rattling state-of-the-nation experimentation? You can direct people towards whatever Wilco release will float their boat.

Since A Ghost Is Born however, the pace of change has slowed somewhat. With a constant line up in place, 2007’s Sky Blue Sky and 2009’s Wilco (The Album) have had their own identity, but were united by a more relaxed, composed musical direction. Some fans, particularly those who had fallen strongly for the group’s more ambitious middle records, were perplexed by songs about fixing washing machines that took musical inspiration from George Harrison rather than Neu! Others simply put it down to a band, and in particular a frontman, who had settled on a personal level, and was now simply trying to enjoy himself whilst still pushing gently on his musical boundaries.

 

The Whole Love finds that man, Jeff Tweedy, still attempting to do so, but also recognising that he has surrounded himself with a band expertly poised to bring his creations to life, and to shake up such a mixture could spoil the flavour.

 

This version of Wilco can certainly do the left-field thing well. Opener ‘Art Of Almost’ is probably the closest the band have ever got to the strange American Radiohead tag that dogged them around the time of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Opening on a glitchy beat and a surge of strings, it then slinks along around Tweedy’s confessional lyric and John Stirratt’s prodding bass line. Twice the song descends into some ambient flutters before it finally surges into the final straight of pounding drums and Nels Cline’s furiously intricate guitar.

 

That they follow it up with the smart pop of ‘I Might’ captures a lot of what Wilco are about on The Whole Love. They’ve dabbled with something, proved that they can polish something off as well as anyone, and are already on to the next thing.

 

‘I Might’, with its insistent rhythm and chirping Hammond, is exactly what should be placed in a time capsule to describe power-pop: maddingly catchy, well-crafted, and destined to never trouble a pop-chart in its lifetime. As an opening duo, these two tracks take some beating, setting up The Whole Love to be the riposte to those who say that Wilco don’t have anything interesting left to say.

 

That it doesn’t go on to do this isn’t to say that The Whole Love descends into blandness. It’s just that after bringing such elements directly to the surface, they then allow the more frayed edges of their sound to disappear back below the surface. Take ‘Black Moon’, an acoustic strum that builds a fair amount of dread throughout its four minutes, Tweedy’s sparse croon joined by pedal steel and strings as a mounting tension builds…before drifting off into the sunset. It’s a beautiful track, and proof that sometimes a sketch can be just as affecting as an oil painting.

 

Truthfully, just like on their previous two albums, there are a few tracks that in lesser hands would be filler, but here have enough interesting elements to make them worth return listens. ‘Born Alone’, for instance, trundles along until it disregards any notion of a chorus in favour of a burst of shiny noise. ‘Capital City’ is one of Tweedy’s rare (and not always welcome) excursions into what could be deemed show tune territory – you could imagine someone kicking a leg and doing some serious jazz hands as they belt it out. However, the remaining five Wilcoers seem to have taking it as a chance to indulge in all sorts of musical meandering behind their singer, giving it more of the edge of the circus than the West End.

 

It’s not until The Whole Love’s final track that something else distinctly out of the ordinary appears, in the shape of the beautifully languid ‘One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)’. Tweedy should write some more tracks for people’s paramours if they turn out as gorgeous as this 12 minute shuffle. With a folksy refrain and Tweedy’s spare narrative tying the track together, flourishes of piano and spindly guitar runs flesh out the track and stretch its legs.

 

A harsh take on The Whole Love might say that there’s just three tracks worth pulling out of this record, but that’d be wrong. Just like Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album), there’s songs that are more ambitious and some that are more successful, but all of them fit as a cohesive whole, just as on every Wilco album so far. Like its two predecessors, The Whole Love has been made entirely by the six middle aged men who currently play a part in Wilco, and it’s an accurate reflection of their talents. For them to attempt anything else would be a lie.

[D. Boon]

Am I the only one a bit disappointed that no digital material came with the digital download (Deluxe version)? Don't you usually get a digital version of the CD / Album sleeve, lyrics etc...?

[choo-choo-charlie]

Rolling Stone's review can be added to the list of those that can't quite nail "Capitol City." In this case -- a waltz? Not quite. Are music writers not learning their stuff?

 

***

 

By JON DOLAN

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

 

Wilco often specialize in uncomfortable comfort music: Seventies-style melodies submerged in dark, abstract sounds and cloudy emotions. But their eighth disc manages to be both upbeat and experimental – as casually chooglin' as 2007's Sky Blue Sky and as textured and expansive as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. There are avant-guitar freakouts, roots-tuggin' jams and gold-spun pastorals like "Rising Red Lung," where Jeff Tweedy sums up the record's vibe: "I found a fix for the fits. . . ./It's buried under the hiss/It glows/Like a powerful smile/A carradio dial."

If the music seems everywhere at once, Tweedy is writing more directly than ever. "Dawned on Me" recalls the Podunk power pop of their 1995 debut, A.M., with offhand whistling and a skywriting chorus about how awesome it is to realize he still loves his wife: "I'm calling/Just to let you know/It dawned on me," Tweedy sings in a lyric that could've been pasted from a real conversation on a tour bus. "We're too old for clichés," he sings on another love song, the George Harrisonesque "Open Mind."

Wilco are releasing The Whole Love on their own label, dBpm, underscoring their vaunted artistic independence; they're pretty much the only band from the Nineties this side ofRadiohead who keep experimenting and growing their audience at the same time. The Whole Love seems like a celebration of that freedom, with songs that roam happily all over the place: "Capitol City" is a country waltz with bits of Dixieland clarinet, "Sunloathe" sounds like the Beatles if they were still together in 1974, and the vaguely psychedelic folk-pop title track takes Simon and Garfunkel's 59th Street Bridge down to the Small Faces' Itchycoo Park for a summer-breezin' picnic.

 

It all suggests a jam band a hipster could love, with every note so tasty and rich you need to hit the gym after a couple of listens. Thankfully, noise-loving guitarist Nels Cline and the restless rhythm section of bassist John Stirratt and drummer Glenn Kotche make sure some of the soft moments aren't too snuggly. That hey-what-the-hell casualness extends to Tweedy, whose tendency to start each of his singer-songwriter meditations with the same "Dust in the Wind" chord progression is almost confrontationally laid back. You gotta hand it to a guy who can sing "Sadness is my luxury" (on "Born Alone") and sound like he's takin' it easy rollin' down Ventura Highway.

Nowhere on The Whole Love does Tweedy luxuriate in more sadness, or find more hard-won satisfaction, than on the last track, "One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)," 12 minutes of John Fahey-meets-Tortoise, NPRsegue velvet. Tweedy sings about religion, depression and coming to terms with his dead dad: "I can hear those bells/ Spoken and gone/I feel relief, I feel well." It's the Midwestern post-rock version of the scene in Field of Dreams where Kevin Costner says, "Dad? You wanna have a catch?" It's powerful, mind-reeling stuff, if you have the heart for it. Few bands have the grapes to go for something so softly grand. Even fewer have earned the freedom.

[D. Boon]

"Coming to terms with his dead dad"?

[Sir Stewart]

"It's the Midwestern post-rock version of the scene in Field of Dreams where Kevin Costner says, "Dad? You wanna have a catch?"

 

Puke.

 

Wow, that whole review is bad. When did Rolling Stone get so sloppy?

[Via Harvard]

I don't get Pitchfork either. They just gave the Nevermind reissue a 10. Wtf...it's a friggin reissue. So much for being creative. If it matters at all, I give TWL about an 8.6 out of 10. Definitely their best since AGIB. I'd like to see a VC poll on VCers ranking on this one. I'd bet it would garnish at least and 8 out of 10.

[jakobnicholas]

Saw a piece on JT in The Times this morning.

Things I learnt:-

2) Wilco are going to be involved in O'Bama's re-election in some shape or form.

Oh joy. (sarcasm)It's nauseating when singers and bands try "make a difference" and be a part of a Presidential political campaign. Nobody gives a sh*t who Bono or Toby Keith or Stevie Wonder wants us to vote for and it's likely to irritate half of their fans by publicly endorsing somebody. It's just silly. Oh well. I don't have to watch or listen to that crap. I'll just hope and pray Tweedy doesn't sprinkle any pro-Obama bullsh*t into the live show I'll be at in December, (as he did in many live shows the last couple elections).

[Kalle]

Paste give it an 8.5, say it's their best since YHF.

 

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/09/wilco-the-whole-love.html

[Guest Jules]

I'd like to see a VC poll on VCers ranking on this one. I'd bet it would garnish at least and 8 out of 10.

Probably, but it would definitely rank last on that one ranking.

[Kilgore Trout]

AV Club gave it a B, but it was a bit harsh. http://www.avclub.com/articles/wilco-the-whole-love,62309/

Now that Wilco has finally found its comfort zone, it might be time to venture elsewhere for a change.

[bleedorange]

AV Club gave it a B, but it was a bit harsh. http://www.avclub.co...ole-love,62309/

 

I was a little surprised Noel Murray didn't review it, although I generally like Steven Hyden's writing. I'm pretty sure Hyden is a big fan of SBS, which might be why he called "Open Mind" stunning (?). But it feels weird to lump this album in with Sky Blue Sky. They're very different stylistically. I also think this album is a bit of a grower.

[craigwinn]

Rolling Stone's review can be added to the list of those that can't quite nail "Capitol City." In this case -- a waltz? Not quite. Are music writers not learning their stuff?

 

I noticed that. How can you not know what a waltz is?