mahinty Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Finally watched "Man in the Sand" last night. Bit of a wankfest for Billy Bragg, cobbled-together footage of him visiting various landmarks associated with Woody Guthrie and jabbering on with Nora. I was hoping for more footage and a deeper look into the actual making of the albums -- writing/rehearsing, recording, etc. -- it was there, but in what I felt were tiny, nondescript doses. Nonetheless, I did enjoy seeing some footage of an era of Wilco that I hadn't seen before, particularly the scruffy, grizzled visages of Tweedy/Bennett. The extended sequence of laying down a track of "When the Roses Bloom Again" was really nice. I really dig this transition period of Wilco, coming off the smashing success of Being There and prior to the sharp left-hand turn of Summerteeth. Got the box set over a month ago, but only watched the doco last night. I quite enjoyed it. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of footage of the creative and recording process (after the first 25 minutes or so I feared that it was just going to be shots of Bragg getting his photo taken in front of Guthrie paraphernalia). We also get a glimpse of the friction between Tweedy and Bragg towards the end – and you always want a bit of drama in a music doco. Mostly I’m glad that it’s taken me back to listening to those original MA albums. I love Jay’s Hammond work and how it is so high up in the mix. I love the looseness of it all. Some of those recordings have the energy of a demo. I think it will trigger a period of me listening to Summerteeth, Being There and YHF all over again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mahinty Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I think it will trigger a period of me listening to Summerteeth, Being There and YHF all over again. Actually, it mostly seems to have triggered a period of listening to “Remember the Mountain Bed” over and over and over…. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I thought it was nice to see a line about Jay in both this and the Alpha boxset. I have not listened to Mermaid Ave. in years. It still sounds good. I still think When The Roses Bloom Again is one of the greatest Wilco songs. I recall first hearing it on a Oxford American Southern magazine cd. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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