Star Wars Album Opinions

[WilcoTheologian]

I was looking through my cars CD's before I left for school, and tried to decide which album to listen to while drudging through traffic. After passing on a few Phish albums, I saw Star Wars at the bottom of the stack. I put it in, and smiled. My opinion when the album came out almost a year ago was meh. Now I actually rather enjoy it. 

 

In my opinion I feel like (because of its length) it's more of an EP. At least in my brain. But I do enjoy the album. It feels like a whole different Wilco than I've ever heard. With the odd titles and interesting lyrics, the album is almost whimsical. And since it is rather short, it is easily consumed in a short car commute. Now if I am road tripping, or sitting at home, I would rather listen to Being There or A Ghost is Born. But Star Wars has really grown on me this past year,

 

TL;DR: What are your thoughts on Wilco's Star Wars?

[Atticus]

Still love it. Cold Slope-->King of You the most.

[Robby]

Funny you should say that it feels like an EP. I'm dating myself by saying this, but Sgt. Pepper and Ziggy Stardust are only 5 - 6 minutes longer than Star Wars. I know that was more due to the available time length of the commonly used media at the time. But I like it's length because it feels like one (long) song to me - kinda like Thick As A Brick.

[lost highway]

My opinion: it rips... hard. Driving with 'More' turned up too loud makes me feel good.

[d. boony]

It's my favorite album since Ghost Is Born, which is my favorite overall.  I've enjoyed a lot of the songs on the previous three albums but I almost never listen to them start-to-finish.  I've listened to Star Wars in that manner dozens of times. I love the crunchy sound and I love the concise nature of such a short record. With the exception of You Satellite, it's just a fun record to listen to. You Satellite grounds the whole thing brilliantly.

 

Random Name Generator is the first song my son ever learned to request by name. Kid's going places, I tell ya.

[TCP]

It's definitely the best since A Ghost Is Born. I don't know if it's quite up to the level of Being There, Summerteeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, or Ghost, but it's pretty close.

[Boss_Tweedy]

I still think it's a solid album from start to finish. I don't feel the need to play it very much anymore, but I think that's partially due to self-inflicted Wilco burnout. Overall though I agree that it's their best since "A Ghost Is Born." 

[ThisIsNowhere]

To me it's just a different kind of record. No need to compare it to AGIB/YHF/BT, it's great on its own.

 

I love it.

[Alicia Bee]

I thought it was short and you know I asked for More. It showed too much restraint, and it is the obvious that Jeff Tweedy choose to leave out stronger love songs and more personal lyrics that will perhaps come out on a later release. I think he was trying to hurt me actually. I think it's personal. My first listens were disappointed but still appreciative of the good things about the LP and the fact it was a gift, and after the initial weeks I later listened and liked it again.

And I still listen to it. Just the other night iTunes went crazy on Repeat (rather than Random) and I listened to it for 6 hours straight while I slept- and that's not brainwashingly weird is it? At that length I estimate it played over a dozen times before I worked it out and woke again. I may not know what that did to my sleeping brain. I don't mean to over explain the joke, but anyone who listens to Star Wars all night on repeat will realise the LP is a little short.

 

But seriously, Star Wars survives as an album on the strength of You Satellite rather than the insult of Random Name Generator. And I can't wait for more, as impatient as I was in the first weeks.

[Blackberry Rust]

It holds up incredibly well and for me is their most consistent release since the (criminally) underrated Sky Blue Sky.

 

I can be particularly harsh when it comes to WTA and The Whole Love, but for me I find them hard to get all the way through - especially The Whole Love which I think is way too long and overstuffed. My impression of them both has improved over the years, but they certainly could have been served better by a third party (i.e. a producer other than Tweedy and Co.)

 

My only issue with Star Wars (much like WTA and The Whole Love) is that I find it a little weak lyrically compared to Tweedy's gold standard from Being There to Ghost. Granted there's nothing as awful as "Sonny Feeling" on Star Wars, but I find some of the material a bit weak and lazy with dashings of absurdity-for-the-sake-of-absurdity.

 

 

[lost highway]

The only lyrics that bug me are "You Satellite" and then only because the instrumental performance is so powerful it seems a waste to put "blah" lyrics on top. Absurdity on the rock and rollers is fun to me though.