"Ode To Joy" Reactions

[jbray]

So let's recap Wilco's career arc:

Twang>Noise>Waltz>Dirge

Show me the Wilco waltzes.

 

My most frustrating thing about this whole process has been people conflating Jeff's solo work and Wilco. I get it to a certain degree, but also, nobody looks at Thom Yorke like he's Radiohead and listeners surely don't conflate The Eraser, AMOK, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, and Anima with Radiohead. The trajectory for Wilco is Sky Blue Sky, Wilco (The Album), The Whole Love, Star Wars, Schmilco, and Ode to Joy. So again: Show me the waltzes. Not that there are none, but I bet the ones you're thinking of are on Sukierae, Warm, and Warmer.  

 

It's a disappointing album. Boring would be my one word description. I get that I've been with the band since 1995, but why would anyone listen to this beyond a few listens instead of putting on Ghost, Yankee, BT or AM?? It's Jeff's worst vocal performance. There are very very few melodies and choruses which are always appreciated in my book (I love Warm and Warmer and they didn't have much in that regard either, but it is more missing here in a full band context.)

 

It's basically On Fillmore + Jeff Tweedy featuring 2 appearances by guitar virtuoso Nels Cline and textures by Mikael Jorgensen. No wonder Pat is pissed.

 

This isn't meant to be personal, but just a perspective: I would never put AM as an essential Wilco album. So if that's essential to you, I can see how this album wouldn't be exciting. 

[Madcap]

I love Yo La Tengo, but there seems to be more nuance and variety in their quieter stuff. Maybe the nuance will reveal itself on this album the more I listen to it, but right now it’s kind of monotonous.

[lost highway]

I love Yo La Tengo, but there seems to be more nuance and variety in their quieter stuff. Maybe the nuance will reveal itself on this album the more I listen to it, but right now it’s kind of monotonous.

 

Key in to the textural percussion, the flickers of noise that slip through, and the quieter guitar embellishments. This record is more of a noise folk orchestra than a rock band to me, and it's conducted with expertise.

[theashtraysays]

Show me the Wilco waltzes.

 

My most frustrating thing about this whole process has been people conflating Jeff's solo work and Wilco. I get it to a certain degree, but also, nobody looks at Thom Yorke like he's Radiohead and listeners surely don't conflate The Eraser, AMOK, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, and Anima with Radiohead. The trajectory for Wilco is Sky Blue Sky, Wilco (The Album), The Whole Love, Star Wars, Schmilco, and Ode to Joy. So again: Show me the waltzes. Not that there are none, but I bet the ones you're thinking of are on Sukierae, Warm, and Warmer.  

 

Schmilco definitely had its share - Normal American Kids... Shrug and Destroy... somewhat Quarters, and even Common Sense (if you're waltzing on acid), which is why I put that in the arc to get from "noise to "dirge".  And yes, that ignores the powerpop/rock contributors like ST or SW, but that's been somewhere in the mix for almost every record.  I maybe should have added "introspective" in the arc (SBS/TWL), but that was too long of a word.  But yeah, Sukierae was the most prolific example of the waltz genre for sure.

 

One thing that I mentioned to a couple friends yesterday was that I'm trying hard to listen to this record "on its own".  It's hard not to conflate (good word btw) the recent solo records with this one just due to the short time span and the similarities overall (Jeff's "dead guitar" style for example).  But even if I try to just let this record be its own thing, it still leans toward that dark, brooding, dirge-like end of the spectrum.  Which isn't a bad thing at all.  It's just a thing. 

 

Personally, I'm still not sure what to do with this one.  I like it.  I'm very glad that Wilco is making the kind of records that they (or at least Jeff) want to make.  I'm very much looking forward to hearing the new material live, interlaced with the classics they have on the set lists lately.  But it needs a few more spins for me to settle in and find its place for me. 

[bustedafternoon]

I do wonder if continually minimal albums like this and Schmilco that seem to basically be Jeff and friends albums could lead to discontent among some members of the band.

I've wondered the same. These feel like solo records. Does Jeff really need the talents of Glenn, Nels, etc.? They feel absent for the most part.

[jff]

Kung Fu has offered me a refund.

 

On a related note, I just returned from two record stores. Neither had the album (not surprising at one, but very surprising at the other). Apparently there is a wide scale problem with the pressing of this album, and shipments to a lot of stores have been recalled. The employee at one store told me they didn’t receive their copies, and stores they’re affiliated with have told them they’re seeing seven out of ten records with obvious problems..

 

I hope everyone else has better luck.

[brownie]

My initial impression of Ode to Joy is overwhelmingly positive.  Schmilco was the first Wilco album I did not like enough to buy, and I feared I might be done with them.

 

But Ode to Joy is my kind of Wilco album.  Whatever was missing is back.  I very much look forward to exploring all the nooks and crannies of the sounds on this album.

 

Before Us jumped out at me immediately as a very special song.

 

 

[Boss_Tweedy]

It definitely doesn't grab me after several listens. I prefer Jeff's two recent solo efforts over Ode to Joy. I think I'll just have to accept the fact that the version of Wilco I prefer has been gone for a long while and isn't coming back. It's certainly not bad. I actually enjoy most of the songs. It's just that nothing sticks out to me. As with most Wilco albums over the last 10-12 years, I don't see myself longing to hear this five years from now. That being said, I'll continue to buy each of their offerings in advance without having to hear it. They've earned it. Twenty years from now if I'm still around I may love it. My tastes change over time. 

[uncool2pillow]

I just got done with my first listen and am listening to Schmilco for comparison because, I haven't honestly listened to it that much. I am listening to both through headphones. I think I like the production on OTJ better. The drums pop more and there are more places where Nels' guitar is out front.

 

Probably my favorite moment one listen in is the guitar solo on We Were Lucky. Overall, I can get why some like this album (moody, layered, quiet, introspective) and others don't (no real rock songs, lacking melody, similar to Schmilco and recent solo efforts).

 

Probably my biggest disappointment is I don't know if there are any songs on this LP that will really kill live. I guess I'll find out in 41 days.

[sonicshoulder]

Got my hard copy today. In perfect condition and also came with a pencil and a $10 off at the merch table coupon. Both very pleasant surprises but the coupon to the  merch table I think is a very, very cool gesture. I buy a poster for each Wilco show and I have tickets to two shows in November so I thought that was a very thoughtful and clever idea. 

[jff]

I collect pencils, but did not get one with my order. Was that a colored vinyl only thing? Or maybe because I pre-ordered at the last minute.

[MountainGerbil]

I preordered the album at The Electric Fetus in Minneapolis. The one they initially gave me was moderately warped and dished. They had extra pink vinyl stock and the second one they opened is 99% fine. There’s a rough spot on the run-in but it doesn’t extend to the songs.

 

So by all means, open the vinyl and check it out before you get home.

[TCP]

Who did the pressing? United?

[MountainGerbil]

How do I figure that out?

[5hake1t0ff]

Turns out I fuckin love wilco dirges

[TCP]

How do I figure that out?

 

Should say in the linernotes or maybe the deadwax?? I'd guess United because they're notorious for warped discs. Sucks to hear there's issues, especially after all the orange copies of Schmilco were faulty. 

[Fritz]

I remember when Nick Cave released 'The Boatman's Call' way back when a friend of mine lamented that Nick was wasting the talent of the Bad Seeds. I kinda feel the same way about this one. Each song comes on and I'm hanging out to hear the BAND kick in, not just quiet arrangements of Jeff songs which happen to be played by these guys who are in Wilco. I'm two listens in and feeling just a little...underwhelmed. I loved 'Warm' and loved 'Warmer' even more but this one...I'm going to have to dive back in again and again to try and find it. Any other band and I wouldn't devote the time to it. But it's Wilco. They've earned it.

[lost highway]

So I've been the pollyanna superfan who's living and loving the album. But.... just to show I'm objective:

 

- The graphic design is less interesting than their other records.

- The packaging seems kind of slight.

- The vinyl doesn't sound as good as some of their other pressings. It sounds like it was pressed at United (might be totally untrue) where they seem to press records that always sound a little more distorted and a little less clear than some other manufacturers.

 

Still loving the album, though.

[Ghost Of Bob Cumming]

 

- The packaging seems kind of slight.

 

I was going to ask about this. Pink vinyl version, bought in the UK, just comes with lyric sheet and clear inner sleeve. Is that the same for everyone? Not even going to mention lack of download codes (Oops!).

 

No sign of the black & red/pink packaging shown in the GIF on band's Twitter feed.

 

Outer sleeve is clearly designed for more inner packaging, so guessing it's maybe the same outer sleeve for a deluxe version that has more inside? Although can forsee album spine crumpling if filed on shelf full of vinyl.

 

Minor grumble really though, enjoying the record a lot

[kjelli]

I bought mine through the euro Wilco store. The record havent arrived yet, but I got the album as a download late friday.

[themanwholovesyou]

Still waiting on CD and t-shirt from the euro store. Bought the pink vinyl in my local record shop on Saturday but don't have a turntable yet...

[5hake1t0ff]

My thoughts on Ode To Joy:

 

Enjoyed reading this. Thanks for sharing.

[jff]

 

I was going to ask about this. Pink vinyl version, bought in the UK, just comes with lyric sheet and clear inner sleeve. Is that the same for everyone? Not even going to mention lack of download codes (Oops!).

 

 

That's how the black vinyl is.

 

I like the simple album jacket rather than the unnecessarily thick gatefold that Wilco typically uses, and is common with a lot of modern bands.  As someone who has accumulated tons of albums over the last three decades, I can't spare the shelf space for records that take up half an inch (a gatefold album was always more like 1/4 inch thick until he vinyl resurgence, and now some of them are almost an inch thick...the National's latest album, for example.) If they were all that big, I'd need a larger house. It's gotten to the point where record packaging is being treated like home decor.

[choo-choo-charlie]

It's a disappointing album. Boring would be my one word description. I get that I've been with the band since 1995, but why would anyone listen to this beyond a few listens instead of putting on Ghost, Yankee, BT or AM?? It's Jeff's worst vocal performance. There are very very few melodies and choruses which are always appreciated in my book (I love Warm and Warmer and they didn't have much in that regard either, but it is more missing here in a full band context.)

 

It's basically On Fillmore + Jeff Tweedy featuring 2 appearances by guitar virtuoso Nels Cline and textures by Mikael Jorgensen. No wonder Pat is pissed.

 

So, Darin Gray is on this album?

[Shug]

It's a disappointing album. Boring would be my one word description. I get that I've been with the band since 1995, but why would anyone listen to this beyond a few listens instead of putting on Ghost, Yankee, BT or AM?? It's Jeff's worst vocal performance. There are very very few melodies and choruses which are always appreciated in my book (I love Warm and Warmer and they didn't have much in that regard either, but it is more missing here in a full band context.)

 

It's basically On Fillmore + Jeff Tweedy featuring 2 appearances by guitar virtuoso Nels Cline and textures by Mikael Jorgensen. No wonder Pat is pissed.

 

I'm with you.  Jeff isn't really singing.  There aren't any strong melodies or bridges beyond these barely-there basic ones and certainly no catchy hooks or pop songcraft.  Guitars and keyboards?  I'm not hearing anything but wispy little flourishes way in the background.  Drums are plodding and mixed far too loud, sounds like Glenn is banging on cardboard boxes instead of a drum set and it does not serve the songs well, IMO.

 

I got somewhat hopeful about this album after reading some fan comments and reviews and I really was excited to put it on and wanting to like it, but to me its just more of the same boring stuff from the last few albums.

 

This album, unfortunately for me, confirms my opinion that new Wilco music since The Whole Love just takes up space in the live show setlist that would be better served, in my opinion, by more rare songs from A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky, and Wilco the Album.  I think Wilco do not need a bunch more new mediocre or worse songs to play live, they need more setlist diversity from the best songs from their past catalog, a huge number of which rarely get played. I get they are artists and want to always be creating and progressing but the results of that work is, for me, getting increasingly boring.

 

I like Wilco as a live band, I don't really listen to their studio albums anyways, so its not too much of a bummer for me if the records aren't good.  But it is a bummer for me if the live show gets increasingly filled up with mediocre songs at the expense of far better older songs.  I used to be a die hard Richard Thompson fan in the 90s but I don't go see him anymore for this very reason.  I sure hope this doesn't happen with Wilco, but it seems to be trending that way for my tastes and its kind of a bummer. 

 

Still looking forward to two nights in Austin this month and still hopeful that these songs might be stronger when played live, as has always been the case with Wilco, for me.