The Truly Great Album Series part 3

by Treble Staff

06.24.2004

With the recent release of A Ghost is Born, the ever-changing band Wilco is still swimming in seas of controversy, mixed reviews, and misunderstanding. Between lineup changes / firings, physical and mental breakdowns, feuds, rehab stints, and record label snafus, Jeff Tweedy and company have managed to release five fantastic albums well worth having in the home collection. We here at Treble count Wilco among the Truly Great and make them and their past albums part of our ongoing series of Truly Great Album reviews.

Jeff Tweedy, being the core member of the group, started out with childhood friend Jay Farrar, and formed a punk band named The Primitives. At the tender ages of 20, the two then changed the group into Uncle Tupelo, the now legendary alt-country pioneers. It is also thrown about that the group really defined the genre with their first album No Depression. Heck, an alt-country magazine was started which took their name from that album! That was followed by March 16-20, 1992, recorded by Peter Buck, and Anodyne, the album in which Tweedy began to shine as a songwriter in his own right. Tensions between the friends began to mount and the group split forming Jay Farrar's Son Volt and, of course, Wilco. Rumors abound that Farrar started to feel threatened by Tweedy's superior songwriting.

Wilco released their first album A.M., a rock heavy alt-country favorite, in 1995. The double-length Being There followed and was loaded with what were soon to be live show mainstays, and featured the addition of multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett. With their fan base growing and a song on a popular soundtrack, the band's popularity flourished and only grew more with the release of their third album, summerteeth. It was between that album and their next release that Wilco started to find controversy. After having recorded two albums with Billy Bragg putting music to Woody Guthrie penned lyrics, the band recorded what was to be Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. What ensued is now stuff of legend, being dropped by their label, releasing the album through their website to critical acclaim, losing and/or firing members of the band, then signing to another label which is just another smaller subdivision of the same larger parent record company. All of this was captured on film, lucky for us, in Sam Jones' I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.

More controversy followed before the release of their latest album with the addition of producer Jim O'Rourke as band member, after having worked with Tweedy on the side project Loose Fur, the departure of another keyboardist in Leroy Bach, and finally the rehab stint of Jeff Tweedy due to his addiction to painkillers. Tweedy's massive migraine problems can also be seen in the aforementioned film in a memorable scene in which the headaches lead to nausea and vomiting. Tweedy apparently took the painkillers to simply get through the recording and finish the album.

Despite the controversies and stumble blocks, Wilco has managed to produce five high-quality albums under Jeff Tweedy's guiding hand. Many have called Tweedy egomaniacal or bullying, while others see his leadership as being necessary for the future of the group and for the quality of the music. It should also be noted that the only consistent member of the band other than Tweedy is John Stiratt, bassist extraordinaire. His steady half of the rhythm section along with original drummer Ken Coomer and current member Glenn Kotche has been a rudder for the band, keeping it steady despite the shakeups. No matter what your opinion, Wilco has proven themselves as a band with a large following, a huge influence on their peers and followers, and as an ever-changing chameleon of rock music, a la The Beatles and Radiohead. And now, on with the reviews:

Wilco - A.M. (link)
Wilco - Being There(link) (added 7/5)
Billy Bragg and Wilco - Mermaid Ave. Vol. 1 (link)
Wilco - summerteeth (link)
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (link)
Wilco - A Ghost is Born (link)