Wilco - A Ghost is Born

Pov · Post by **Pov** » Tue May 11, 2004 11:15 am

Not yet, but now that I know it's available I intend to give it a listen. YHF is going to be hard to beat, though.

Post by **BlueChair** » Tue May 11, 2004 11:17 am

you can listen to it at http://www.wilcoworld.net if you download the latest Quicktime.

I'm not sure if it's better than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but it's pretty damn brilliant. Though it took me two or three listens to conclude that.

Pov · Post by **Pov** » Tue May 11, 2004 11:50 am

Blue Chair, I was about to edit my prior post to say that it took me a good 5 listens or so before I "got" YHF. When I first heard it (and it was the first Wilco album I ever listened to) I hated it. I thought it sounded like bad Pink Floyd on qualudes. Now I think it's one of the best albums released in the past 10 years. I've since purchased just about every other Wilco CD (but YHF is still in a class by itself). Wilco seems to be one of those bands where you have to listen to each CD a few times before you can really appreciate it. I'm sure that's the case with the new one as well.

clairequilty · Post by **clairequilty** » Thu May 13, 2004 4:15 pm

I agree with Blue. A great album. Not comparable to YHF though.

I think Tweedy made an obvious attempt to downsize the direction of the band from the broad ranging "sonic landscape" painted on YHF.

There's alot of negative buzz around this album, but I think it's unjustified. I've downloaded it (oh no) from SoulSeek and have probably played it a
hundred times.

It's daring in many ways. Most of the time it wins the dare, but there are a couple of edits that I would have made. The 11 minute Kidsmoke and the 8 minutes of hiss at the end of Less Than You Think could have probably wound up on the cutting room floor. I know it's supposed to challenge the listener and all that, but truthfully, who is gonna listen to it more than a few times before hitting the next button.

But songs like Wishful Thinking and Company, Hell is Chrome, Muzzle stand up to everything else Wilco has ever done.

Wishful Thinking is easily my favorite. The whistful production along with Tweedy's voice, especially at the beginning of the song, are eerily reminiscent of John Lennon, No 9 Dream, specifically.

But they are a downstate Illinois band (via Chicago), and that's my home turf so I would have to say that I'm partial to 'em.

Post by **BlueChair** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:36 am

The album is out today. I hope you will all consider picking it up, as it is a very fine album, though slightly challenging, musically.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 7:13 am

Does it include that song about the little bumblebee... you know, the one that fell in love with the timbalero?

Post by **BlueChair** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:16 am

No, but it very well could be the best album 2004 has had to offer us thus far.

King Hoarse · Post by **King Hoarse** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 7:52 pm

And they were fantastic on Letterman.

wehitandrun · Post by **wehitandrun** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 11:07 pm

Hmmmm, a lot of bold statements. I'll give this an honest chance.

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Sun Jun 27, 2004 11:56 pm

I love this album. I think it's so much better than anyone has a right to expect it to be. Wilco's not done experimenting, so if you liked AM or Summerteeth best of their efforts thus far, you may feel about this one the way so many Radiohead fans felt about Kid A. Or Amnesiac. Or HTTT. But I for one loved all three of those records, and as much as I adore AM and Summerteeth, my favorite Wilco discs are Being There and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

And now a Ghost is Born. It's a phenomenal record, and one which is very rewarding, from the first listen on. Not as busy/noisey as YHF, but every bit as challenging and intriguing. Jeff Tweedy is still trying to stretch the parameters of what construes a pop song. But make no mistake about it, this album is picture perfect pop rock; every time you think some sonic experiment on this record is about to make the song implode, the tuneful mastery of Wilco grabs you and brings you back to head bobbing, fist pounding, sing along joy. Best thing I've heard in ages.

Personal favorite right now: "Spiders (Kidsmoke)"

Wilco has to be the best band North America has produced in a good while.

wehitandrun · Post by **wehitandrun** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 4:51 am

http://www.headautomatica.com/survey/

Three streaming tracks. I'm going to have to say that is the best band that N.A. has produced in ages.

Then again, I still haven't listened to Wilco's new release.