Album Review: A Ghost is Born - by Wilco
written by jlb1705 (6/22/2004)
Wilco - A Ghost is Born
Released: June 22, 2004
Nonesuch
My Rating: A-
I downloaded this new album a couple months ago, and as a pretty big Wilco fan, I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. It is a difficult thing to try to live up to the expectations that come with trying to follow up a brilliant effort like their previous album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. After two months of listening, the results seem somewhat mixed.
One of the first things that stands out is that this album in not a sequel of YHF. The songs are warmer and more accessible than on YHF. Much of this feeling can be attributed to the changes in band personnel since the last album, which will naturally result in a different direction. With the departure of Jay Bennett and the arrival of Leroy Bach, there are less keyboards and synthetic elements, and much, much more piano.
The synthetic elements, of course, are not gone. There is still a good amount of white noise - which isn't as focused or effective as on YHF. And then there's also the Euro-trash epic Spiders (Kidsmoke). Unlike before though, A Ghost is Born's best and most interesting moments don't occur during the meandering noise and guitar and keyboard noodling. Rather, they occur when a more direct approach is taken.
Songs like Muzzle of Bees, Handshake Drugs, and The Late Greats are just a few of the songs that benefit from this approach. These songs are accessible and conventional enough to be accessible, yet they each have a touch of something extra which instantly makes them identifiable as a the work of Wilco.
...Which is a good thing, since without this, several of the songs could have seemingly come from a classic rock fakebook. Hummingbird is evocative of The Beatles. The opening of Handshake Drugs - with a lazy blend of guitar, piano, a melodic bassline, and even the lyics (I was chewing gum for something to do / The blinds were being pulled down on the dew) - is reminiscent of Otis Redding's Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. The album's most surpricing song, I'm a Wheel, takes after The Ramones in feel and approach. It's simple and straightforward guitar rock, with simple and straightforward lyrics. (Hold on / You risk exciting me/ Once in Germany someone said "nein" / 123456789!... / I'm a wheel / And I will / Turn on you)
I consider YHF to be my favorite album ever, and that's part of the reason that A Ghost is Born seems to present a conundrum for me. Naturally, and as evidenced above, YHF is the measuring stick by which I am inclined to judge this album. YHF was almost like a movie - it was an engaging, thematic aural event. Listening to A Ghost is Born on the other hand, is episodic, much like watching TV. It is certainly entertaining at many parts, and I think the best songs on this album stand shoulder to shoulder with any song in Wilco's catalogue. It just doesn't quite feel the same though - yet despite the feeling that something's missing, it's evident that it's still more creative and refreshing than most other bands ever approach becoming.
written by jlb1705 (6/22/2004)
Wilco - A Ghost is Born
Released: June 22, 2004
Nonesuch
My Rating: A-
I downloaded this new album a couple months ago, and as a pretty big Wilco fan, I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. It is a difficult thing to try to live up to the expectations that come with trying to follow up a brilliant effort like their previous album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. After two months of listening, the results seem somewhat mixed.
One of the first things that stands out is that this album in not a sequel of YHF. The songs are warmer and more accessible than on YHF. Much of this feeling can be attributed to the changes in band personnel since the last album, which will naturally result in a different direction. With the departure of Jay Bennett and the arrival of Leroy Bach, there are less keyboards and synthetic elements, and much, much more piano.
The synthetic elements, of course, are not gone. There is still a good amount of white noise - which isn't as focused or effective as on YHF. And then there's also the Euro-trash epic Spiders (Kidsmoke). Unlike before though, A Ghost is Born's best and most interesting moments don't occur during the meandering noise and guitar and keyboard noodling. Rather, they occur when a more direct approach is taken.
Songs like Muzzle of Bees, Handshake Drugs, and The Late Greats are just a few of the songs that benefit from this approach. These songs are accessible and conventional enough to be accessible, yet they each have a touch of something extra which instantly makes them identifiable as a the work of Wilco.
...Which is a good thing, since without this, several of the songs could have seemingly come from a classic rock fakebook. Hummingbird is evocative of The Beatles. The opening of Handshake Drugs - with a lazy blend of guitar, piano, a melodic bassline, and even the lyics (I was chewing gum for something to do / The blinds were being pulled down on the dew) - is reminiscent of Otis Redding's Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. The album's most surpricing song, I'm a Wheel, takes after The Ramones in feel and approach. It's simple and straightforward guitar rock, with simple and straightforward lyrics. (Hold on / You risk exciting me/ Once in Germany someone said "nein" / 123456789!... / I'm a wheel / And I will / Turn on you)
I consider YHF to be my favorite album ever, and that's part of the reason that A Ghost is Born seems to present a conundrum for me. Naturally, and as evidenced above, YHF is the measuring stick by which I am inclined to judge this album. YHF was almost like a movie - it was an engaging, thematic aural event. Listening to A Ghost is Born on the other hand, is episodic, much like watching TV. It is certainly entertaining at many parts, and I think the best songs on this album stand shoulder to shoulder with any song in Wilco's catalogue. It just doesn't quite feel the same though - yet despite the feeling that something's missing, it's evident that it's still more creative and refreshing than most other bands ever approach becoming.
