Posts Tagged ‘Jeff Tweedy’

THIS WEEKS ESSENTIAL NEW RELEASES – Friday 23rd November 2018

Posted: November 23, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC, THIS WEEKS ESSENTIAL PURCHASES
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lots of new releases and reissues out tomorrow as well, the major titles including  –

New Ed Harcourt album ‘Beyond The End’.
A limited Morrissey 7″ – ‘Back On The Chain Gang’
A very limited Type O Negative coloured vinyl reissue of ‘Bloody Kisses’.
Three more Bauhaus reissues – The Bela Session, ‘The Sky’s Gone Out’ and ‘Press Eject…’.
Vol.2 of the Marc Bolan ‘Home Demos’ is finally out after some delay.
A very lovely looking Chic box set. along with the vinyl version Boxed Set of the Tom Petty American Treasure

And in other news…….
King Gizzard & The Flying Wizard coloured vinyl reissues are flying out – have you got your copies yet?
Mumford & Sons latest album is also selling fast on coloured vinyl.
the excellent new album from Marianne Faithfull.
Post Malone – ‘Beerbongs and Bentleys’.   

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Songs: Ohia ‘Love & Work: The Lioness Sessions’ ltd vinyl box set

Songs: Ohia – ‘Love & Work: The Lioness Sessions’ limited translucent purple coloured double vinyl LP.

The release also includes a 16-page booklet with photos and meditations by Jason’s family and collaborators, as well as replications of ephemera from Jason’s guitar case & life from the time (a handwritten love letter, a postcard, a 2 of Hearts playing card, and more)

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Hippo Campus – Bambi

Hippo Campus release their second album, Bambi through Transgressive Records. On their sophomore album Bambi, the St. Paul, Minnesota-bred band navigate that upheaval with deliberate self-reflection. The result is a selection of songs that drift into much darker terrain, but unfold with a frenetic yet fragile beauty that makes even the most painful moments feel glorious. Partly recorded at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio in Chicago, Bambi finds Hippo Campus working again with producer BJ Burton (Bon Iver, Low, Francis and the Lights), who handled production on their 2017 full-length debut Landmark. And in sculpting Bambi’s distinctly inventive arrangements, Hippo Campus significantly expanded their use of drum machines and synth. Throughout Bambi, Hippo Campus match their relentless self-examination with a joyfully adventurous sonic approach, ultimately transforming the emotional experience of the problems they’re exploring.

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Breeders ‘Safari EP’ ltd 12″ reissue

Being released this November as part of Record Store Day’s sister Black Friday event is a faithful repress of the 12” version of The Breeders’ Safari EP, complete with Shinro Ohtake’s 1983 charcoal drawing Nairobi VIII adorning its cover. Originally released in April 1992, sandwiched between their first two albums (Pod and Last Splash), The Breeders’ Safari EP came at a time when Kim’s Pixies commitments were winding down and her new band were on the cusp of releasing a platinum-selling album.

Their first record to feature Kim Deal’s twin Kelley, the EP was recorded in two studios with the bulk coming from a session in New York, which provided an early version of Do You Love Me Now?, Don’t Call Home and a cover of The Who’s So Sad About Us. The title track, Safari, was recorded separately in London by Kim, Josephine Wiggs and drummer Jon Mattock (Spacemen 3 / Spiritualized).

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Iggy & The Stooges – ‘Rare Power’

The untamed energy of Iggy and The Stooges comes to vinyl for Record Store Day Black Friday on Rare Power, a collection of rare tracks from the sessions that produced their landmark 1973 album Raw Power. Eight of these nine outtakes and alternate mixes are available on vinyl for the first time, and composer Josh Mobley’s remix of Gimme Danger (heard in the best selling video game Watch Dogs) is commercially available for the first time ever.

The Byrds – Sweetheart Of The Rodeo (4 X 12″ Vinyl LP)

By the time Sweetheart Of The Rodeo was released in 1968, The Byrds had already changed the sound of rock music twice; from jangling folk-rock to experimental acid-rock, they constantly sought to push the boundaries of what rock music could be. The 1967 departure of David Crosby left a creative void filled quickly by country music-loving Gram Parsons, whose addition led Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman and company to record an album comprised mostly of authentic country material in Nashville, with the aid of local session aces (including future Byrd Clarence White). For the first time on vinyl—and on the heels of a 50th anniversary tour of the album by original members McGuinn and Hillman—this Legacy Edition of Sweetheart Of The Rodeo showcases this country-rock masterpiece alongside 28 bonus tracks, including demos, outtakes, rehearsal versions and tracks by Parsons’ pre-Byrds outfit, The International Submarine Band.

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Chris Robinson Brotherhood – Betty’s Midwestern Magic Blends

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood is indisputably one of the hardest working bands in rock ‘n’ roll. 2018 marks the fourth year in a row that they’ll play over 200 shows across the U.S. and Europe. Through that prolific touring schedule, the band has emerged a razor sharp, riveting live unit. Each evening The CRB plays two sets of music with a dynamic, ever-changing setlist. Presenting original material stretching across six studio albums, plus a repertoire of covers that runs from Slim Harpo to Bob Dylan and beyond, it’s only fittng that the band would document this output. They’ve done exactly that through a series of live recordings dubbed, ‘Betty’s Blends’ taking its moniker from legendary Grateful Dead archivist and recording engineer Betty Cantor-Jackson who is called upon to capture The CRB’s performances in multi-dimensional, audio-verite. ‘Betty’s Midwestern Magik Blends’ is the fourth volume from the acclaimed series, gathering highlights from three shows in Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago in October 2016. Available as a vinyl exclusive, 3-LP set with only 3500 copies released, the collection finds The CRB in peak form delivering highlights like “New Cannonball Rag,” “Forever As The Moon” and “Shadow Cosmos,” as well as adapting two from The Rolling Stones: “Down Home Girl” and “Let It Bleed” and the seldom played fan favorite, Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride.”

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Violent Femmes – Permanent Record: The Very Best Of Violent Femmes

Permanent Record: The Very Best of Violent Femmes provides a comprehensive overview of The Violent Femmes historic recording career – beginning with tracks from their legendary debut up until their 2000 release, Freak Magnet. The compilation includes the original studio recordings for hit singles such as Blister In The Sun, American Music, Gone Daddy Gone, amongst others, and is a must have for both new listeners and devoted fans alike.

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Jeff Tweedy – Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back)

Through his pioneering work in the legendary country-punk band, Uncle Tupelo, to his enduring legacy as the creative force behind the unclassifiable sound of Wilco, Jeff Tweedy has weaved his way between the underground and the mainstream – and back again.

Funny, disarming, and deeply honest, his memoir casts light on his unique creative process and the stories that shaped his life and career, from a childhood spent in Illinois to the release of No Depression in the early 90s – which set the blueprint for alt-country – and later working with Mavis Staples and, posthumously, Woody Guthrie.

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The Go Betweens – Right Here

Grant McLennan and Robert Forster, the founding members of seminal Brisbane band The Go-Betweens had been close friends and collaborators since their late teens some thirty years before. As it unfolds, we discover how relationships – both creative and romantic – are continually tested, challenged, remoulded and, in some cases, destroyed. The film truthfully exposes all the highs, lows, joy, pain, sorrow and beauty of being in a cult band and of trying to survive the harsh, brutal realities of an at times exploitative music industry. Unflinching, insightful and at times painfully honest, the film tells the story of The Go-Betweens from the inside out, from the people who lived it and from those whose lives were transformed by it.

This Week
Art Brut – ‘WHAM! BANG! POW! LETS ROCK OUT!’ LP
Bauhaus – ‘The Bela Session’ LP reissue
Bauhaus – ‘Press Eject & Give Me The Tape’ ltd white vinyl LP reissue
Bauhaus – ‘The Sky’s Gone Out’ ltd violet vinyl LP reissue
Marc Bolan – ‘Tramp King Of The City: Home Demos Vol. 2’ LP
Bouquet Of Dead Crows – ‘Motus Octo’ splatter vinyl LP
Breeders – ‘Safari EP’ limited 12″ reissue
Mansur Brown – ‘Shiroi’ LP
Lindsey Buckingham – ‘Solo Anthology’ 6LP Box set
Calexico – ‘The Black Light’ ltd clear vinyl 2LP reissue
The Chic Organisation – ‘1977 – 1979’ 5LP + 12″ vinyl box set
Ry Cooder – ‘Mambo Sinuendo’ 2LP
Deep Purple – ‘In Rock’ purple vinyl LP reissue
Deep Purple – ‘Fireball’ purple vinyl LP reissue
Ed Harcourt – ‘Beyond The End’ LP
Hippo Campus – ‘Bambi’ ltd coloured vinyl LP
Hozier – ‘Nina Cried Power’ ltd 12″ EP
Durad Jones & The Indications – ‘Live Vol. 1’ blue vinyl LP
Laibach – ‘The Sound Of Music’ gold vinyl LP reissue
Levellers – ‘Levellers’ ltd orange vinyl 2LP reissue
Amy Macdonald – ‘Woman Of The World: 2007-2018’ 2LP
Morrissey – ‘Back On The Chain Gang’ limited 7″
OST – ‘Dredd’ ltd red vinyl LP
OST – ‘End Of Days’ 2LP
Tom Petty – ‘An American Treasure’ 6LP Box Set
Planet B – ‘Planet B’ coloured vinyl LP
Irmin Schmidt – ‘5 Klavierstucke’ LP reissue
Songs: Ohia – ‘Love & Work: The Lioness Sessions’ ltd coloured vinyl box set
Mikael Tariverdiev – ‘Sevnteen Moments Of Spring’ LP
Transmaniacon – ‘The Strange World Of Suzie Pellet’ limited colour vinyl LP
Type O Negative – ‘Bloody Kisses’ ltd silver vinyl 2LP
Vessel – ‘Queen Of Golden Dogs’ LP

JEFF TWEEDY – ” Some Birds “

Posted: September 24, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Jeff Tweedy Previews His First Proper Solo Album with Twang-Tinged Single "Some Birds"

Jeff Tweedy  has shared “Some Birds,” the first single off his forthcoming solo album Warm, due out November. 30th through dBpm Records. The record, recorded at Tweedy’s legendary Chicago studio The Loft, will be his first proper album of entirely new solo work, and will feature liner notes by the acclaimed author George Saunders.

“Some Birds” finds Tweedy up to his old Uncle Tupelo tricks once again. The rusted alt-country of No Depression has, throughout the years, alternately been Tweedy’s boon and bane some of Wilco’s best work occurred when he was running as far away from roots rock as he could. But when he’s on his own, that naturalistic style of songwriting feels, well, natural.

Like Wilco’s collaboration with Billy Bragg, or Tweedy’s own cover of Dylan’s “Simple Twist of Fate” off the I’m Not There soundtrack, “Some Birds” just feels right. His reedy voice seems to be made for lap-steel slides and clomping acoustic vamps. That’s not to say he’s gone all “beer, trucks and broken hearts,” though—he’s still got his deadpan wit and an eye for good imagery. “Some birds just sit / useless, like a fist,” he sings to start. “I lean on the wall / like a broom, confused / by the scope it all,” he adds later, his metaphors always dangling for a few moments, leaving you wondering just how a fist is useless, or how a broom can be confused. It’s comfortable but funny, lived-in but not tired.

According to Tweedy, “Some Birds” is “like a lot of songs on Warm, being a confrontation between self and shadow self simultaneously feeling I’m to blame and not to blame, present and gone, and utterly confused, but determined to hold someone accountable.”

Official video for “Some Birds,” the lead single off Jeff Tweedy’s solo album Warm.

Tweedy will be touring this fall in support of his new record. Check out the “Some Birds” video

JEFF TWEEDY – ” Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) “

Posted: August 14, 2018 in MUSIC
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Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy has announced he will release a memoir, titled Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back), on November 13th via Penguin/Random House.

The book’s subtitle bills it as “A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc.” and its 304 pages promise to delve deep into Tweedy’s past—from his childhood in Bellville, IL, to the Chicago music scene that birthed his most famous outfit—and the music that the iconic singer-songwriter has penned over the years, whether with Wilco, Uncle Tupelo or as a solo artist, plus thoughts on his family, including Tweedy’s sons Spencer and Sam.

Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) is now available here (UK).

Tweedy also has a number of solo tour dates coming up this fall. He plays next at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, CO, this weekend.

WILCO – ” A.M ” Released 28th March 1995

Posted: March 28, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Wilco’s debut album, A.M., was released 20 years ago .

A.M. is the debut album of Chicago based alt-country rock band Wilco, released on March 28th, 1995. The album was released only months after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, another alt-country band that was the predecessor of Wilco. Prior to the release of the album, there was debate about whether the album would be better than the debut album of Son Volt, the new band of former Uncle Tupelo lead singer Jay Farrar. Only days after the breakup, Tweedy had decided to form a new group. He was able to retain the lineup of Uncle Tupelo sans Farrar, and rechristened the new band as Wilco.

In mid-May, the band began to rehearse songs in the office of band manager Tony Margherita, and hired producer Brian Paulson, who produced Anodyne. Wilco first recorded demo tracks for the album at Easley studio in Memphis, Tennessee in June. Stirratt recommended the studio based on previous experience as a member of The Hilltops, and Jeff Tweedy had heard of the studio through a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion recording. Reprise Records, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, signed Jeff Tweedy after hearing the tapes, and recording for the album continued through August.

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Although A.M. was released before Son Volt’s Trace, critical reviews were modest and initial sales were low. The album was later regarded as a “failure” by band members, as Trace became a greater commercial success. It was the band’s last album to be recorded in a purely alternative country style, as following the record the band began to expand their sound across multiple genres. It is also the only Wilco album to feature Brian Henneman of The Bottle Rockets as a lead guitarist. Recorded June–Autumn in 1994 . Brian Henneman had to leave the band shortly after recording the album, and was replaced by former Titanic Love Affair guitarist Jay Bennett. Jeff Tweedy also attempted to create a more collaborative environment than Uncle Tupelo, requesting songwriting contributions from other members. John Stirratt submitted three songs, hoping to become a secondary songwriter for Wilco. However, although the songs were recorded as demos, only one (“It’s Just That Simple”) was selected to appear on the album, and was the only Stirratt song to appear on any Wilco album.

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The album’s title is intended to reference Top 40 radio stations, and the tracks reflect a straightforward country-rock sound. The band members felt that they needed to establish themselves outside of the Tupelo fanbase. However, Tweedy later stated that in actuality, they were “trying to tread some water with a perceived audience.” Tweedy wrote a song about the Uncle Tupelo breakup, but decided that he didn’t want any material on that subject matter to appear on the album (It can be argued, however, that first single “Box Full of Letters”, as well as “Too Far Apart” allude to the dissolution of Farrar and Tweedy’s friendship and working relationship.) Tweedy attributes some of the straightforwardness of the album to his use of marijuana at the time. Shortly after the album, Tweedy stopped smoking pot, to which he credits the introspectiveness of further albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pePO816OxSo

Wilco began touring before the album was released. Their live debut was on November 27th , 1994 at Cicero’s Basement Bar in St. Louis, a venue where Uncle Tupelo had first received significant media attention. The band was billed for that concert as Black Shampoo, a reference to a 1970s B-movie, and the show sold out.  Wilco continued to tour for two hundred shows, culminating in show at the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas in March 1995. A.M. was released on Reprise Records on March 28th, 1995.

WILCO – ” The Whole Love “

Posted: March 16, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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There’s a whole lot to love about Wilco’s “The Whole Love”. It’s a career-spanning set of songs that appeared in the fall of 2011. Start with “Art of Almost” (you should be starting with this song, unless you have the album on shuffle.) The opening cut is the group’s most ambitious, confrontational piece since the Jim O’Rourke days. Plus, there’s the infectious “I Might,” the lovely, shuffling title track—all great. If The Whole Love has a weakness, it’s that the album spends so much time exploring the stylistic terrain of Wilco’s career to date that it never quite establishes an identity of its own. Plus, at 55 minutes and some change, Whole Love sags in its latter half. But man, “Art of Almost.” What a song

Has Wilco ever sequenced as perfect a coupling as “Art of Almost,” the band’s theme song, and the driving organ-pop number “I Might”? Those are 11 minutes to get lost in the music. The album ends with the 12-minute anti-epic “One Sunday Morning,” containing some of Jeff Tweedy’s best lyrics. You have to find your own meaning, but “One Sunday” seems inspired by a troubled father-son relationship, with Tweedy’s somber delivery over lovely piano accompaniment eventually leading to an understated jam that follows the tone of the proceedings. The album’s a little soft in the middle, but it includes a song that predicted Diamond Rugs (“Standing O”) and one (“Black Moon”) that cuts through Townes Van Zandt’s backyard on the way to the symphony.

UNCLE TUPELO – ” No Depression (Demo’s) ” Reissue for Record Store Day 2018

Posted: March 15, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Record Store Day 2018 will sweep America’s record shops, bringing with it performances, parties, and plenty of drool-worthy new and exclusives releases.  Uncle Tupelo (the band that predated and eventually morphed into Wilco) will release No Depression – Demos on Record Store Day. Previously released as disc two of the 2014 deluxe reissue of the landmark 1990 album, this marks the first time these tracks will be available on vinyl. Legacy will press 3000 copies.

One release we’re particularly excited about is Uncle Tupelo’s No Depression (Demos). the site and publication No Depression originally got its name from that 1990 album from Uncle Tupelo, a history former ND editor Kim Ruehl outlined in a recent piece for the Columbia Journalism Review.

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Referencing ND founding editor Peter Blackstock, Ruehl writes, “Blackstock occasionally participated in an online message board called NoDepression.AltCountry, named for the 1993 debut album of Midwest alt-country group Uncle Tupelo (who had, in turn, named their inaugural recording, No Depression, for a song The Carter Family had recorded a half-century earlier, during the Great Depression).”

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Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the group Uncle Tupelo after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville Records, before signing with Sire Records and expanding to a five-piece. Shortly after the release of the band’s major label debut album Anodyne, Farrar announced his decision to leave the band due to a soured relationship with his co-songwriter Tweedy. Uncle Tupelo split on May 1, 1994, after completing a farewell tour. Following the breakup, Farrar formed Son Volt with Heidorn, while the remaining members continued as Wilco. Although Uncle Tupelo broke up before it achieved commercial success, the band is renowned for its impact on the alternative country music scene. The group’s first album, No Depression, became a byword for the genre and was widely influential. Uncle Tupelo’s sound was unlike popular country music of the time, drawing inspiration from styles as diverse as the hardcore punk of The Minutemen and the country instrumentation and harmony of the Carter Family and Hank Williams. Farrar and Tweedy lyrics frequently referred to Middle America and the working class of Belleville.

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This Record Store Day release features a handful of exclusives, including a 1988 demo of the title track, which has never before been released on vinyl. Check out more details and a track list for No Depression (Demos) here.

Released in 1990, Uncle Tupelo’s debut album No Depression was a genuine milestone in American rock and roll, a striking fusion of traditional folk and country with post-punk innovation and hardcore ferocity. For the first time on vinyl, fans can hear Jeff Tweedy, Jay Farrar and Mike Heidorn’s legendary demo tape Not Forever, Just For Now, recorded in 1989, plus a demo of “No Depression” recorded a year earlier.

Side A 1. Outdone [1989 Demo] 2. That Year [1989 Demo] 3. Whiskey Bottle [1989 Demo] 4. Flatness [1989 Demo] 5. I Got Drunk [1989 Demo]
Side B 1. Before I Break [1989 Demo] 2. Life Worth Living [1989 Demo] 3. Train [1989 Demo] 4. Graveyard Shift [1989 Demo] 5. Screen Door [1989 Demo] 6. No Depression [1988 Demo]

WILCO – ” Star Wars “

Posted: March 13, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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On July 16th, Wilco shocked their fans in the best way possible: by releasing Star Wars, the band’s first album in four years, for free on their website, with no advance warning. The album is Wilco’s best in at least a decade, full of loose, poppy rockers like “Random Name Generator” and “The Joke Explained.”  After recording the basic tracks himself in the Wilco loft in Chicago, frontman Jeff Tweedy brought in the other members of the band separately to play on them. The process has proved so productive that Tweedy says he’s already halfway finished with the next Wilco album. “I have a whole lot of material,” he says.

It’s kind of an extension of the thought process behind, I don’t know, staying in touch with some sort of wild energy as much as possible and some sort of an irreverence. But that painting of that cat hangs in the kitchen at the [Wilco] loft, and every day I’d look at it and go, “You know, that should just be the album cover.” Then I started thinking about the phrase “Star Wars” recontextualized against that painting — it was beautiful and jarring. The album has nothing to do with Star Wars. It just makes me feel good. It makes me feel limitless and like there’s still possibilities and still surprise in the world, you know?

“What’s more fun than a surprise?” Jeff Tweedy asked cheekily on instagram as he introduced us to Wilco‘s ninth studio album. In a year when fans of another Star Wars were being incessantly teased, this album dropped out of nowhere, no endless teaser trailers required. Instead it was free to download,

The album’s got a great sound—jagged guitar (courtesy Nels Cline), distorted vocals—but a critical shortage of great songs. “You Satellite” rules and “Random Name Generator” is formidable enough to make Jeff Tweedy feel like a shapeshifter rock star, but much of the album feels unfinished, like sketches for something that might’ve been great, a perception that’s fairly amplified by the album’s brief length and lazy title. The best thing you can say about Star Wars is that it injected some spontaneity, some aggression back into Wilco’s music. The album thrilled fans when it was surprise-released for free in 2015, following the longest gap between Wilco albums to date. But it’s already been eclipsed by the superior Schmilco. Wilco’s weakest effort isn’t bad at all, just—well, underwhelming

Kitsch kitty cover art and silly title aside, the fuzzed up, lean rock on Wilco’s most concise album in years took plenty of unexpected turns. Tweedy worked largely alone, the band adding the gloss and grit to finished arrangements and basic tracks. The result is at times wild and weird but always Wilco.

GOLDEN SMOG – ” Weird Tales “

Posted: January 19, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Weird Tales is a bit of a misnomer for a collection of songs about the triumphs and tragedies of everyday life. The title, however, does lend itself to some great packaging and artwork. On this second full-length outing from Golden Smog, the band (featuring members of the Jayhawks, Wilco, Soul Asylum and Run Westy Run) is joined by former Big Star drummer Jody Stephens. Weird Tales is American band Golden Smog’s second album, released in 1998. The title comes from the pulp magazine Weird Tales, the cover art being from the October 1933 issue, by Margaret Brundage.

With members from three of the best little big bands of the last 30 years of rock music. Members of these bands, plus other,equally worthy musicians, came together to form Golden Smog, a loose, brilliant alt-country supergroup comprising of like minded individuals. Weird Tales, was their third album, it is their masterpiece, and a finer album of Americana I’ve yet to hear this side of Stranger’s Almanac.
The music ebbs and flows with a gentle purpose- angst ridden and meloncholic in places,peaceful and accepting in others. Particular highlights include Gary Louris’ Until You Came Along, Tweedy’s Please Tell My Brother and the wonderful Jennifer Save Me.

Featuring songwriters (Gary Louris of the Jayhawks and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy) both contribute Weird Tales’ most solid tracks. A pet project aimed more toward fans of the genre than the casual listener, Golden Smog nonetheless deliver the goods with a good deal of twangy heart and soul.” It’s  a first-rate collaboration among differing band members that’s unified in both vision and spirit.

the band ;

  • Kraig Johnson
  • Dan Murphy
  • Gary Louris
  • Marc Perlman
  • Chris Mars
  • Noah Levy
  • Jeff Tweedy
  • Jody Stephens

MAVIS STAPLES ” Ain’t No Doubt About It ” (Feat. Jeff Tweedy)

Posted: November 19, 2017 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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If All I Was Was Black, released this week, marks Mavis Staples’s third album-length collaboration with Jeff Tweedy, and its new single—the first to prominently feature Tweedy—is a wonderful showcase of their chemistry. In the face of a tumultuous country beset by racial strife and political division, Staples and Tweedy are fighting back the only way they know how: not with anger or anxiety, but with love and togetherness. “Ain’t No Doubt About It” is a heartwarming duet, with the pair trading verses about the power of friendship to push away worries.

WILCO – ” Summerteeth “

Posted: November 9, 2017 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Despite a memorable handful of upbeat, borderline joyous songs—including a title track that literally features chirping birds—”Summerteeth” is pretty damn dark. Songs like “We’re Just Friends,” “How to Fight Loneliness” and the murder-dream classic “Via Chicago” are heartbreaking, and even tracks with a cheery sheen are low-key depressing when you get into the lyrics. Still, a thread of hope runs through even the most downtrodden passages, lending Summerteeth an emotional depth that pairs nicely with a newfound sonic complexity.

It’s the first album where Wilco really explores what’s possible in the studio. Organs and guitars are held on equal measure. There are birdsounds, there are horns, there are pops and bells and clanks and other textural flourishes. It’s a dazzling departure for a band whose sound had been predicated on alt-country twang. Plus, the songwriting is uniformly excellent, as evidenced by the fact that “Via Chicago” and “A Shot in the Arm” are still live favorites today. On Summerteeth, Wilco was becoming something else.

Can’t Stand It (From Summerteeth, 1999)
I couldn’t have been the only one who first heard the opening song on Summerteeth and immediately thought, “What the hell???” It didn’t take long (less than 4 minutes, I’m sure) for me to get over it. It was probably about the time I first heard, “No love’s as random as God’s love…I can’t stand it….I can’t stand it.”
Great stuff.

You’ll have the chance to buy some of Wilco’s gear. Jeff Tweedy and company will be opening up a shop on Reverb.com called “The Wilco Loft Shop,” named after their Chicago studio/”safe haven for making music” where much of the gear currently resides, and selling off various items from their collections.

The instruments range from insanely valuable, including a 1958 Gretsch 6021 and two 1940’s Gibson flattop acoustics, all owned by Tweedy, to more collector-focused, like an assortment of guest passes from past Wilco tours. Tweedy discusses the decision to open up the online shop, stating, “Every once in a while we look around the loft and say ‘Geez, there’s just too much stuff up here,’” adding, “We hate to see it go, but we’re sure you’ll put it to good use!”.

Wilco Will Be Selling Off Some of Their Gear On Reverb.com Starting Next Week

All of the items for sale have been played by members of Wilco either on tour, in the studio or both, and will be shipped with a signed certificate of authenticity. You can head here to preview the shop before it opens next week to see a preview of some of the items that will be for sale, and below you’ll find a few pictures of  Wilco’s actual loft, along with video of a 1996 Wilco

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