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Wilco question

pearljam0000pearljam0000 Posts: 450
edited March 2007 in Other Music
I'm not very familiar with Wilco but I want to pick up some of their albums. What would you suggest I start with? Thanks.
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  • Dick JonesDick Jones Posts: 777
    Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
    A Ghost Is Born

    Or the documentary DVD: I Am Trying To Break Your Heart [Making of YHF]

    Or Kicking Television: Live In Chicago [2 LP Live Album]
    Are you too good to tango with the poor poor boys?
  • soulsingingsoulsinging Posts: 13,202
    Dick Jones wrote:
    Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
    A Ghost Is Born

    Or the documentary DVD: I Am Trying To Break Your Heart [Making of YHF]

    Or Kicking Television: Live In Chicago [2 LP Live Album]

    i dont know if id recommend starting with a ghost is born. it's kind of a spacey album. yankee hotel foxtrot is what got me hooked. otherwise, id recommend 'being there.' it's a more straightforward album that still has their wild eclecticism. great album.
  • Dick JonesDick Jones Posts: 777
    soulsinging wrote:
    i dont know if id recommend starting with a ghost is born. it's kind of a spacey album. yankee hotel foxtrot is what got me hooked. otherwise, id recommend 'being there.' it's a more straightforward album that still has their wild eclecticism. great album.

    I find alot of the early albums pretty boring. Nothing to challenge you with. A Ghost Is Born is full of beautiful songs man. Great melodies, piano, great singing. I like it more than YHF.
    Are you too good to tango with the poor poor boys?
  • Tek MoneyTek Money Posts: 642
    soulsinging wrote:
    i dont know if id recommend starting with a ghost is born. it's kind of a spacey album. yankee hotel foxtrot is what got me hooked. otherwise, id recommend 'being there.' it's a more straightforward album that still has their wild eclecticism. great album.
    I would recommend A Ghost is Born. It's a brilliant album... it just takes a few listens. So do a lot of my favorite albums.
    Cock Fight.
  • soulsingingsoulsinging Posts: 13,202
    Dick Jones wrote:
    I find alot of the early albums pretty boring. Nothing to challenge you with. A Ghost Is Born is full of beautiful songs man. Great melodies, piano, great singing. I like it more than YHF.

    i love a ghost is born. im just thinking somebody who's never heard wilco might listen to that and go "i dont get it." there's nothing as immediately accessible as monday or dreamer in my dreams. you have to listen to ghost is born a few times to really get the album. for somebody who just wants to see if wilco is their thing, that might not be the best one to start with. i would never recommend no code for a curious pj fan, even though i think it's their best album. same deal here.
  • AvocadoLadyAvocadoLady Posts: 680
    If you got the whole back catalog, you wouldn't regret it.

    I'd also recommend starting with A Ghost is Born, but add that you shouldn't feel bad if you skip Spiders (Kidsmoke) every time you listen to it ;)

    Also, I haven't heard the whole thing yet, but I think the new one's going to be a winner too. Poppy and accessible.
    "What happens when so many people agree on something? Can we take this beyond the parking lot when we leave tonight?" -EV, Iconoclasts
  • Dick JonesDick Jones Posts: 777
    I don't get why it's not accessible? It's got some great catchy Wilco tunes on it.

    Theologians
    The Late Greats
    Handshake Drugs
    Hummingbird
    Muzzle of Bees
    Company In My Back
    Hell Is Chrome

    Then you have:

    Atleast That's What You Said
    Spiders [Kidsmoke]

    I think those songs are all pretty accessible. The last two are longer and a little different, still amazing. This was my intro to them. But I can't take away from YHF it's great too. So pick em both up.
    Are you too good to tango with the poor poor boys?
  • Tek MoneyTek Money Posts: 642
    Spiders (kidsmoke) is one of my favorites. I mean it's long... but I love it.

    I agree with Dick. (I like saying that)
    Cock Fight.
  • soulsingingsoulsinging Posts: 13,202
    Dick Jones wrote:
    I don't get why it's not accessible? It's got some great catchy Wilco tunes on it.

    Theologians
    The Late Greats
    Handshake Drugs
    Hummingbird
    Muzzle of Bees
    Company In My Back
    Hell Is Chrome

    Then you have:

    Atleast That's What You Said
    Spiders [Kidsmoke]

    I think those songs are all pretty accessible. The last two are longer and a little different, still amazing. This was my intro to them. But I can't take away from YHF it's great too. So pick em both up.

    i dunno, it's just really mellow. it kinda puts me in mind of sufjan stevens' art pop. i think if id heard that to start, i wouldn't have kept listening. wheraas yankee hotel with its dark drama was one of the most mind-blowing things i ever heard. i guess it's a matter of taste. i like ghost is born, but i think if id heard it first i wouldnt have gotten the hype.
  • cc10106cc10106 Posts: 385
    People tend to forget how much this band has evolved along the way. I think hearing some earlier and newer stuff is the best way to appreciate them for where they've been and where they will go.

    I recommend:
    Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (their 'masterpiece', so to speak, tho every one is great)
    Being There or Summerteeth (BT is a longer affair, with more rock/country sound, with Summer having a poppier/less Americana feel to it)
  • direwolf74direwolf74 Posts: 1,622
    Tek Money wrote:
    Spiders (kidsmoke) is one of my favorites. I mean it's long... but I love it.

    I'm not overly fond of the album version, but that song is absolutely mind-blowing when they play it live.
    "I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."

    -Tom Waits
  • Dick JonesDick Jones Posts: 777
    soulsinging wrote:
    i dunno, it's just really mellow. it kinda puts me in mind of sufjan stevens' art pop. i think if id heard that to start, i wouldn't have kept listening. wheraas yankee hotel with its dark drama was one of the most mind-blowing things i ever heard. i guess it's a matter of taste. i like ghost is born, but i think if id heard it first i wouldnt have gotten the hype.

    Ugh, Sufjan. I don't see that.
    Are you too good to tango with the poor poor boys?
  • AvocadoLadyAvocadoLady Posts: 680
    I had no idea there were people out there who actually like Spiders (Kidsmoke) ;) Kidding, kidding.

    You're right though, it's definitely better live.
    "What happens when so many people agree on something? Can we take this beyond the parking lot when we leave tonight?" -EV, Iconoclasts
  • Dick JonesDick Jones Posts: 777
    That part toward the end is awesome, when it starts really rocking. Love it.
    Are you too good to tango with the poor poor boys?
  • letsongsprotestletsongsprotest Posts: 552
    Start with Summerteeth. Some great tunes on there and is very easy to get into.

    "She's a jar" is my personal favorite Wilco tune. "Via Chicago" is close behind
    There's a trapdoor in the sun.
  • Todd76Todd76 Posts: 1,469
    AvocadoLady wrote:
    I had no idea there were people out there who actually like Spiders (Kidsmoke) ;) Kidding, kidding.

    You're right though, it's definitely better live.

    Actually thats probably my favourite song on the album....Wilco does Krautrock, i've always thought of that song as their homage to CAN

    ....anyone else who likes that song - check out the band CAN (pretty incredible experimental "krautrock" band from the 70's)
    In my world everyone is a pony,
    and they all eat rainbows and pooh butterflies!
  • Dick JonesDick Jones Posts: 777
    letsongsprotest wrote:
    Start with Summerteeth. Some great tunes on there and is very easy to get into.

    "She's a jar" is my personal favorite Wilco tune. "Via Chicago" is close behind

    I love Via Chicago, and I'm Always In Love.
    Are you too good to tango with the poor poor boys?
  • Tek MoneyTek Money Posts: 642
    Pieholden Suite... sigh.

    I can't wait to see them at Bonnaroo. I don't care.
    Cock Fight.
  • wickedmonkeyzwickedmonkeyz Posts: 489
    Tek Money wrote:
    Pieholden Suite... sigh.

    I can't wait to see them at Bonnaroo. I don't care.


    Sunday at bonnaroo is going to rock!

    wilco...the white stripes...wolfmother...widespread panic
    looking for 2 to Columbia...

    ***GOT EM***
  • AvocadoLadyAvocadoLady Posts: 680
    They better play Lolla again...that's all I have to say.
    "What happens when so many people agree on something? Can we take this beyond the parking lot when we leave tonight?" -EV, Iconoclasts
  • offhegoes09offhegoes09 Posts: 327
    Dick Jones wrote:
    I find alot of the early albums pretty boring. Nothing to challenge you with. A Ghost Is Born is full of beautiful songs man. Great melodies, piano, great singing. I like it more than YHF.

    I agree...A ghost is born got me hooked more than Foxtrot. Beautiful record. But then again, I don't think you can go wrong with any Wilco. Can't wait to see them at bonnaroo.
    "The whole world will be different soon"
  • intodeepintodeep Posts: 7,228
    YANKEE

    HOTEL

    FOXTROT

    FYI spiders rocks!
    Charlotte 00
    Charlotte 03
    Asheville 04
    Atlanta 12
    Greenville 16, Columbia 16
    Seattle 18 
    Nashville 22
  • direwolf74direwolf74 Posts: 1,622
    Unlike most of you, it was their early material that got me hooked on them. The first time I saw them live was way back in 1997 and they blew me away. I went out and bought "Being There" the next day and I've been a huge fan ever since. That album is absolutely brilliant from start to finish, and in my opinion features some of the best songs Tweedy has ever written (Sunken Treasure, Misunderstood, Red-Eyed and Blue, The Lonely 1, Someone Else's Song, Monday...need I say more?) I've noticed that many fans who got into them around Yankee Hotel Foxtrot tend to give albums like Being There a bad rap because it's not "arty" or "experimental" enough, which is just plain silly. Every Wilco album is unique and has it's own feel and style, and they're all amazing in their own way. That's what makes them such a great band. I can't wait to hear where they take us next! May 15th can't come fast enough.
    "I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."

    -Tom Waits
  • AvocadoLadyAvocadoLady Posts: 680
    direwolf74 wrote:
    Unlike most of you, it was their early material that got me hooked on them. The first time I saw them live was way back in 1997 and they blew me away. I went out and bought "Being There" the next day and I've been a huge fan ever since. That album is absolutely brilliant from start to finish, and in my opinion features some of the best songs Tweedy has ever written (Sunken Treasure, Misunderstood, Red-Eyed and Blue, The Lonely 1, Someone Else's Song, Monday...need I say more?) I've noticed that many fans who got into them around Yankee Hotel Foxtrot tend to give albums like Being There a bad rap because it's not "arty" or "experimental" enough, which is just plain silly. Every Wilco album is unique and has its own feel and style, and they're all amazing in their own way. That's what makes them such a great band. I can't wait to hear where they take us next! May 15th can't come fast enough.
    That's a good point. If you want to get organic about it...start with Uncle Tupelo, then get Being There and AM, throw in some Golden Smog & Loose Fur...

    It's been fascinating watching Tweedy evolve as a musician and songwriter.
    "What happens when so many people agree on something? Can we take this beyond the parking lot when we leave tonight?" -EV, Iconoclasts
  • rhinomagicrhinomagic Posts: 2,549
    cc10106 wrote:
    People tend to forget how much this band has evolved along the way. I think hearing some earlier and newer stuff is the best way to appreciate them for where they've been and where they will go.

    Agreed.

    It's hard for me to recommend getting exposed to any band in the middle of their growth.

    Start at the beginning--A.M.--and work your way through to A Ghost Is Born.

    If you must start with newer material, I recommend getting Kicking Television so that you may appreciate what a great live rock band they are.

    Happy Wilco learning!

    .
    Memphis 1994
    New Orleans 1995
    Fort Lauderdale 1996
    Atlanta & Birmingham 1998
    New Orleans 2000
    Tampa 2003
    Kissimmee 2004
    New York City (x 2) 2008
    East Troy (x 2) 2011
    Chicago & New Orleans 2013
    Hampton, Raleigh, Boston 2016
    Baltimore 2020
    Louisville 2022
    Philadelphia & Baltimore 2024
  • intodeepintodeep Posts: 7,228
    direwolf74 wrote:
    Unlike most of you, it was their early material that got me hooked on them. The first time I saw them live was way back in 1997 and they blew me away. I went out and bought "Being There" the next day and I've been a huge fan ever since. That album is absolutely brilliant from start to finish, and in my opinion features some of the best songs Tweedy has ever written (Sunken Treasure, Misunderstood, Red-Eyed and Blue, The Lonely 1, Someone Else's Song, Monday...need I say more?) I've noticed that many fans who got into them around Yankee Hotel Foxtrot tend to give albums like Being There a bad rap because it's not "arty" or "experimental" enough, which is just plain silly. Every Wilco album is unique and has it's own feel and style, and they're all amazing in their own way. That's what makes them such a great band. I can't wait to hear where they take us next! May 15th can't come fast enough.

    Good point i love those early albums. Hell i even like AM a good bit. It has some great songs. I just feel like the later albums are so much better.

    I've heard the new album and I REALLY LIKE IT. It is different which is awesome it is VERY MELLOW. Laid back. Nels shines on guitar with his jazzy jingles :) A great Sunday morning lazy day album. I think most will either love it or hate it. I personally love it.
    Charlotte 00
    Charlotte 03
    Asheville 04
    Atlanta 12
    Greenville 16, Columbia 16
    Seattle 18 
    Nashville 22
  • satchoroyalesatchoroyale Posts: 81
    intodeep wrote:
    Good point i love those early albums. Hell i even like AM a good bit. It has some great songs. I just feel like the later albums are so much better.

    I've heard the new album and I REALLY LIKE IT. It is different which is awesome it is VERY MELLOW. Laid back. Nels shines on guitar with his jazzy jingles :) A great Sunday morning lazy day album. I think most will either love it or hate it. I personally love it.

    Just my two cents.
    I love all the Uncle Tupelo albums.
    I love every single Wilco album.
    I love the Loose Fur and Golden Smog side projects.
    I love the acoustic Tweedy sets.

    But... I've heard the new Wilco "Sky Blue Sky" and I'm not getting it.
    I love this band and have been anticipating this album for so long.
    I want to love this album so much, but I'm not hearing the "songs".
    Where have the "songs" and "melodies" gone.
    Even Tweedy's lryics seem very down and depressed.
    The radio track "What Light" is outstanding but I'm not hearing anything
    else up to Wilco standards as of yet.
    I know their albums are very deep and layered and grow on you.
    I really hope this is the case with me with "Sky Blue Sky",
    but I've never been so down on a Wilco album on first listen.
    It's really bumming me out.

    "The ashtray says.... you've been up all night"
  • AvocadoLadyAvocadoLady Posts: 680
    satchoroyale wrote:
    Just my two cents.
    I love all the Uncle Tupelo albums.
    I love every single Wilco album.
    I love the Loose Fur and Golden Smog side projects.
    I love the acoustic Tweedy sets.

    But... I've heard the new Wilco "Sky Blue Sky" and I'm not getting it.
    I love this band and have been anticipating this album for so long.
    I want to love this album so much, but I'm not hearing the "songs".
    Where have the "songs" and "melodies" gone.
    Even Tweedy's lryics seem very down and depressed.
    The radio track "What Light" is outstanding but I'm not hearing anything
    else up to Wilco standards as of yet.
    I know their albums are very deep and layered and grow on you.
    I really hope this is the case with me with "Sky Blue Sky",
    but I've never been so down on a Wilco album on first listen.
    It's really bumming me out.

    "The ashtray says.... you've been up all night"

    Eek...really? I haven't heard the whole thing yet....you're scaring me! ;)

    I've liked what I've heard of it so far...I haven't been able to get the "Impossible Germany" chorus out of my head, and I only heard that song once, and that was last August!
    "What happens when so many people agree on something? Can we take this beyond the parking lot when we leave tonight?" -EV, Iconoclasts
  • honestgabehonestgabe Posts: 34
    I'm a pretty big Wilco fan, I've seen them 4 times live. Being There is a great album to start on I think. Even the Mermaid Avenue records are brilliant.

    As for the new album, its probably going to end up as being my favorite.
  • direwolf74direwolf74 Posts: 1,622
    honestgabe wrote:
    IEven the Mermaid Avenue records are brilliant.

    Good call! Both of those records are fantastic. As for the new album, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna love it, and the only song I've heard so far is "What Light". My favorite Wilco record is always the newest one.
    "I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."

    -Tom Waits
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