Few band-leaders are able to so readily redefine their sound – blowing up successful formulas and rewriting their group’s legacy – as Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. He joins the short list for this century, along with Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Blur’s Damon Albam and a handful of other rock luminaries willing to experiment for the sake of music.
Wilco’s reemergence with “A Ghost is Born” is simply another striking musical choice from a group now well known for just that – the disk is surprising on many levels, but is not, in its essence, a surprise.
Following 1999’s infectious and poppy turn on alt-country “Summerteeth” – a genre Tweedy helped create in the early-ninties with Uncle Tupelo – Wilco’s options seemed unlimited and its popularity grew. However, studio executives felt the direction of 2002’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” was not marketable and that it would alienate fans. The decision to drop the band from music label Warner led to a lengthy and now infamous battle that resulted in the delayed release of the album. When finally released, “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” was very positively received critically and sold well.
The struggle with the music label, Warner, was immortalized in the film “I am Trying to Break Your Heart,” and Tweedy became a cult hero.
Many critics considered “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” to be the finest rock album of 2002, with its heart-wrenching lyrics and sonic ambiance to be the standard-bearer for Wilco specifically, and alternative music in general.
Where “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” was perfectly formed and almost surgical in its emotive power, “A Ghost Is Born” is airy and loose – drawing its power from languid vocals and sometimes harsh guitar dissonance. The album is airy and sweet, and while not dissimilar from Wilco’s previous work, marks a change of pace for the band.
Ten minute tracks – a tell-tale sign of genius, or hubris – occur twice on this album, and extended guitar solos pop up and odd and unpredictable times.
Tweedy, for the first time in his career, does not seem to feel pressure to produce sure-fire pop hits, and what is poppy here is organic. “Hummingbird” and “Handshake Drugs” are the most apparent “hits” and none has the pop firepower of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”‘s “Heavy Metal Drummer” or “I’m The Man Who Loves You.”
Even if “A Ghost Is Born” is more organic and more comfortable, it does not inspire the same instant-classic emotion that its predecessor created. “Spiders” is an incredibly creative track, and “The Late Greats” is a gorgeous pop song, but none has the whispered maturity of “Jesus, etc.” or “Ashes of the American Flag” from “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.” The reality is that few albums in the past ten years have achieved so much, and Wilco’s follow up is and excellent album that stretches boundaries and is a more than competent compliment to its catalogue.
