Spin’s latest revision list of “The 100 Best Albums of All Time”
\nhas Radiohead’s
\nOK Computer<\/i> sitting comfortably at the top. Wilco’s
\nambitious
\nYankee Hotel Foxtrot<\/i> is included as well. Both albums were
\nable to take electronic blips and buzzes and make them sound warm
\nand more human than anything released that year. Both of these
\nalbums were career peaks (so far) for the bands that issued them.
\nAnd both artists released an album beforehand that arguably was a
\nbetter “front to back” listen, yet their follow-up was so ambitious
\nthat it inevitably was known as a better “album.” In short, in rock
\nstar algebra terms…
\nThe Bends<\/i> is to
\nOK Computer<\/i> as
\nSummerteeth<\/i> is to
\nYankee Hotel Foxtrot<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Musically and songwriting-wise,
\nSummerteeth<\/i> is complex. An album reviewer could do a lengthy
\nreview on just the song “A Shot In The Arm.” Jeff Tweedy’s
\nsongwriting is the perfect example of using details to tell a story
\nwithout obsessing over the details: “the ashtray says you were up
\nall night,” “your pillow wept and covered your eyes” and “you
\nfinally slept while the sun caught fire” are great examples. And
\nthat’s only the first stanza. Tweedy keeps repeating the chorus in
\na weary monotone until he raises his voice and urgency the fifth
\ntime he yells “Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm.” When he says
\n“something in my veins \/ bloodier than blood” — it could be about
\ndrugs or more abstractly, depression. While all that drama is going
\non, Jay Bennett provides a beautiful piano riff and Ken Coomer
\nkeeps the percussion simple and solid, making it an instantly
\nmemorable highlight to
\nSummerteeth<\/i>.<\/p>\n
\nSummerteeth<\/i> would be the last full-length album Jay Bennett
\nwould record with Wilco. Bennett’s departure solidified Wilco as
\nJeff Tweedy’s band, but Bennett provided a manic energy for
\nSummerteeth<\/i>. The loss of a guitarist hurts most any band,
\nbut Bennett’s departure was especially painful to Wilco. Just take
\na look at the instruments Bennett played on
\nSummerteeth<\/i>: piano, keyboards, bell, lap steel, synthesizer,
\nbass and banjo.<\/p>\n
As the title suggests,
\nSummerteeth<\/i> is a definitive summer album. Tweedy’s lyrics
\nremain twisted, but there’s a giddy restlessness to tracks like
\n“I’m Always In Love” and “Can’t Stand It.” Don’t worry though –
\nfans of Tweedy’s darker topics will find plenty to wade through.
\nYou can pretty much sum up Tweedy’s take on significant others with
\nlines like “I dreamed about killing you again last night \/ And it
\nfelt alright to me,” “My feelings hid \/ She begs me not to hit her”
\nand the ‘I guess it’s a compliment’ line “He feels lucky to have
\nyou here \/ In his kitchen, in your chair \/ Sometimes he forgets
\nthat you’re even there.”<\/p>\n
John Stirrant’s easy bass line and Bennett’s light touches on
\nlap steel guitar give the title track a breezy feel. Just listening
\nto the music alone would put you in the mood to go to the beach.
\nThen Tweedy throws a left punch in with lines like “One summer a
\nsuicide … He hits snooze twice before he dies.” With such
\ndepressing lyrics, Tweedy’s vocals don’t fall into the deep,
\nwallowing turmoil of a Trent Reznor or Tom Waits. Instead, he keeps
\nhis voice light and warbly, perfectly matching the band’s
\nlaid-back, but musically accomplished vibe.<\/p>\n
Summerteeth was Wilco’s last straightforward album, sort
\nof\u2026
\nYankee Hotel Foxtrot<\/i> and
\nA Ghost Is Born<\/i> definitely upped the experimentation.
\nYankee<\/i> made Wilco indie superstars, but
\nSummerteeth<\/i> is Wilco at their open-hearted best. Six years
\nafter its release,
\nSummerteeth<\/i> still is as fresh as a farmer’s market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":27092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7036],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-38425","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-wilco","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38425"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}