Review: First Impressions of Wilco's "The Whole Love"
Unlike movies and books, when it comes to music, I find it nearly impossible to make a quick judgement after just a few listens. Most records take weeks and weeks before finally settling in to a cohesive (personal) understanding of its merits. I can think of many, many records that I loved at the outset before later concluding that they just didn't hold up, and vice versa.There's something about Wilco's The Whole Love that has me itching to say.....something. As with any post about Wilco, there's little question that I'm biased. When I first heard the notes of Uncle Tupelo's "New Madrid" in early 1994 and subsequently saw Wilco in December 1994, I've stood by at every twist and turn. Form alt.country to summery pop songs to "experimentation" to "dad rock," I just haven't been able to quit this band. Outside of Bruce Springsteen, no artist has impacted me as much as Jeff Tweedy. And I can't even really say why. I doubt any Wilco record would make my overall top 20 (Summerteeth might just make the cut), but there's something in the songs and words as a whole. Even the choice of covers blows my mind (I mean, Bill Fay's "Be Not So Fearful!"). All this said, I will be the first to admit that in terms of recorded output, Wilco have taken a step back since the departure of Jay Bennett in 2001. Their live shows, although more refined, are just as good as the earlier incarnations of the band. But when looking at their seven recordings (not counting the Mermaid records), I would argue that the three without Bennett are the bottom three in the Wilco catalog. Good records? Yes. Great? Well, no.
Now comes #8 in The Whole Love. Released on Wilco's own dBpm Records, for the first time in their career, they can release...whatever they want. No major label. They only need answer to themselves. And this past Saturday they allowed fans and critics a sneak peek. I'm now about 48 hours into this record, and unlike any Wilco record past (yes, including Yankee Hotel Foxtrot), I simply can not stop listening. Over the weekend, I put on the Stones, Ritter and new records by other favorites and within a few tracks, I found myself back to The Whole Love. And I'm not even sure what this means. But again, I just can't stop listening.
When I first listened to the opening track "Art of Almost," I was turned off. It sounded just a bit too much like a crappy New York City night club at 4am. But I went back. And again. And the track started to open up. And I keep listening to the record not as songs, but as a record. I already knew the second track, "I Might," via the 7" advance, but it sounds so much better sequenced with other songs. "Sunloathe" harkens back to Summerteeth and is likely the most pronounced post-Bennett reminder of Bennett. "Dawned On Me" is pure Wilco pop. And then it starts to slow down with "Black Moon" and "Open Mind." "Born Alone" and "Capitol City" once again bring out those pop sensibilities, with the latter sounding like it could fall perfectly on a later-year Beatles record. The closer "One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)" at first few listens, sounds like one of the most gorgeous songs Tweedy's ever written. Checking in at 12 minutes, the plush guitar and splashes bring on, dare I say, serenity. The only tracks yet to grab me "Black Moon," "Standing O" and "Rising Red Lung" will have to remain to-be-determined.
