Get Well Soon Everybody

Wilco have been through a lot.  Jeff Tweedy's mastermind of the American Rock and Roll band has come to a peak with their new album The Whole Love. Side note:  It was a lot easier to pre order the album, and add some bells and whistles to the order, uber nerd, I know, than to get tickets.  This album was produced by Jeff Tweedy with Patrick Sansone and Tom Schick, so this and the fact that it is their own label they have complete artistic freedom and don't have a time constraints they can make what they want to. It was originally titled 'Get Well Soon Everybody.’

Art of Almost - starts off as a prologue to the masterpiece that The Whole Love is.  The noise, as some many call it, starts off, leaving the listener with no idea where the song is going to go. Some listeners might even think that something is wrong with the recording.   Then the light snyth sound brings in the lyrics.  When the vocals start out the music becomes a mystic psychedelic background of noises inbetween there is a melody wrapped inside.  At first listen you don't really know what to listen to the synth sounds, the guitar, the memorizing beats, or the vocals.  At the 4:40 range there is a jaunt of between the bass and drums effects which is really cool. It is a pulsating grinding noise that ends up sounding like a guitar solo springs out of.  I feel that Nels Cline is working his magic on this solo and knocks it out of the water. The solo hypnotizes yet amuses the listener. 

I Might, which most of you have heard is the first single for this album.  The acoustic guitar is the keeping the tempo, it sounds like something that could have been on b but has a more of a mature feel.  It seems as though this song is about just getting through everyday life, one day at time.  Day dreams of something better than what the person has, he sings about how he wants to set his kids on fire...jokingly of course.  Sunloathe is an acoustic ballad that is run by a bright piano.  It has an eerie feel to it. It seems like the lyrics are about the fight that a couple recently had and they don't want to come to terms that that they are breaking up.  Neither party wants to end the fight so they just end up ending it.

 Next, Dawned On Me is probably the most uplifting song on the album, taking about how the little things in the relationship that he is in. Under a bass feeling undertone, there is a catchy chorus, the true musicianship shows in this song.  It sounds like the music is written in such a way that every instrument has a equal part to be heard in the song.  Though there is a distorted undertone, there's whistling which gives the song the hopefully.   At the end there is oohing that is reminiscent of the Sun King in Abbey Road. Black Moon is one of the slowest songs, beautiful rather similar to Solitare off Wilco (TheAlbum).  It is very acoustic guitar lead with very descriptive lyrics about coming to terms, and waiting, longing for someone.

Born Alone starts off lead by a pretty sweet guitar riff, but basically there is a rhythm section song.  Only after the big verses can you hear the rest of the songs. Again, there are a lot of drums, which sounds great.  People have said that this song is about Jeff Tweedy's former pill addiction, though I think that this is about life.  He explains bad things happen, maybe they have happened to you, and maybe they haven't.  But you were born alone, and yes you will die alone.  It's your life have fun between those times.  You are probably going to meet someone that can change your life. That you should Open Mind is about this situation.  In a very Blonde on Blonde Dylan-equse way Wilco brings up the idea on this meeting of soul mates. "If you would let me be one the one to open up your mind," It's those magical moments that you meet someone, and just knowing that they are still in your life, and they and you took that time out, that chance.  The song is rhythm section driven but the keyboards are guitar do their parts.

Capitol City is done in a jazzy type style, reminiscent of Walken off Sky Blue Sky.  It's comparing country to city, different personalities, and the whole of idea of different strokes for different folks, and long distance hope to see someone that's far away.   
 
Standing O, is pretty hard rocking song like I'm A Wheel One of their songs when music or something that brings you to your feet and really celebrate the idea of this is what life's all about.   Hard rocking solos.  Has a unique which is really nice to hear, and has the fun vibe.  
 
Rising Red Lung- I think of song as an ode to the sunset.  This album is a really fall album.  It seems as though it's tribute to the seasons, describing them as a passionate as a life being born or falling in love that has very powerful lyrics draws in a very off beat Nels Cline guitar solo, to end the song.

Whole Love- Has that same acoustic guitar feel, and it even starts off like a sequel to Pieholden Suite off Summerteeth.  In a Beatles like way Tweedy seems charming and sweet talking his way to his life, a very poppy song.  Finally when the chorus comes on he seems to make all work and how we should never forgot the whole love.

 One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend) next is a lovely ballad, that makes my hairs stand on end, just writing about it.  It has a catchy riff, that is done throughout the song which clocks in a 12:03, when listening to it seems like half that. The glockenspiel adds a lot to the repeating theme of the song.  "Outside I looked lived in, like bullets in a shrine" is really an incredible line, and the whole song has verses of this caliber.  The song seems like hearing an epic story, and you are just so intrigued by it that you don't what do afterward. The idea of being that things aren't simple and if it were what would be the point of it.

 The Whole Love, the whole album is really quite an emotional roller coaster.  There is not one point where as the listener you are wondering, what could they do next? or did they really do that? It seems that Wilco are getting the respect that they deserve finally. It's a well produced well written album. In that respect it's hard to get tickets to their shows that are masterpieces themselves.  I really applaud these guys for what they are doing with music, and they seem to be right where they want to be.

...the more you know