Saturday, 3 Sep 2011
By Steven Spoerl
Earlier this week it was announced that Wilco would be streaming their new album, The Whole Love
The Whole Love starts off with opening track “Art of Almost.” The first thing that jumps out is the sound quality, or aesthetic, rather. It’s decidedly lo-fi in its approach, which is something a lot of people have been wondering about since the release of album single “I Might.” What’s surprising is how well it works. It’s an excellent track to begin with but by its fiery conclusion with one of Nels Cline’s most blistering solos to date, it’s fairly clear that this album will be presenting Wilco in their most aggressive light since A Ghost Is Born. Another small victory for the track is that it sets up “I Might” perfectly.
Now that a few months have passed to make sense of “I Might” with all of its quirky tendencies and blown-out bass guitar, it sounds better than ever. In the context of The Whole Love it works even stronger than it does as a standalone single. “I Might” was probably chosen as the single as it’s a fairly good signifier of the album as a whole- and well, it’s also a good single. That it does serve the album so well shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who owns just about any album from Wilco’s discography. Their sequencing has always been perfect and that’s probably not going to change.
“Sunloathe” the first slow track on The Whole Love is a beautiful slow-burner that shows how adept Wilco is at that type of song. The piano flourishes throughout are a particularly heartbreaking touch and Tweedy’s vocal arrangements sound a lot more inspired and free than they did on the bands previous two full-length offerings, Wilco (The Album) and Sky Blue Sky. It’s not really a stretch to say that it’s one of the better ballads of the year. Nor is it really all that surprising. This is Wilco, after all.
The following track “Dawned On Me” is pop perfection. It’s made up of pure blissful toe-tapping tempo and melody, catchy-as-hell melodies and great lyrics. Oh yeah- and whistling. It’s their catchiest tune since “Heavy Metal Drummer” and more than deserves all the praise and playtime I’m certain it’ll earn. There’s really not much more to say about it- any description that’s short, sweet, and to the point seems to match the songs manner, so that’s what’s happening.
“Black Moon” starts off with some beautifully arranged acoustic guitars and Tweedy practically sighing, “I was always right about the morning.” Some gentle slide guitar comes in and complements the campfire feel perfectly. Very few songs can have the listener hanging on to every word, chord change, and additional instrument on their first listen- yet, that’s exactly what happened. All the quickly-bowed strings, faint piano chords, and sneaky electric guitar lines add up to something extremely impressive and utterly re-listenable.
As “Black Moon” fades it opens up “Born Alone” which is a near-perfect distillation of all of Wilco’s strong points from their most classic albums- and it still manages to add a few things. Now that’s a feat. The band’s never sounded as atmospheric as they do here, with the drum rolls and screaming guitar riffs. The fiery horns and piano blast that follow the song to its glorious end is quite possibly one of their fiercest moments and will surely incite no shortage of head-banging. It all adds up to another perfect track.
“Open Mind” is a more folk-country sounding song than anything else that’s preceded it on The Whole Love. It’s still distinctly Wilco, though. With a chorus of “I can only dream of the dreams we have- our hearts will be entwined; if you would let me be the one to open up your mind,” that slightly changes throughout, that much is abundantly clear. Nels Cline continues to impress beyond all reason with his guitar arrangements as well. That final riff is a thing of beauty.
“Capitol City” follows “Open Mind” and it deals with mundane things in the most human ways possible. It also manages to sound like a mix of the last track and The Beatles. There’s actually a fair amount of Beatles influence scattered throughout the album, which is (puzzlingly) surprising. It certainly makes sense but it’s never been this evident before and “Capitol City” is most certainly the most indebted by quite a stretch. For all of its barely-hidden influence, it’s still another ridiculously strong track from an increasingly masterful band.
Afterwards they go back to blowing your speakers out with piercing 60’s organs and blistering guitar rock courtesy of “Standing O.” It’s a full-blown rocker that shows little to no restraint and it better off for it. For a band that’s been showing nothing but restraint recently, this is another exhilarating entry courtesy of this album. The distorted guitar solos, the previously mentioned organs, the strong vocals- it all adds up to another album highlight. It’s short as well, only adding to the explosiveness of the song.
“Rising Red Lung” opens much in the same vein as “Black Moon.” Some beautifully arranged acoustic guitar underpinning Tweedy’s mournful vocals. A series of images and questions are presented as another slide guitar comes faintly in and props the song up to country-folk-campfire levels once again. But as soon as it starts, it’s over. Like a well-phrased question itself, it leaves you thinking about it and trying to make sense of it all; quite a nice little trick.
When “Rising Red Lung” dies away it leaves things wide open for the (almost) titular track “Whole Love.” “Whole Love” opens with some floating in-and-out random sound arrangement before breaking into another tempo that absolutely begs you to bob your head along with it. “I still love you to death- I won’t ever forget how.” Tweedy sings in a falsetto, and at this point it’s becoming difficult to figure out if Tweedy’s addressing his wife, a fictional lover, or his fans. Whoever he’s singing to or about, it makes for a fascinating listen and presents another high point in an album that consists of virtually nothing but.
“One Sunday Morning (for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend),” the albums final track, comes after “Whole Love” and again opens with acoustic guitar- this time backed with a nice little piano piece. Tweedy drags his words out and it only adds to the overall feel of the song, which is spiced up a small amount with a tasteful little xylophone adding a bright little melody. It’s another instance of Wilco finding the perfect song title. It really does complement the feel of any typical Sunday morning. It’s another exercise in restraint that winds up resulting in something wholly complete and wonderful. “In time you thought I would kill him- but oh, I didn’t know how.” Tweedy laments in one of the songs (and albums) most memorable couplets. Overall, “One Sunday Morning” is one of Tweedy’s finest lyrical efforts to date as an endlessly fascinating narrative of a character full of conflict and little resolution. There’s also an abundance of small bits of musical arrangements spread throughout the song that are nothing short of brilliant. “One Sunday Morning” may be the longest track on “The Whole Love” but that only speaks more to its endless replay-ability. It’s another absolute triumph from a band that’s already got a mantle full of them. It’s also the perfect ending to a near-perfect album with its beautiful little instrumental fade out that just seems to keep going along, effortlessly, holding you along for the ride.
All in all, The Whole Love is Wilco’s finest effort in some time. While the previous two albums did range from good-to-great they didn’t quite pack the punch that made albums like Summerteeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and even A Ghost is Born so memorable. The Whole Love finds them returning to some of their roots and blowing them wide open while expanding (quite well) on the formulas they’ve been experimenting with both in the past couple of years and for their entire career. This is as strong of an album as you’re likely to hear all year with virtually no weak cuts, an excellent sense of pace, and- above all else- extremely good (and memorable) songs. Pre-order it or purchase it when you can. Wilco’s got themselves another very solid contender for Album of the Year.
Discuss: What do you think of The Whole Love? Leave a comment with your thoughts and reviews.
Pre-Order: Wilco – The Whole Love
September 3rd, 2011 at 8:15 pm
This review is absolute bullshit. Impulsive. Opportunistic. Inaccurate. And you could have waited, honestly, seeing how this album is still a few weeks ahead of its release date, as of writing this, and is only available through a stream. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
September 3rd, 2011 at 8:22 pm
P.S. You are so obviously not a genuine Wilco fan. Bandwagoning is a disease.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Loving it. Had it on replay all day.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:01 pm
Easily their best since AGIB, maybe YHF. I think “Art of Almost” and “One Sunday Morning” are the two standouts. Overall, I’m very pleased.
September 3rd, 2011 at 11:01 pm
I enjoyed your review. I had the same thoughts in reference to the Beatles influence. Call it Abbey Road Re-invented. I am always amazed by Wilco’s creativity and ability to defy genre labeling. The Whole Love is a true synergy of songs. The album should be listened to in it’s entirety, or you will miss out on the imagery of your mind, heart, and soul.
September 3rd, 2011 at 11:28 pm
I’m at Standing O and I’m thinking this will probably get the best reviews since AGIB or even YHF. Surely over 80 on MetaCritic.
September 4th, 2011 at 1:34 am
“There’s actually a fair amount of Beatles influence scattered throughout the album, which is (puzzlingly) surprising. It certainly makes sense but it’s never been this evident before.”
Summerteeth no? The whole album channels the Beatles.
“[One Sunday Morning] It’s also the perfect ending to a near-perfect album.”
What I’m interested in is knowing what you think is not near perfect? The review praises every song; time to exercise your critical chops; what did you not long about the album?
September 4th, 2011 at 2:30 am
Gonna drive for 6 hours while listening this wonderful record. Their best since AGIB, probably. Solid sound!
September 4th, 2011 at 8:10 am
“One Sunday Morning” was brilliant! I’m glad it IS long. Can’t wait to get it in my car and blast it. Great review!
September 4th, 2011 at 10:06 am
This is the first album to earn its place next to Foxtrot. Ghost is Born almost did it. This one does. Your comment about I Might was dead on. The first time I heard it in the sequence and not alone I thought, “Wow this is the best this song has ever sounded.”
September 4th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
finishing my second listen-through currently, and each new song has me smiling with sheer delight. also, it’s SO great to finally hear glenn let loose on the drums! see them live. you must.
September 4th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Can’t wait to see how the cranky wilco fans will blast this album, just like they did the last two. they can’t stand that tweedy’s a dad and off – drugs. he’s just not cool anymore. I guess they’d like it better if he were more like billy jo armstrong, at age 39, getting kicked off a plane for wearing his pants too low. With the last two albums it’s, “Why don’t they sound like YHF?” Now it’s “Why are they trying to sound like YHF again?” This album is pure Wilco. Best sounding record since YHF. I love the songs on GIB, but the minimalist prod. quality makes me not want to listen to it, but rather listen to Via Chicago to hear the songs live. Tweedy is a more disciplined singer now than he was then, too.
September 4th, 2011 at 7:28 pm
I don’t love it. I reviewed the album, track-by-track on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/search/wilco%20fakebook
September 5th, 2011 at 9:31 am
Missed the streaming, but I’m catching up on Youtube right now. I’m loving this album. Last one was a bit of a disappointment for me, and I didn’t have very high expectatiotns for this one.
About the Beatles’ influences on the album, what about the ending of Born Alone? Doesn’t it remind you of I Am The Walrus? At least the chord progression seems to be the same (and it’s not a very common one). I think this is not a coincidence… I guess it’s some kind of tribute.
September 5th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Nice job, after only a few listens i can easily say it’s their best work since AGIB. Art of Almost and One Sunday Morning could end up being their best opener/closer ever, and that’s saying something. Didn’t think IATTBYH/Reservations could ever be touched.
September 5th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
Awesome to hear you and Justin met up in the real world, I made a post on it here doood http://www.musicandartblog.com/2011/09/ry-cooder-review-with-muzzle-of.html keep up the great work with keeping great American music alive.
September 5th, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Great review! I never expected to hear a song as amazing as “One Sunday Morning” at this point in Wilco’s career. It’s already become one of my all-time favorite tracks from them.
September 6th, 2011 at 8:02 pm
This album is truly stunning. Perfect songwriting. Beautiful arrangements. Styles, textures, tempos and instrumentation that bounce all over the place. I haven’t been this immediately struck by an album’s genius since I listened to Janelle Monae’s The ArchAndroid (I know, I know, totally different genre), and I haven’t liked a Wilco album this much since I first heard A Ghost Is Born.
And yes, Art of Almost is a predatory BEAST of a song.
Thank you, Wilco!
September 13th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
haven’t heard the album yet, but this review has made me excited about it! great review!!
September 13th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
I love and respect Jeff Tweedy…….I want more AM or Being There. I guess that makes me a cranky old Wilco fan……………plus they and we were much better off with Jay Bennet around
September 14th, 2011 at 11:09 am
While i contend that i am indeed a fanatic wilco fan, and i do love the album and believe that it’s jeff, john, nels, pat, glenn, and mikael’s strongest effort since AGIB, definitely better than (The Album), i think you kind of fucked the dog here in terms of having the opportunity to critically review a great record. You stipulate that for all the glowing layers of each track that TWL remains a “near perfect” effort, but i was hard pressed to find any phrase that even APPROACHED a critical position relating to any one of these fine tracks. I love the album (with the very real exception of Standing O), i think it’s great, i love the production, the almost tangible space that fills each song out and ties the tracks together into a cohesive work, but there’s now way that it’s perfect. I mean, come on man. You had the opportunity here to make a real statement concerning a pivotal album in the catalogue of what i truly believe to be the best American band living and thriving today. But instead, you went for the under-the-pants handshake. That being said, the album is great, and although it’s not a quintessential wilco album like Being There, Summerteeth, YHF, or AGIB, i think its revealed as the first real conscious effort on the part of both jeff and the band to explore and conquer new territory. the album is great, but by writing a fluff piece, you kind of fucked that up for everyone who hasn’t heard it yet.
September 16th, 2011 at 2:47 am
I missed the stream, but unsurprisingly, there’s already torrents of the album, so I couldn’t sit around a wait to get my grubby hands on a hard copy..
First several listening sessions, I was quite disappointed. I was hoping for some immediately striking Wilco super-songs like Deeper down, Side with the seeds, Muzzle of bees, etc.. Don’t get me wrong, they’re there, it just took a while to recognize them in the subtleness. Having been listening to it a significant amount for the past week, I’ve realized the brilliance of most of the album, and it turns out to be one of the few that I can almost listen to end to end.
Some of my favorite aspects of the album is that it contains songs that I believe are significant artistic advances over already greats like Poor places, and Solitaire. They’re more intricate, dynamic and filled with Nels’ soul-moving slide ambiance.
Ok, I don’t really care for every song. For instance, if I didn’t know any better, I would have said Almost was a collaboration between Jeff, Phil Collins, and an early 90′s Trent Reznor. Nothing wrong with it, I just don’t really feel it. The other song is Capitol City.. While I like to think I’m a big Beatles fan, I never really cared for the songs with big lumbering brass sections. There are a lot of great elements to the song, but alas, I can’t bring myself to listen to it much of the time.
One thing I’m quite surprised about, and quite contrary to previous albums, is that I actually enjoy the pop-permeated songs, so that’s good because there are a handful of them.
Overall, It’s a great progression in Wilco’s discography. The music is more mature a filled with nuance, I’m already looking forward to their following album. But for now, and hopefully evermore, The Whole Love will have it’s share of masterpieces that can be considered with other all-time greats.Thanks Wilco!
-Mark
September 19th, 2011 at 9:39 am
One play in and I really like it. I did not like A Ghost Is Born and love Sky Blue Sky, so this review is from another kind of Wilco fan.
It sounds like a bookend to Wilco [the album] in that is distills the Wilco sound over the entire record. No huge left turns, a little bit for every kind of fan, not as straight ahead pop as the last one, not as Kraut/strange as AGIB, not as classic rock as Sky Blue Sky, but some elements of all of them are here.
I will buy it the day it comes out (like I have for all of the Wilco releases)
September 19th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Was that guy writing the review the minister of propaganda or what? It sounded like Goebbels reviewing Triumph of the Will.
Anyway, Tweedy has become what he admittedly most loathed for most of his musical life: contemporary adult rock (the volkswagen ads were the beginning of the final slide to this genre). He can throw is a noisy “experimental” opening track but the truth can’t be hidden for long. You can like it or not like it but volkswagen rock it most certainly is.
For me that’s sad considering the staggering musical force he used to be from Uncle Tupelo through Golden Smog and the early to mid Wilco years. But of course I know you can’t rate music objectively, it is purely subjective opinion, etc etc., and I’m sure there will plenty of “fans” who will love listening to this new one while smugly driving to your corporate jobs in your new luxury sedans (sorry, couldn’t help it).
You can begin dismissing my comments…wait for it….now.
September 20th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
Three listens. IMO, another too-slick Wilco album. I’m totally bored with every record since YHF, except for a couple of AGIB tunes. It feels like artists were replaced by technicians. Maybe that’s the intended sound but it isn’t for me. I’m sticking with the ones that brung me — uncle Tupelo, AM, Being There, Summerteeth, YHF… Cut loose and have raise a little “Misunderstood” hell!
September 25th, 2011 at 3:27 am
I ordered the single from their site, and haven’t heard the album yet. Waiting until the release date. Love what you are saying and hoping i’ll think the same. I am one of the few out there that thinks Sky Blue
sky is their best album. The grown-up laid back feel of that album really got to me, and I was ready as they were to accept that album for what it was, and, along with the death of his parents, it was a no-brainer to feel that album track to track. I love all their albums, except their last one, so I’m hoping to rebound and give way to flow you say exists on the new one. Just a couple days away…
September 26th, 2011 at 8:21 pm
Here’s another take:
“One of America’s finest rock bands ages gracefully.”
http://ludditestereo.net/2011/09/25/the-whole-love-wilco-album-review/