Take a listen to Wilco's first album, "A.M.," and then compare it with their third, "Summerteeth." The differences between the two are very obvious. "A.M." is far closer to Wilco's roots with Uncle Tupelo, and "Summerteeth" is far more of a sunny pop-rock album than anything else they've done. There's nothing nearly as close to country as "Casino Queen" on "Summerteeth," and there's nothing that nearly as unabashedly fun as "Candy Floss" on "A.M." Yet it is all undeniably Wilco in spirit.
Perhaps Wilco can be defined by lead singer Jeff Tweedy's honey-soft voice and stirring lyrics, or perhaps by the continually fantastic incorporation of keyboards, or the always inventive play between the guitar and drums or their familiar alt-country feel. Whatever it really is that the listener associates with Wilco, it is almost consistently excellent, although the form of the music is constantly tweaked from album to album.
Thus, it is not surprising that Wilco's fifth and latest album, "A Ghost Is Born," could easily be called very different for Wilco. It has neither the emotionalism nor the instrumental eclecticism of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," and it doesn't have the bounce of "Summerteeth." In many ways it is perhaps closest to Wilco's second album, "Being There."
The album opens rather somberly, with the beginning of the first track, "At Least That's What You Said," being a quiet piano meditation with the familiar sound of Tweedy's whisperings. Two minutes in, though, the song dramatically shifts tone. The piano keys are forcefully pumped, and a guitar jumps in and takes away the melody from Tweedy. The guitar begins to sound scratchy, almost dramatically improvised; the piano registers more lightly at higher octaves; there's a huge snare roll. "A Ghost Is Born" has now really begun, and what a fantastic beginning it is.
The second track, "Hell Is Chrome, starts off like a jazz piano piece, but perhaps the most surprising part of the album is the third track, "Spiders (Kidsmoke)." Fans who have either been to a Wilco show or have heard live-bootlegs might know the song as "Private Beach," but more likely will not even recognize it until the lyrics kick in (and as it opens with the unforgettable "Spiders are singing in the salty breeze/Spiders are filling out their tax returns," it's pretty easy to recognize the lyrics). The incarnation of the song on "A Ghost Is Born," far differs from the way the song sounded originally. What used to be a somber little melody is now set to an upbeat cyclic bass and drum play and instrumental jams that set the song to a length of 10 minutes and 48 seconds. Often when songs that are familiar are toyed with, the second coming of the song never sounds as good as the original (this is true even with Jay Bennett's solo version of "My Darlin'" which, although originally his song, just somehow sounds wrong without Tweedy's vocals). Not so for "Spiders." The upbeat tempo works brilliantly, and it sounds fantastic.
Another song on the album that seasoned Wilco fans might recognize is "Handshake Drugs," which was previously released on the EP that was packaged with the Australian version of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." The instrumental part of the song is a little sparser than its original, but other than that, the song is primarily unchanged. It's light and breezy, and a solid song.
Another surprise, though, comes toward the end of the album. "Theologians" sees Wilco's first foray into a kind of soul music. The lyrics are strangely wonderful, starting with the lines, "Theologians/They don't know nothin'/About my soul." This is quite interesting and new for a Wilco album, but perhaps the standout album on the track is "Company In My Back." The lyrics are more perplexing than stories of arachnids obedient to the IRS, with a chorus running, "I move so slow, a steady crushing hand/ Holy sh*t there's a company in my back." But even if the words are slightly boggling, the song is sweet and melodic, and simply beautiful in an amusing sort of way.
As a whole, the album is solid. Its one falter comes at the end of "Less Than You Think," where a fair amount of time is filled with feedback sounds. Although it works well within the context of the song, it seems as if Wilco already charted and mastered this musical territory with the more experimental aspects of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." There is no reason to revisit this technique on "A Ghost Is Born." Conversely, though, there is also nothing as emotionally stirring on "Ghost" as "Poor Places" and "Pot Kettle Black" were on "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." But, while this may leave fans of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" unsatiated, "Ghost" still stands strong as its own entity.
And so it is that June 8 will see another strong entry in the Wilco history books. "Story of the Ghost" is far and away different from the sounds of "A.M." or "Summerteeth," but its consistently sweet, melodic rock makes for a refreshing and beautiful album. Wilco continue on their wave of consistent excellence and constant invention.
