A Ghost Is Born
Encyclopedia
A Ghost Is Born is the fifth studio album
by Chicago
-based alternative rock
band Wilco
. Released on June 22, 2004, it features singer Jeff Tweedy
on lead guitar more than any previous Wilco album. The band streamed the album online for free, and offered a five song EP
to purchasers.
Tweedy entered a rehab clinic shortly before the release of the album, delaying its release by two weeks. It also shortened its promotional tour. Despite this, A Ghost Is Borns opening week was the best sales week for the band at the time and the album was met with good reviews from major publications such as Rolling Stone
and PopMatters
. The album earned Wilco a Grammy Award
for Best Alternative Music Album.
signed a contract with Nonesuch Records
in November 2001 after a lengthy dispute with Reprise Records
over the release of the band's fourth album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
. Foxtrot was welcomed with positive reviews from The Village Voice
—where the album was rated by the critics as the best album of 2002—and Rolling Stone
. It sold over 590,000 copies, earning a Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America
.
, who mixed Foxtrot and was a member of Wilco side project Loose Fur
. O'Rourke encouraged lead singer Jeff Tweedy
to develop his guitar
skills for the album—Tweedy recently became the lead guitarist for the band due to the dismissal of Jay Bennett
after the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot recording sessions. Tweedy sought to play solos on the album that were unlike those of jam bands such as Phish
and The Grateful Dead. Instead, he performed composed solos influenced by Television
such as the one during the coda
of "At Least That's What You Said". Tweedy refers to the guitar solo at the end of the track as a "musical transcription" of one of his panic attacks. A Ghost Is Born was recorded in a manner different from Foxtrot or 1999's Summerteeth
; whereas those recordings were performed live in the studio and then overdubbed, A Ghost Is Born was first performed on Pro Tools
and only played live once completed. Tweedy was excited about writing an album this way:
An unusual feature of A Ghost Is Born is the fifteen-minute long track "Less Than You Think". For the song, each band member created a synthesizer noise that mimicked an electronic sound. The installations were simultaneously activated in the room and recorded. The noise, which served as the coda to the song, was remixed to provide dynamics
to the track. Calling it "the track that everyone will hate," Tweedy defended the song's inclusion on the album:
A Ghost Is Born was the first Wilco album with pianist Mikael Jorgensen
; he had previously worked as an engineer with the band on their collaboration
with The Minus 5
. Jeff Tweedy provided lead vocals and acted as lead guitarist for the only time since the band formed. John Stirratt, the only original member aside from Tweedy, played bass
and guitar. Glenn Kotche
and Jim O'Rourke, Tweedy's associates from Loose Fur, acted as drummer and multi-instrumentalist, respectively. Leroy Bach
played a variety of keyboards as well as bass guitar. All members of the band contributed with a synthesizer part on "Less Than You Think".
Leroy Bach
left the band after the recording sessions to join a theater production, so Wilco added jazz rock guitarist Nels Cline
and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone
to replace him. Sansone had been playing with The Autumn Defense
, a side project led by bassist John Stirratt
. However, the tour to support the album had to be abridged. In May 2004, Tweedy checked himself into a rehabilitation
clinic in Chicago
, Illinois
due to chronic migraine
headaches, anxiety attacks, and clinical depression
. In the process of treating the ailments, Tweedy had acquired an addiction
to prescription painkillers. His rehab led to the cancellation of the European stage of the tour and a delay in the album's release date. Intended for release on June 8, 2004, the album was officially released on June 22, 2004.
The band also webcast the album in its entirety on the Internet
in a promotion with Apple Computer
. Nonesuch was willing to allow the MPEG-4
broadcast due to the success of a similar broadcast in the promotion of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Additionally, Wilco offered a free EP
to purchasers of the album. The EP featured two outtakes from the album—"Panthers" and "Kicking Television"—and live versions of "At Least That's What You Said", "The Late Greats", and "Handshake Drugs". The EP was later packaged with the album and sold as a "deluxe version".
chart and sold over 81,000 copies—the highest U.S. chart peak and best sales week ever attained by the band at that time. As of April 13, 2007 the album has sold over 340,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan
. The album was an international hit as well, peaking at number twenty-four in Norway
, number twenty-nine in Sweden
, number thirty-three in New Zealand, number thirty-four in Belgium
, and number thirty-seven in Ireland.
Like Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born was well received by critics. Jon Pareles of Rolling Stone
called the album "as eerie as anything Wilco have recorded yet" and applauded "Tweedy offers illuminating curiosity about what can happen in a song." Stylus Magazine
gave it an "A" grade, named it "album of the week", and claimed it was "even more brilliant" than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Michael Metevier of PopMatters
also supported the notion that Ghost was better than Foxtrot, calling every note "purposeful" and said that the album made him "surprised and delighted enough to last several lifetimes." In 2005, A Ghost Is Born won two Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package. Although the band was nominated for Grammys for work on previous albums, this was the first time that they won one.
Not all publications shared these views about the album. Pitchfork Media
, who had given Yankee Hotel Foxtrot a perfect 10 rating, only gave Ghost a 6.6, calling it "wildly uneven" and "less cohesive than any other Wilco release." Robert Christgau
, one of the few detractors of Foxtrot, called the album a "privileged self-indulgence" due to its extreme musical dynamics.
except where noted.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
. Released on June 22, 2004, it features singer Jeff Tweedy
Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
on lead guitar more than any previous Wilco album. The band streamed the album online for free, and offered a five song EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
to purchasers.
Tweedy entered a rehab clinic shortly before the release of the album, delaying its release by two weeks. It also shortened its promotional tour. Despite this, A Ghost Is Borns opening week was the best sales week for the band at the time and the album was met with good reviews from major publications such as Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
. The album earned Wilco a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Alternative Music Album.
Production
WilcoWilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
signed a contract with Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
in November 2001 after a lengthy dispute with Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
over the release of the band's fourth album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the fourth album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. The album was completed in 2001, but Reprise Records, a Warner Music Group label, refused to release it. Wilco acquired the rights to the album when they left the label. In September 2001, Wilco streamed the entire album...
. Foxtrot was welcomed with positive reviews from The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
—where the album was rated by the critics as the best album of 2002—and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. It sold over 590,000 copies, earning a Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
.
Composition
Recording for a new album began in November 2003 under the working title Wilco Happens. The album was produced by Jim O'RourkeJim O'Rourke (musician)
Jim O'Rourke is an Irish-American musician and record producer. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene...
, who mixed Foxtrot and was a member of Wilco side project Loose Fur
Loose Fur
Loose Fur is an American rock band comprising Wilco members Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche, and Wilco collaborator Jim O'Rourke. The trio first convened in May 2000 in preparation for a Tweedy performance at a festival in Chicago. Tweedy was offered the opportunity to collaborate with an artist of...
. O'Rourke encouraged lead singer Jeff Tweedy
Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
to develop his guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
skills for the album—Tweedy recently became the lead guitarist for the band due to the dismissal of Jay Bennett
Jay Bennett
Jay Walter Bennett was an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Wilco.-Early life and work with Wilco:...
after the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot recording sessions. Tweedy sought to play solos on the album that were unlike those of jam bands such as Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
and The Grateful Dead. Instead, he performed composed solos influenced by Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
such as the one during the coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
of "At Least That's What You Said". Tweedy refers to the guitar solo at the end of the track as a "musical transcription" of one of his panic attacks. A Ghost Is Born was recorded in a manner different from Foxtrot or 1999's Summerteeth
Summerteeth
Summerteeth is the third studio album by Chicago alternative rock band Wilco. Released through Reprise Records on March 9, 1999, the album was heavily influenced lyrically by twentieth century literature, as well as singer Jeff Tweedy's marital problems. Unlike previous albums, Summerteeth was...
; whereas those recordings were performed live in the studio and then overdubbed, A Ghost Is Born was first performed on Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
and only played live once completed. Tweedy was excited about writing an album this way:
An unusual feature of A Ghost Is Born is the fifteen-minute long track "Less Than You Think". For the song, each band member created a synthesizer noise that mimicked an electronic sound. The installations were simultaneously activated in the room and recorded. The noise, which served as the coda to the song, was remixed to provide dynamics
Dynamics (music)
In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...
to the track. Calling it "the track that everyone will hate," Tweedy defended the song's inclusion on the album:
A Ghost Is Born was the first Wilco album with pianist Mikael Jorgensen
Mikael Jorgensen
Mikael Jorgensen is lead pianist and keyboardist for the band Wilco as well as a member of the band Pronto. He first appeared on Wilco's 2004 release, A Ghost Is Born. On that album, he received songwriting credit for "Hell is Chrome" and "Theologians"...
; he had previously worked as an engineer with the band on their collaboration
Down With Wilco
Down with Wilco is the fifth album by American rock band The Minus 5. Released on Yep Roc in 2003, it features Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies as well as contributions from Wilco, where the album derives its name.-Track listing:...
with The Minus 5
The Minus 5
The Minus 5 is an American rock band, headed by musician Scott McCaughey and featuring R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.-Band history:Formed in 1993, McCaughey designed the Minus 5 as a pop collective, with each record the group put out featuring a new lineup...
. Jeff Tweedy provided lead vocals and acted as lead guitarist for the only time since the band formed. John Stirratt, the only original member aside from Tweedy, played bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and guitar. Glenn Kotche
Glenn Kotche
Glenn Kotche is an American drummer and composer, best known for his involvement in the band Wilco. He was named the 41st greatest drummer of all time by Gigwise in 2008.Prior to working with Wilco, Kotche released a four-track album...
and Jim O'Rourke, Tweedy's associates from Loose Fur, acted as drummer and multi-instrumentalist, respectively. Leroy Bach
Leroy Bach
LeRoy Bach is an American musician, composer, and music producer. Bach is perhaps best known for his work as a multi-instrumentalist in the band Wilco from 1997 through 2004. He has also worked as a touring and/or studio musician for such notable acts as Liz Phair, Beth Orton, Iron & Wine, Andrew...
played a variety of keyboards as well as bass guitar. All members of the band contributed with a synthesizer part on "Less Than You Think".
Marketing and promotion
Wilco began touring in support of Ghost even before the album had been released. Multi-instrumentalistMulti-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
Leroy Bach
Leroy Bach
LeRoy Bach is an American musician, composer, and music producer. Bach is perhaps best known for his work as a multi-instrumentalist in the band Wilco from 1997 through 2004. He has also worked as a touring and/or studio musician for such notable acts as Liz Phair, Beth Orton, Iron & Wine, Andrew...
left the band after the recording sessions to join a theater production, so Wilco added jazz rock guitarist Nels Cline
Nels Cline
Nels Cline is an American guitarist and composer, currently the lead guitarist of alternative rock band Wilco. David Carr of the New York Times describes Cline as "one of the best guitarists in any genre."-Career:...
and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone
Pat Sansone
Pat Sansone is a multi-instrumentalist in the rock bands Wilco and The Autumn Defense.Sansone was born in Meridian, Mississippi...
to replace him. Sansone had been playing with The Autumn Defense
The Autumn Defense
The Autumn Defense is an indie band composed of multi-instrumentalists John Stirratt and Pat Sansone.-History:The Autumn Defense began as a side project for John Stirratt, best known for his work as bassist for alt-country bands Wilco and Uncle Tupelo...
, a side project led by bassist John Stirratt
John Stirratt
John Stirratt is the bassist and multi-instrumentalist for Wilco, and The Autumn Defense.Stirratt was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 26, 1967 and grew up in nearby Mandeville. He attended Mandeville High School and the University of Mississippi...
. However, the tour to support the album had to be abridged. In May 2004, Tweedy checked himself into a rehabilitation
Physical medicine and rehabilitation
Physical medicine and rehabilitation , physiatry or rehabilitation medicine, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to those with physical impairments or disabilities. A physician having completed training in this field is referred to as a...
clinic in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
due to chronic migraine
Migraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
headaches, anxiety attacks, and clinical depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
. In the process of treating the ailments, Tweedy had acquired an addiction
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
to prescription painkillers. His rehab led to the cancellation of the European stage of the tour and a delay in the album's release date. Intended for release on June 8, 2004, the album was officially released on June 22, 2004.
The band also webcast the album in its entirety on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
in a promotion with Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
. Nonesuch was willing to allow the MPEG-4
MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a method of defining compression of audio and visual digital data. It was introduced in late 1998 and designated a standard for a group of audio and video coding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group under the formal standard ISO/IEC...
broadcast due to the success of a similar broadcast in the promotion of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Additionally, Wilco offered a free EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
to purchasers of the album. The EP featured two outtakes from the album—"Panthers" and "Kicking Television"—and live versions of "At Least That's What You Said", "The Late Greats", and "Handshake Drugs". The EP was later packaged with the album and sold as a "deluxe version".
Reception
In its debut week, A Ghost Is Born peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart and sold over 81,000 copies—the highest U.S. chart peak and best sales week ever attained by the band at that time. As of April 13, 2007 the album has sold over 340,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
. The album was an international hit as well, peaking at number twenty-four in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, number twenty-nine in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, number thirty-three in New Zealand, number thirty-four in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and number thirty-seven in Ireland.
Like Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born was well received by critics. Jon Pareles of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
called the album "as eerie as anything Wilco have recorded yet" and applauded "Tweedy offers illuminating curiosity about what can happen in a song." Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
gave it an "A" grade, named it "album of the week", and claimed it was "even more brilliant" than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Michael Metevier of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
also supported the notion that Ghost was better than Foxtrot, calling every note "purposeful" and said that the album made him "surprised and delighted enough to last several lifetimes." In 2005, A Ghost Is Born won two Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package. Although the band was nominated for Grammys for work on previous albums, this was the first time that they won one.
Not all publications shared these views about the album. Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, who had given Yankee Hotel Foxtrot a perfect 10 rating, only gave Ghost a 6.6, calling it "wildly uneven" and "less cohesive than any other Wilco release." Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
, one of the few detractors of Foxtrot, called the album a "privileged self-indulgence" due to its extreme musical dynamics.
Track listing
All songs written by Jeff TweedyJeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
except where noted.
- "At Least That's What You Said" – 5:33
- "Hell Is Chrome" (Tweedy, Jorgensen) – 4:38
- "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" – 10:46
- "Muzzle of Bees" – 4:56
- "Hummingbird" – 3:11
- "Handshake Drugs" – 6:07
- "Wishful Thinking" (Tweedy, Kotche) – 4:41
- "Company in My Back" – 3:46
- "I'm a Wheel" – 2:37
- "Theologians" (Tweedy, Jorgensen, Girard) – 3:36
- "Less Than You Think" (Tweedy, Stirratt, Kotche, Jorgensen, Bach, O'Rourke) – 15:04
- "The Late Greats" – 2:31
Personnel
- Jeff TweedyJeff TweedyJeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
– vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, acoustic bass guitarAcoustic bass guitarThe acoustic bass guitar is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually somewhat larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar... - John StirrattJohn StirrattJohn Stirratt is the bassist and multi-instrumentalist for Wilco, and The Autumn Defense.Stirratt was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 26, 1967 and grew up in nearby Mandeville. He attended Mandeville High School and the University of Mississippi...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, synthesizer, guitar, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, backing vocals - Glenn KotcheGlenn KotcheGlenn Kotche is an American drummer and composer, best known for his involvement in the band Wilco. He was named the 41st greatest drummer of all time by Gigwise in 2008.Prior to working with Wilco, Kotche released a four-track album...
– drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, hammer dulcimer, synthesizer - Leroy BachLeroy BachLeRoy Bach is an American musician, composer, and music producer. Bach is perhaps best known for his work as a multi-instrumentalist in the band Wilco from 1997 through 2004. He has also worked as a touring and/or studio musician for such notable acts as Liz Phair, Beth Orton, Iron & Wine, Andrew...
– organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, guitar, piano, bass guitar, synthesizer - Mikael JorgensenMikael JorgensenMikael Jorgensen is lead pianist and keyboardist for the band Wilco as well as a member of the band Pronto. He first appeared on Wilco's 2004 release, A Ghost Is Born. On that album, he received songwriting credit for "Hell is Chrome" and "Theologians"...
– piano, FarfisaFarfisaFarfisa is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy.The Farfisa brand name is commonly associated with a series of compact electronic organs, and later, a series of multi-timbral synthesizers. At the height of its production, Farfisa operated three factories to produce instruments, in...
, stylophone, rocksichordRocksichordThe Rock-Si-Chord is an electronic keyboard invented in 1967 to approximate the sound of the harpsichord...
, synthesizer, engineer - Jim O'RourkeJim O'Rourke (musician)Jim O'Rourke is an Irish-American musician and record producer. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene...
– organ, guitar, piano, synthesizer, ARP 2600ARP 2600The ARP 2600 is a semi-modular analog subtractive audio synthesizer, designed by Alan R. Pearlman , and manufactured by his company, ARP Instruments, Inc...
, engineer, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Frankie Montuoro – hammer dulcimer, production assistant, technical assistance
- Karen Waltuch – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Tim Barnes – percussion
- Steve Rooke – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Chris Shaw – engineer
- TJ Doherty, Tim Iseler – assistant engineers
- Stan Doty, Daniel Herbst, Deborah Miles Johnson, Haydn Johnston, Matt Zivich – production assistants, technical assistance
- Dan Nadel – graphic designGraphic designGraphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
- Peter Smith – graphic design, photography
- Mike Schmelling – photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
- Gladys NilssonGladys NilssonGladys M. Nilsson is an American artist, one of the original Chicago Imagists, a group in the 1960s and 1970s who turned to representational art...
– drawingDrawingDrawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who... - Ken Waagner – digital supervisor