CD Review - Wilco "A Ghost is Born "

Wilco - A Ghost is Born

If you do not know the band Wilco, well that's fine; the people who do know Wilco are much happier than you and life is easier for them. Wilco fans have fewer chronic coughs and far less oily discharge than someone who eats a quick bag of those WOW chips with Olestra.

Wilco has had an interesting history, selling more albums each time there is a personnel change in the band (kind of joking). Jeff Tweedy is the primary songwriter and has been with the band since the beginning. He has been called the Bob Dylan of one of the recent generations; a man that he hardly knew also called him "sport" once.

The new CD, A Ghost is Born (I still want to call them albums) is good and growing on me. The usual top-notch writing is prevalent in most of the songs except for the excruciating 12 minute long instrumental ending of the song Less than You Think. I am not sure you can call it an instrumental, as it sounds more like feedback from the orifice of an extra from the set of any Sci-Fi film ever made. Now maybe I am getting old, or the "crazy kids" music of the day is over my head, but after about 2 minutes of the "drone" I got the point. Just ignore it if you are my age and remember when your parents complained about Elvis, or Prince, or Kid Rock (depending on your age).

Overall the CD is good with Hell is Chrome, Hummingbird, Handshake Drugs, Company in my Back, and Theologians making it worth your while to check out. If you like to hear things like real piano, an acoustic guitar, and the rocking power of a dozen David Cassidy's, this is a CD for you {NOTE: One David Cassidy does not rock the teeth out of a gentrified mall-walker, but 12 would create a great wall of rock with pop flavored melodies}.

Other Wilco CDs to check out in order of my favorites:

WILCO "SUMMERTEETH" 1998
BILLY BRAGG & WILCO "MERMAID AVENUE" 1998
WILCO "YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT" 2002
WILCO "A.M." 1995
BILLY BRAGG & WILCO "MERMAID AVENUE VOL 2" 2000
WILCO "BEING THERE" 1996