Product Description

'A Ghost Is Born' is the fifth album from Jeff Tweedy's alt-country outfit Wilco. With the departure of Jay Bennett, the album continues in the experimental vein of 2002's 'YankeeHotel Foxtrot', stripping away synths and sound effects andopting for a more simplistic feel.

Track Listing

1. At Least That's What You Said
2. Hell Is Chrome
3. Spiders (Kidsmoke)
4. Muzzle Of Bees
5. Hummingbird
6. Handshake Drugs
7. Wishful Thinking
8. Company In My Back
9. I'm A Wheel
10. Theologians
11. Less Than You Think
12. Late Greats

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #59631 in Music
• Released on: 2004-06-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced

Amazon.co.uk Review
On A Ghost Is Born, Wilco singer, songwriter and supreme commander Jeff Tweedy leads his former alt.country colleagues on another journey towards the leftfield, with Sonic Youth's Jim O'Rourke once again handling co-production duties. But in many ways, it represents a slight backstep from the direction hinted at on its acclaimed successor Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. This is by no means a bad thing. Like Lambchop's best work, it's an album that's full of clever experimentalism and understated studio trickery, yet one where Wilco's very human and very organic core is highlighted, most likely because of Tweedy's dusty past with alt.country mavericks Uncle Tupelo. To Wilco's credit, the songs on A Ghost Is Born never suffer from over-production or wilful contrivance. Even on a 10-minute epic such as "Spiders", they manage to keep the listener's interest with a simple, driving rhythm and gradual layers of guitars, before the song bursts forth in the fourth minute. It's an extended jam, sure, but it's never dull--a remarkable feat in itself. In fact, A Ghost Is Born harks back to Wilco's altogether excellent second album, Being There, an innovative and original take on country rock and pop. That alone puts it up with the best of their work. --Robert Burrow

Customer Reviews

krautrock americana
This album shows how well Wilco mix melody and tunefulness witha more experimental side. 'At least that's what you said' has got to be one of the best opening tracks of all time, with its slow, gentle piano and vocals that suddenly break into that neil young-crazy horse distortion that they do so well. i remember when i first heard this and when the guitar came in it sent shivers down my spine. Tweedy and Co. show how much German bands like Neu! have influenced them with the driving motorik of 'Spiders (Kidsmoke)'and 'I'm a Wheel'. 'Hummingbird' is dreamy and ethereal, with 'Theologians' and 'Wishful Thinking' alongside it which are perfectly bittersweet songs. This is a fantastic album and I would seriously recommend any '70's Neil Young or Neu! if you like what is here. Buy it now if you don't already have it.

A real 'Grower'
The follow up to `Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' was always going to have a hard time of it and, unsurprisingly, this record has come in for a lot of stick for not being YHF. Sure, it is a definite step down - but a very small one.

On its own term this is a stunning album. Much heavier than YHF and featuring a lot more guitar (a LOT) but still brimming with melodies and great songs.

Like other Wilco albums it can sound a little `odd' on first listen but coming back to it now a few years down the line it is surprising how well it stands up and how straight up it sounds.

Certainly not their best album but one well worth getting (and you can always skip the second half of `Less than you think' when you are not in the mood for a 10 minute drone) - 4 ½ stars!

A Truly Rewarding Listen
Opening with a drowsy piano ballad is always a risk. Drenching said ballad with an atonal sour-mood of guitar noise is even more of a risk. And essentially that's what Wilco have done with this record. Moving slightly away from the quirky al-country-pop on previous releases Ghost seems less fun, but better for it. The dissonant spastic guitar on opener At Least That's What You Said, and the brooding caffeine-headache feel of Spiders (Kidsmoke) force an uncomfortable listen at times. It's only halfway through the prolonged white-noise-echo of Less Than You Think that you realise what you're hearing is one of Tweedy's migraines. Tucked amongst these discordant jagged edges are some of the beautifully rounded pop songs that we've become accustomed to on Wilco records. Muzzle Of Bees rivals How To Fight Loneliness as Wilco's finest song to date. Theologians and Hummingbird are pop hum-a-longs every bit as good as anything on YHF or Summeteeth. At first I thought it was an odd choice to put a simple pop song such as The Late Greats at the very end of the record. The nagging distant hum of Less Than You Think permeates the song entirely leaving behind an aftertaste that isn't really there. But again it evokes the underlying migraine buzzing beneath everything that Tweedy hears in his own head. It's this diversity that makes A Ghost Is Born Wilco's and 2004's most interesting record.