|
Wilco
Summerteeth
(Reprise)
The Music Box's #1 album of 1999
First Appeared at The Music Box, September 1999, Volume 6, #9
Written by John Metzger
As a member of Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy may have helped to found the alt-country movement, but
with Wilco’s third album Summerteeth he leaves both his former collaborator Jay Farrar and
the genre far behind. The group's last effort Being There
contained hints that the band was going to move in a new direction, and this
undoubtedly was fueled further by the addition of Jay
Bennett. Even so, it’s doubtful that anyone expected the collective to move this far so quickly.
In essence, Summerteeth is a concept album that digs deep into the dark corners of Tweedy’s mind,
and the story revolves around the insecurities and temptations of life on the road. Heroin, bad tempers,
infidelity, and dreams of murder all taunt and torture the singer as he experiences the solitary
loneliness of his rock star life. "How to fight the loneliness/Smile all the time," he sings with an
air of claustrophobic boredom. The darkness is occasionally broken as the singer tries to step into the light, and he recognizes
that his thoughts and feelings are wrong. He knowingly admits that "a kiss is all we need" on
Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway(again), and he pleads "I still care, and I still love you," on
Pieholden Suite before adding "but you know I’ve been untrue."
There is a happy ending to the tale as the singer returns home and realizes his troubles lie in
the fact that he keeps everything bottled up inside himself. "I was trying to keep the door locked/I
realize that’s a mistake" he proclaims to his lover, and though he’s dreamt of killing her he
concedes, "It doesn’t seem to mean anything."
Musically, Wilco gives Summerteeth a more uplifting flavor that seems to try to
allow the material to escape
from the darkness of its lyrics. The band attempts to elude to the claustrophobic travails of the road
by allowing the songs to float through a whirlwind of guitars, percussion, and synthesizer.
Throughout Summerteeth, Wilco incorporates an enormous array of influences — a list that is
so long it’s impossible to enumerate here — and there’s a pervading spirit of estranged love
that seems plucked straight
from John Lennon’s Walls and Bridges. Yet, underneath the many musical layers, these are
still inherently Tweedy's compositions.
Wilco poured its heart and soul into the making of Summerteeth — an
instant classic that will only grow in stature as the years go by. Whether the band
ever can live up to the
expectations that it has now set with this release remains to be seen, but then
Wilco always has been full of surprises. Suffice it to say that Summerteeth is a brilliantly crafted
masterpiece that rightfully should find itself included on many lists of the year’s best albums. 
Summerteeth is available from Amazon.
To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
Click Here!
For UK orders, please
Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 1999
The Music Box
| 
