Published on Jul 7, 2005
Spin’s latest revision list of “The 100 Best Albums of All Time”
has Radiohead’s
OK Computer sitting comfortably at the top. Wilco’s
ambitious
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is included as well. Both albums were
able to take electronic blips and buzzes and make them sound warm
and more human than anything released that year. Both of these
albums were career peaks (so far) for the bands that issued them.
And both artists released an album beforehand that arguably was a
better “front to back” listen, yet their follow-up was so ambitious
that it inevitably was known as a better “album.” In short, in rock
star algebra terms…
The Bends is to
OK Computer as
Summerteeth is to
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
Musically and songwriting-wise,
Summerteeth is complex. An album reviewer could do a lengthy
review on just the song “A Shot In The Arm.” Jeff Tweedy’s
songwriting is the perfect example of using details to tell a story
without obsessing over the details: “the ashtray says you were up
all night,” “your pillow wept and covered your eyes” and “you
finally slept while the sun caught fire” are great examples. And
that’s only the first stanza. Tweedy keeps repeating the chorus in
a weary monotone until he raises his voice and urgency the fifth
time he yells “Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm.” When he says
“something in my veins / bloodier than blood” — it could be about
drugs or more abstractly, depression. While all that drama is going
on, Jay Bennett provides a beautiful piano riff and Ken Coomer
keeps the percussion simple and solid, making it an instantly
memorable highlight to
Summerteeth.
Summerteeth would be the last full-length album Jay Bennett
would record with Wilco. Bennett’s departure solidified Wilco as
Jeff Tweedy’s band, but Bennett provided a manic energy for
Summerteeth. The loss of a guitarist hurts most any band,
but Bennett’s departure was especially painful to Wilco. Just take
a look at the instruments Bennett played on
Summerteeth: piano, keyboards, bell, lap steel, synthesizer,
bass and banjo.
As the title suggests,
Summerteeth is a definitive summer album. Tweedy’s lyrics
remain twisted, but there’s a giddy restlessness to tracks like
“I’m Always In Love” and “Can’t Stand It.” Don’t worry though –
fans of Tweedy’s darker topics will find plenty to wade through.
You can pretty much sum up Tweedy’s take on significant others with
lines like “I dreamed about killing you again last night / And it
felt alright to me,” “My feelings hid / She begs me not to hit her”
and the ‘I guess it’s a compliment’ line “He feels lucky to have
you here / In his kitchen, in your chair / Sometimes he forgets
that you’re even there.”
John Stirrant’s easy bass line and Bennett’s light touches on
lap steel guitar give the title track a breezy feel. Just listening
to the music alone would put you in the mood to go to the beach.
Then Tweedy throws a left punch in with lines like “One summer a
suicide … He hits snooze twice before he dies.” With such
depressing lyrics, Tweedy’s vocals don’t fall into the deep,
wallowing turmoil of a Trent Reznor or Tom Waits. Instead, he keeps
his voice light and warbly, perfectly matching the band’s
laid-back, but musically accomplished vibe.
Summerteeth was Wilco’s last straightforward album, sort
of…
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and
A Ghost Is Born definitely upped the experimentation.
Yankee made Wilco indie superstars, but
Summerteeth is Wilco at their open-hearted best. Six years
after its release,
Summerteeth still is as fresh as a farmer’s market.