Being There
by Wilco

From buzzdainer TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/01/2016 15:43 | #173979 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

During the mid-nineties, Wilco inevitably seemed to be in a kind of competition with Son Volt, the band of Jeff Tweedy's former Uncle Tupelo collaborator Jay Farrar. The acrimonious relationship between the two was well documented, and the two bands always seemed to release new albums within a few months of each other, so the comparisons became inevitable. Being There was the album where Wilco established its dominance in the imaginary competition (whereas Son Volt released the relatively lackluster Straightaways that same year), and the band hasn't let up since. This is a terrific rock album with traces of the experimentation that was to come. The wordplay in "Red-Eyed and Blue" shows Tweedy in a creative mood, one that was to become ever more expansive and brilliant as his career has gone along. (Edited)

From Romanelli TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/21/2011 16:16 | #22056 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Pretty brave of Wilco to release a double album that marked a change in musical style AND goes where Jackson Browne's Running On Empty had dared to tread. And they did a pretty good job of it.

An, exile on main st., for the nineties. It's categorised as alt.country but in truth it's just good old rock'n'roll. Opener, misunderstood,, gets things off on a strong note, and from there on it's a great fun rock record, from the acoustic, far far away, to the ballsy, outta site. The LP is full of atmosphere and grit. One of the outstanding albums of the nineties.

From koner1 TOP 100 COMMENTER 04/15/2015 20:50 | #139587 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

This is a stellar album that holds up extremely well for its near 80 minute runtime. I can't picture myself ever skipping anything on the first disc except maybe Hotel Arizona, and the first half is better than the second by just a hair. It's the first of a trio of brilliant records.

From junodog4 TOP 100 COMMENTER 04/20/2012 23:41 | #40582 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

This is Wilco at their most accessible. The brilliance they displayed on this album in creating meaningful, earnest, alt-country-rock classics enabled them to become more experimental on later albums. You can't argue with the track selection here. Nary a note out of place.