A Ghost Is Born
by Wilco

"A Ghost is Born" is an album that gives as little as it can to new listeners. The contrast dynamics, the slow building guitar hums and distorted fuzz, the muted vocals all serve to alienate any casual listener right off the bat in a way that could leave a bad taste in your mouth. This experience could lead any listener to fore-go the album altogether for easier Wilco albums like "Summerteeth", "The Whole Love", or "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." However, this record has been the most rewarding listening experience of my life. The album is written ambiguously to replicate the different shades of grey that exist inside of the human experience instead of hammering itself out in black and white. If you allow them, the songs on "A Ghost is Born" will grow and expand with each repeated listen.

From paladisiac TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/10/2011 04:40 | #32576 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

"a ghost is born" flourishes in spreading out its pop/rock sound, experimenting in rock aesthetics. They start out quiet and plaintive on "at least that's what you said". The lyrics are short and bare ("When I sat down on the bed next to you / You started to cry / I said, maybe if I leave, you'll want me / To come back home ") and when Tweedy's case is made to his ex/lover, the band performs the relationship's denouement for the next 3+ minutes, uneasy and tense and at times calamitous. (Check out that guitar & drum-work!) From there, the piano based "hell is chrome" softly sings the song's premise "When the devil came / He was not red / He was chrome, and he said / Come with me ". It's another plaintive number, almost happy in his descent, closing "come with me" with repeated longing. "spiders (kidsmoke)" is one of two songs (over 10 min each) on the album with extended guitar play, "less than you think" (the other) comes with about 12 minutes of slowly-building guitar *feedback*. Inherently, along with the lack of any major hooky songs like previous albums, that makes for more of a "grower" of an album, one which requires a little patience, which could be a turn off for a lot of people. But i think there are a lot of payoffs if you wait for them. Leroy Bach's guitar work is quite minutely-technical and arty often in the same song, like on "spiders". In a way, "a ghost is born" is wilco's "kid a" -- there's an anxiety of a new age that permeates across the album. In "spiders" it's the trailing guitar licks (see -5:35) and lyrics like "Why can't they just say what they mean / Come clean, listen and talk / Hello private callers, IDs blocked ". The love story in "muzzle of bees" reaches a point where Tweedy's "assuming you got my message / On your machine / I'm assuming you love me / And you know what that means " romantically recalling sharing sunny days and warm breezes. "hummingbird", one of the better tracks on the album, claims "His goal in life was to be an echo / The type of sound that floats around and then back down / Like a feather " only wanting to be remembered. "handshake drugs" ("i was chewing gum for something to do" and its own fuzzed-out ending), rollicking "i'm a wheel" ("1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 / Once in Germany someone said, 'Nein' " ha ha), "theologians" ("Inlitterati lumen fidei / God is with us everyday / That illiterate light / Is with us every night") and (the possibly self-referential?) "the late greats" ("The greatest singer in rock and roll / Would have to be Romeo / His vocal chords are made of gold / He just looks a little too old "), are the other highlights. i love the delivery of the chorus of "company in my back" and its "Holy shit there's a company in my back ". Assuming i can always "skip" to the next song once the feedback of "less than you think" kicks in, this is a very good album.

A Ghost is Born followed the highly successful Yankee Hotel Foxtrot lauded by critics and fans alike.

A Ghost is Born is the toughest Wilco album to get into and it lost some respect because Tweedy admitted to be battling pill addiction during this time period.

Too bad because this is their best album if you give it the time it needs.

At Least That's What You Said is my favorite Wilco track and the ending guitar solo freak out is the first time a Wilco song moved me emotionally. All other Wilco I get on a brain level their talent. This song floored me and was louder than anything on yankee hotel foxtrot.

Spiders is crazy long but also wowed me at how different it was from previous Wilco.

Hell is Chrome, Company at my Back, Muzzle of Bees, Hummingbird, I'm a Wheel, Theologians are all stand out tracks.

Wilco has made easier albums to get into like poppy Summerteeth and muted YHF. Sky Blue Sky to follow sounds like adult contemporary rock compared to this.

A Ghost is Born is Wilco at their most experimental, downtrodden, melodic, and complicated. It's excellent and underrated

From buzzdainer TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/23/2017 21:44 | #191300 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I doubt Wilco is capable of making a truly bad record. They're just too talented, too full of ideas, too grounded personally and artistically to make an album that slides into pure self-indulgence or laziness. This one did get a mixed reaction from critics, some of whom loved its experimentalism and artistic reach, while others thought Jeff Tweedy had gone a little overboard with the guitar solos. I lean toward the former, although I'll admit that my favorite moments here are the ones that feel least adventurous and that play to the band's strengths: strong musicianship and excellent songcraft. I especially love the honesty and earnestness of the nature-themed "Hummingbird": "So he slept on a mountain / In a sleeping bag underneath the stars / He would lie awake and count them / And the gray fountain spray of the great Milky Way / Would never let him / Die alone." How true that is, Mr. Tweedy.

From babyBlueSedan TOP 100 COMMENTER 03/08/2014 23:03 | #105740 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I'm surprised that the feedback on Less Than You Think is getting such a backlash on a site that likes ambient music so much. The feedback is very pleasant to listen to and provides a nice end to the album, with Late Greats feeling like a hidden track at the end. If more tracks used feedback or it was placed elsewhere on the album I would call it self-indulgent, but I like it just fine the way it is.

Great album otherwise too. Not sure I like the loud guitar on a couple of tracks (I'm looking at you, I'm a Wheel) but it works out well on the opener and when it's more subtle.