A Ghost Is Born
by Wilco

Hypnotic rhythms that just draw you in. However, points are lost due to the 15 minute track 'Less Than You Think'. It's nothing but noise which conjures up images of pretentious wankers thinking they're neat avant-garde with their music. I don't hit the skip button much but this will be constantly by-passed. It spoiled a fine album. Such a shame

Was never going to be as good as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but it still contains some good songs. At Least That's What You Said and The Late Greats are my highlights. There is a bonus track on another version of the album called Panthers which is awesome too, shame it didn't make it on to the album. 15 minutes of Less Than You Think just kills it as an album for me though - makes the album way too long.

From Brad1770 11/22/2021 12:50 | #276547

My favourite Wilco albums will always be ‘Y.H.F’ and ‘Summerteeth’ but this one sits comfortably in third place. My favourite track is “Less Than You Think”, I simply can’t explain how 11 minutes of white noise sounds incredible to my ears as Tweedy mimics a migraine in auditory fashion such as he was experiencing at the time

Missed opportunity though, “Less Than You Think” should have been the album closer. How amazing would it have been to end on that white noise migraine section? I get why they went with “The Late Greats” but still . . . .

More ambitious than usual, maybe doesn't have the consistency to back it up, but it's always good to hear a guitar based album - something that wasn't very common at that period of time.

From spigelwii 04/27/2020 21:11 | #250597

The other perfect Wilco record, and a fantastic follow-up to the magnificent Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. In some ways, the songs are even better, but the production isn't quite as strong and many of the songs received a more enjoyable treatment on the live album.

By removing 'I'm a Wheel' and maybe placing 'Less Than You think' as a bonus track, the album would've ended perfect. I feel it would be a much stronger album if it closed with the perfect 4-pack of Wishful Thinking/Company In My Back/Theologians/The Late Greats. Those are all strong tracks and the album would be more memorable and playable.
And, Muzzle Of Bees is my fav Wilco song.

From Sandrof1969 02/11/2018 22:54 | #207759

La vetta di Jeff Tweedy e dei Wilco. Il disco dove le sperimentazioni dell'album precedente, pur grande, diventano Arte.

best tracks: spiders (kidsmoke), muzzle of bees

From buzzdainer 05/23/2017 21:44 | #191300

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.

For some strange reason, most great rock bands in the History of rock have come from the United Kingdom. I would say that Wilco is the best American rock band in the current century. It's a shame for them, that rock post 2000 is now a minor genre in cultural popularity. Thus they have never had a hit. Hardly anyone that doesn't keep up with modern rock bands ( I am north of 50 years of age)has even heard of them.
I think this is their best album. Maybe my classic rock upbringing puts this one higher than the others for me. It has their most stellar guitar work.