Being There
The second album, a nineteen-song double sold at the price of a single disc.
Wilco, 1996
- Released
- 29 October 1996
- Recorded
- September 1995 to July 1996
- Studio
- Chicago Recording Company and Warzone Recorders, Chicago; The Studio, Springfield, Missouri; Moonshine Studios, Atlanta
- Label
- Reprise
- Producer
- Wilco
- Length
- 76:47
Jay Bennett joined after Tweedy sent him a few Uncle Tupelo songs and a copy of A.M., and Tweedy was intrigued that Bennett played keyboards, which no one else in Wilco did. Tweedy was working through a stressful period: he had quit smoking marijuana, attendance at Wilco shows was dwindling, and he was managing a marriage, a mortgage and the birth of his first child. The album takes its name from the 1979 film, because the band felt Peter Sellers' character Chance had a mindset like the record's. Wilco recorded thirty songs and cut them to nineteen, 77 minutes in all.
Tweedy wanted to release all of it as a double CD at the price of a single album. He took the idea to the executive Joe McEwen, who persuaded Reprise president Howie Klein, and Tweedy gave up most of his royalties to pay for it. By 2003 the loss was estimated at nearly $600,000. It was the only Wilco album with steel guitarist Bob Egan, who played on two tracks, and the last with Max Johnston.
The record reached number 73 on the Billboard 200, where A.M. had not charted, and Outtasite (Outta Mind) was the single. AllMusic's Jason Ankeny called it the group's great leap forward, and Pitchfork's Ryan Schreiber wrote that Wilco were massively improved as a band and as songwriters. It placed fourteenth in the 1996 Pazz & Jop poll, and Pitchfork ranked it 88th among the albums of the 1990s in 2003.
Track listing
- Misunderstood6:28
- Far, Far Away3:20
- Monday3:33
- Outtasite (Outta Mind)2:34
- Forget the Flowers2:47
- Red-Eyed and Blue2:45
- I Got You (At the End of the Century)3:57
- What's the World Got in Store3:09
- Hotel Arizona3:37
- Say You Miss Me4:07
- Sunken Treasure6:51
- Someday Soon2:33
- Outta Mind (Outta Sight)3:20
- Someone Else's Song3:21
- Kingpin5:17
- (Was I) In Your Dreams3:30
- Why Would You Wanna Live4:16
- The Lonely 14:48
- Dreamer in My Dreams6:43
Personnel
- Jeff Tweedy lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass, radio
- John Stirratt bass, piano, violin, backing vocals
- Jay Bennett guitars, piano, organ, harmonica, lap steel, drums, accordion, backing vocals
- Ken Coomer drums, percussion, guitars, backing vocals
- Max Johnston Dobro, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, backing vocals
- Bob Egan pedal steel, national steel guitar
- Greg Leisz pedal steel on The Lonely 1
- Jessy Greene violin on The Lonely 1
- Larry Williams tenor saxophone on Monday
- Dan Higgins baritone and tenor saxophone on Monday
- Gary Grant trumpet on Monday
- Jerry Hey trumpet on Monday
- Chris Shepard engineer
- Jim Rondinelli engineer
- Jim Scott mixing
- Skip Saylor mixing
- Bob Ludwig mastering
More from Wilco
A.M. (1995), Summerteeth (1999), Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002), A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sources
- Being There (Wilco album), Wikipedia