The Minus 5
Down With Wilco
»
The Minus 5
Down With Wilco
Yep Roc, 2003
RiYL: Wilco's Summerteeth, Beach Boys' Smiley Smile, Boomtown Rats |
Last summer, his band was the subject of an enjoyable documentary, "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart," which cataloged the making of YHF, the record label fiasco that resulted in Wilco being dropped and resigned to separate labels under the same corporate umbrella, and the departure of two key members of the band: multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett and drummer Ken Coomer.
In sum, the album and movie didn't so much put Wilco on the map as they did just increase the traffic of people trying to get there. It was hard to go anywhere and not pick up a music mag or newspaper doing some sort of feature on the band and Tweedy, its strangely distant lead singer/songwriter. If Tweedy enjoyed the attention, it was hard to tell. He certainly wasn't shying from it, he just never seemed to give it much mind.
But hell, that was sooo last year. Already in 2003, we're seeing Wilco side projects and other Tweedy-related records coming out of the woodwork. Loose Fur, a collaboration with Tweedy, new Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche, and famed producer Jim O'Rourke, released its first album earlier this year, and Sony Records is readying a massive remasters campaign of the first three Uncle Tupelo records next month.
Also, Wilco is putting the finishing touches on a six-song EP due later this year.
And it is under this microscope that we examine another Tweedy/Wilco side project, Down With Wilco, recorded in late 2001 with the Minus 5.
Of course, what's interesting about this is that the Minus 5 is a side project in itself. The band is mainly a vehicle for Scott McCaughey, the offbeat "friend of R.E.M." who started his career steering Seattle underground popsters Young Fresh Fellows. Other key Minus 5 members along for the ride here include former Posies principal Ken Stringfellow and R.E.M.'s own Peter Buck, who, ironically enough, also produced Uncle Tupelo's third album, March 16-20 1992.
But essentially, Down With Wilco is a side project for Wilco, and the Minus 5 is a side project for Buck. And that makes the album a side project of a side project. Need a Venn diagram?
Down With Wilco is significant, at least for Tweedy, because it marks the earliest recording of his band without Jay Bennett, who played on YHF but was booted in mid-2001, before the Minus 5 project was recorded. But ironically, the album is full of the lush pop harmonies and weary polished sounds that dominated Wilco's 1999 album Summerteeth, the record on which Bennett arguably left his biggest imprint. So on the new album, McCaughey's affinity for the nostalgic sound of post-breakdown Beach Boys gives Tweedy a comfortably strong foil to replace Bennett.
Right out of the box, the opening tune "Days Of Wine And Booze" and the second number "Retrieval Of You" smack of Summerteeth, only with McCaughey's relaxed vocals substituted for Tweedy's lazy rasp. "Retrieval of You," for example, could've been written by Brian Wilson. Elsewhere, as "That's Not The Way It's Done" and "The Town That Lost Its Groove Supply" borrow immensely from Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats. Maybe its McCaughey's Geldof-esque voice, but the comparison to the creator of Live Aid cannot be ignored.
The album, however, hits its stride around the seventh tune, "Life Left Him There." The song revolves around a slow, simple drum beat, dreamy keys and haunting harmonies. It can't be described as a tour-de-force, but it does mark a dramatic change from the upbeat tempo of the record. Just afterwards, Tweedy augments the drowning "The Family Gardener" with his effortless vocals, and the album seems to converge into a single strain until the languid kiss-off closer, "Dear Employer," on which McCaughey intones:
Dear employer / I've got to tell you / its been wonderful for all these years / but now you know / I've got a new shoe / and I'll be wearing it so far from here.
Down With Wilco really can't be judged for its artistic merit, as it's a group of friends putting together some interesting material. But as collaborations go, it's a solid album. Both of the bands mesh well together and create an interesting album that neither could quite have put together on their own. While not quite as satisfying as Wilco's 1998 collaboration with Billy Bragg, Mermaid Avenue, the new record is a great document of two groups that enjoy experimenting and pushing the musical envelope.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.