Reviews (page 3 of 8)
After enjoying Yankee Hotel Foxtrot when it came up in my random album generator last year, I was hoping this other Wilco album would hit a similar vibe—and it does. If anything, it leans a little more into a straight-up rock sound in places, which I liked. My biggest issue with Being There is the length. At nearly 80 minutes, it does feel a bit longer than it needs to be. If I were a bigger Wilco fan, I’d probably be more into that. But when I’m working through albums for this list, anything over an hour really has to earn that runtime—and this one mostly gets there. Other than that, it’s a pretty standard 1001 Albums entry. I enjoyed it while it was on, but I don’t see myself going back to it much.
The front half of this album was more up-tempo, but as with the last album this became slow and plodding pseudo-country twang. I still don't see the fascination with these guys.
Number: 88 Date: 03/31/2026 Artist: Wilco Album: Being There Year: 1996 Genre: Alt County Rock Rating: 3 Notes: Before: ======= I know a little of Wilco. They have one or tow songs in my favorites by years list but I don't think anything from this album is on there. During: ======= A lot of this reminds me of what The Replacements were doing, 10 years prior to this album. I do like many of the tracks but don't find them awesome or that memorable. 4 Misunderstood 4 Far, Far Away 3 Monday 4 Outtasite (Outta Mind) 4 Forget The Flowers 4 Red-Eyed And Blue 3 I Got You (At The End Of The Century) 3 What's The World Got In Store 3 Hotel Arizona 3 Say You Miss Me 4 Sunken Treasure 3 Someday Soon 3 Outta Mind (Outta Sight) 3 Someone Else's Song 4 Kingpin 3 (Was I) In Your Dreams 3 Why Would You Wanna Live 3 The Lonely 1 3 Dreamer In My Dreams ----------------------------------------------------- 3.39 WEIGHTED AVERAGE (accounts for song lengths) After : ======= Seeing how they have another album on this list, I'm giving it a one for suitability. 3 my personal rating 1 suitability for this list 4 impact ----------------------------------------------- 2.7 composite rating
Wilco is one of those bands that I think I am growing to enjoy more and more. They've got such a range. This album reminds me of Ween with how many different sounds and genres they've got going on. Similar (but subdued) sense of humor, as well. It's like Ween if they took themselves seriously.
Hadn’t been a big fan of Wilco in the past but I liked it.
Not for me. 1/5
Fantastic album. Had this one shortly after it came out and it still stands the test of time. Wilco is timeless. Like a lot of double albums for me, there are 10 songs that could easily make a 5 star album. But there are just a few too many songs that pull it back to a 4. 4.25
A lotttttt of filler
I was only vaguely familiar with the band, so it was good to listen to an entire album. It's great Indie! It has lots of elements ranging from R&R to country. I had to listen twice, but rather like it now. Not amongst my absolute favourite albums (it's just "pleasant"), and it could be a 3* but I'm about to give Taylor Swift a 3*... I think... and this is, of course, way better.
Decent variety of tunes, nothing stood out.Preferred to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
2.9 First half was some pretty uninspiring garage/indie-country rock, latter half was then a scattergun of them trying to branch out of that with some Dylan/Stones etc. rip offs. Overall it wasn't bad, but it was far from enjoyable.
I listened to this album a second time to fight through my heavy-lidded exhaustion, navigating around police and fire simulation drills. I stood outside for a moment during the instrumental bridge of Far, Far Away, warmed by the hot sun and appreciating two vibrsnt green trees in the midst of a poorly landscaped desert campus. One of my best friends introduced me to the song Heavy Metal Drummer off one of Wilco's albums. He has a knack for showing me smaller artists, so I had assumed Wilco was a little under-the-radar and underappreciated indie band; I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they were both older and bigger than I had imagined, and in fact are deservedly acclaimed. Being There sounds like a slightly earlier step on the trajectory that will get them to Heavy Metal Drummer, particularly featuring the disrinctive gentle vocals of Jeff Tweedy, one of my favorite aspects of that song. The instrumentation blends between alt rock and a slight folksy influence, either kicking up the energy under the lyricism or meeting it with its own delicate beauty. The split between a heavier first half and a more acoustic second half, exemplified in the twin songs Outtasite (Outta Mind) and Outta Mind (Outta Sight), helps keep the album interesting and full of identity across a significant runtime, and even though I find myself preferring the first half, the entire project still coheres together as one beautiful experience. Highlights: Misunderstood, Far, Far Away, Monday, Outtasite (Outta Mind), Forget the Flowers, Red-Eyed and Blue, What's the World Got in Store, Sunken Treasure, Someday Soon, Outta Mind (Outta Sight), Someone Else's Song, Kingpin, (Was I) In Your Dreams, Why Would You Wanna Live, The Lonely 1, Dreamer in My Dreams
Not bad. Country rock isn’t usually my thing, but I enjoyed this album.
Meh, wasn't my cup of tea
lovely
not as good as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
I really liked this record, the opening track is massive. It's much more down the middle than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but still has that raw 90s indie energy. Love the pedal steel. Was aching for some more experimental stuff like the opening track.
Solid folk rock album
Some nice stuff early on, but badly ran out of gas later. Didn't need to be a double album. It's a shame.
I expected a double album to have some sort of theme to each of the two records, but it didn't. In fact there wasn't really a theme to the album at all. It really felt like 2 or 3 different bands putting together a compilation. There's some good stuff in here, but it's buried in a sea of meh.
Give me a B! Give me an O! Give me an R-I-N-G, BORING! It’s not bad music, it’s just boring music. If you’re into that soft rock country vibe then this is just for you.
i like it a lot! and he made how to fight loneliness <3
I feel like I've heard al this before but... better?
It was okay. I think Wilco can be tedious at times and are somewhat overrated.
Their early albums have been overshadowed in my memory by how perfect YHF is, but holy shit this is worth a revisit. The opening has like 6 timeless songs I’ve loved since first listen, used to play to death, and still love to hear them play. Some of it is sparse singer songwriter folksy stuff, some of it really flesh out arrangements like a soul/rnb country band, some of it rocks with a barroom piano, some of it is dirty guitars. A blend of alt country twang, 90s post grunge radio sounds, and power pop jangle. The lyrics are full of great lines - these are amazing love songs about loneliness and attachment and longing and heartbreak - and the singing is full of life and emotion. Warm, nostalgic, earnest, weary, so so good. The only problem is there’s so much of it - prolific to a fault.
- What an enjoyable listen. I could not help but feel it was a concept record, a classic one in the vein of the rock band on the road, working road dogs, struggling to keep creating etcetera. .... like Running on Empty or those songs by the Kinks and the Guess Who about being in bands .... it's a theme and this record fits right in there nicely. There are some really good rockers, there's some very good writing. Sure, it's a transitional record but still really high quality that sets the stage for "Summerteeth", which is probably their best record so far. Anyway, it's not a perfect record but it still gets a 5 from me because it IS art. -
countryy, catchy
I really enjoyed this, I think given more time with it, there is a lot I could get my teeth into, and there is a lot, which is the main criticism when running to 1 hour 17 mins. At this tender stage, I prefer Yankee Hotel Foxtrot but they are going to end up with the same rating from me. Wilco are certainly a plus point in terms of bands I have discovered on this challenge.
Yeah , tricky one as I liked the overall vibe but wasn’t sure where when song ended , next started often
Has a few nice moments but was just getting bored by the end as the second half was a lot less interesting and varied than than the first. Not that the first half was particularly interesting or varied itself!
Not so much dull as soulless and uninspiring.
Not for me.
I'm putting a pin in this one. I've heard all of these on before on WXRT growing up in Chicago, but it was always background noise. I'm not in the mood to explore today, but I can hear things that might hit another day when I'm in a more receptive state of mind. Today is not that day though.
Arrrgh, why did i like this when Wilco and its "seminal" albums left me cold. My previous review for yankee foxtrot hotel said in short: lots of good ideas but left me cold. This had a different effect on me. I loved its balance of simplicity and complexity, its sprawl and its directness, the classic alt country and the variation. It just strikes me as a band who have worked out what they want to be, what they do best and are at the top of their game. Maybe later on they get turned around by success and complexity, i dont know. This sounded genuine and heartfelt and without pretention. I got this album on St Patricks day here in Ireland and its a bank holiday here. Despite the distractions that brought and the length of the album i made it through nearly 3 times which tells you all you need to know. Shit, im going to have to revisit their catalogue now.
4⭐️/5 [03.17.2026] 03.28.2026
Kjedelig plate.
Meh
Honestly, better than I thought. I thought it was going to be real country-ish -- and it strayed a little too close a couple times -- but overall it ws a perfectly pleasant little album.
Still as good as ever!
Really liked the rock but sombre vibe. Def my kind of music, but only two songs really stood out to me. Easy album to listen to.
Longer than it needed to be, but not a chore to get through like some double albums. I largely enjoyed this throughout. Not mind-blowing, but consistently good. 3.9
molto curioso di ascoltarli, non mi hanno colpito. Album estremamente lungo
3.5
Three maybe four songs to long but an overall very enjoyable listen. 4.5
Extraordinary
I quite liked this. It’s an album I want to give another go around because there’s stuff I feel I missed. The range of genres in here is quite fun, and it being a double album, really leads to the feeling of a band just experimenting. Yeah just quite nice, not much to say.
I have always found Wilco to be utterly and hopelessly boring. This album to me is no different. And it’s a friggin double record. Jesus Christ. I know they are popular, but I just cannot ever figure out why. Most of the songs are musically boring from everything I’ve heard by them, I’m not really a fan of Jeff Tweedy’s voice. They are just a really, really generic sounding band. All are completely competent musicians, but they don’t ever seem to do anything interesting with their talent. I get some of the heartfelt, bygone era, missing home type lyrics. That’s all well and good, it’s just not for me in this moment. Maybe one day they will resonate with me, but it is not this day.
Wasn't familiar with Wilco but I generally liked the sound of this album. Good moments, like the climax on "Misunderstood." However, at over 76 minutes, it's annoyingly overstuffed. A 45-minute cut of this would probably rate a 4.
I didn't get through it. There's a fair bit of acclaim for Wilco and Jeff Tweedy's twangy charm out there, but I'm just not among those who feel that way.
Funny that i listened to this for the first time two weeks ago. What made me do it was, i really love some songs from Wilco and wanted to know them better. Dont think this is a good way to be presented to them
Ganz schön lang, aber auch toll 9/10
A fine Wilco album but not my favorite. It was pretty decent and I liked the acoustics. Some good sounding tracks but a bit long.
i liked this one a lot & honestly the length didn't bother me at all like i was expecting it would. it did get slightly grating when it veered too much into yeehaw territory but otherwise rly liked everything they were going for. specifically rly enjoyed the bit at the end of misunderstood where all the band members switch instruments and play rly badly on purpose
Soso!!
This album is a lot longer than it needed to be.
Some songs were too country for me. But overall a pretty enjoyable album.
“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” better be on this list!!
wilco has a lot of five star albums and this is one of them. i assume at least "yankee hotel foxtrot" is part of this as well. do not sleep on "a ghost is born", "sky blue sky", "the whole love" - those are worthy of five stars as well. in fact, listen to the whole wilco discography. i truly believe wilco is one of the greatest american bands ever (ccr, grateful dead, r.e.m., the byrds, the band).
Sprawling, cumbersome, and a bit pretentious. The opening track's discordant music helps to set that tone early, and the rest of the album doesn't disappoint in that regard. It's a like a college band that is somewhat competent was given a big catalog of mediocre music and are just throwing out anything that will find an ear. Way more misses than any semblance of a hit. Boring and waaaayyy too long. Utterly forgettable. (1.5/5) I'll round down because this was a CHORE to get through.
"You're back in your old neighborhood The cigarettes taste so good But you're so misunderstood You're so misunderstood" Full disclosure, this album was embedded deeply in my soundtrack of the late 90s, and I know every word of every song on both discs. It's the album that really seperated Jeff Tweedy and the boys from their Uncle Tupelo roots and let them forge their own sound, showcasing their incredible evolution from A.M. to Summerteeth. Obviously, I'm a big fan. Like a big pot of bubbly stew filled with chunks of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, Neil Young, The Band, Glen Campbell, and Graham Parsons, seasoned with dashes of Velvet Underground, Buddy Holly and Sesame Street, it's rich, tasty, meaty and nourishing, but it's the broth that ties the whole thing together, warms the belly, and makes you want another bowl. Sure, I beat up Manassas yesterday for being too long and bloated, but in my estimation, this ain't that. The tempo, styles, and even genres range from song to song enough to give the variation needed to support its weight, and the sometimes bouncy, sometimes philosophical, but always poetic and relatable lyrics underpin its folk sensibilities and exude an intimacy beyond a few talented musicians making a buck. It's playful, raw, emotional, beautiful, and speaks to me in a way that few artists ever have. It's a 4.75 that easily rounds up to a 5/5 for me, and anyone who thinks highly of it should proceed directly to Summerteeth.
"It sounds like someone else's song/ From a long time ago" Variety: 5 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 2 Emotionality: 3 = 4.0 INTRO Two double albums in a row. Ok. Surprised to see this rather than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot though. Wilco I've always been lukewarm on, never connecting much with the albums despite liking them very much in some live appearances I've seen on tv. And Tweedy seems like an interesting dude. His numerous appearances on various late nights shows as both a guest and a performer seem to have earned him some goodwill. For a while I even followed the charming home project he did with his kids where would post live performances of cover songs they would do. Still have never sought out any of his work. Anytime I've heard it it has been by accident or at the recommendation of someone else. In fact, I think maybe one of the reasons I've avoided Wilco in general is because of how hard it seemed to get pressed by critics at their peak. There's sometimes nothing worse to motivate you to do something than someone repeatedly insisting that you do that thing. THE TRACKS Disc One ( at least they had the good taste not to name the sides here :) ) "Misunderstood" - The discordant opening is gives me the impression of an orchestra warming up and contrasts nicely with the quietness on display. Guessing the song itself is warm up of sorts. Lazy, distorted vocals over the church-like organ and the piano, with the slow build are all putting me on alert for a huge jump in volume and intensity. And there it is. Notes of Like what if the Replacements had been way into John Cale? "Far, Far Away" - Right into a sleepy, charming little country and western thing with some steel pedal guitar ( I think?) providing the a lonesome atmosphere. Neat trick not feeling too out of place after that opener. I'm aware of the alt-country sound Tweedy's various projects indulge in and this was an appreciated light touch. "Monday" - Well into some Matthew Sweet-ish territory now. Little looser, and lighter on the hooks than I usually prefer in my power pop, but solid. Was NOT expecting the horns, but I'm in for it. Looking back at the musical landscape of 1996, knowing what I know now, this must have seemed of a piece with the brighter sounding post-grunge stuff floating around then. Weezer and Pavement, and Beck , Eels were right there as well, so wonder why this one slipped past me. Maybe the alt-country label? "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" - Not much to say here other than we're continuing down this nice little path into power pop land. Would most definitely slot this in amongst the Matthew Sweet/ Susannah Hoffs stuff that I think comes slightly later. "Forget the Flowers" - Back to the twang and country beat. Perfect driving music. Some catchy stuff here. "Red-Eyed and Blue" - This one was driving me crazy as the opening reminded me SOOO much of some old 70s soft rock classic. Dug around and found this - "Steal Away" by Robbie Dupree (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1uA_Zw7zAk) . One of those songs I heard a zillion times as a kid but had no idea who it was, so probably attributed it to Hall and Oates or ELO or something. Some people also apparently hear "As the World Falls Down" by Davd Bowie off the Labyrinth soundtrack in there. Me less so, but sure, why not. I'm also hearing someJohn Lennon influence here, but I'm fully onboard. Beautiful stuff. And I loooooove me some whistling. "I Got You (At the End of the Century)" - A return to the power pop well is a little bit glammier, and has not gotten stale yet. Tremolo and the bluesy refrains make this one stand out a bit. "What's the World Got in Store" - Catchy little ditty starts off as something out of the Elliott Smith playbook and morphs into something a bit more optimistic and poppy. "Hotel Arizona" - Tweedy wearing some Tom Petty influences o his sleeve here? "Say You Miss Me" - Bringing the energy way back down for the first disc closer. Possibly the most basic thing I've heard so far, but still a pleasant listen. The little bit of background vocals and the sharp chord changes that don't come quite where you expect still makes this sound different from similar folk rock material by other artists. Disc two "Sunken Treasure" - We open disc two with some not quite-garden variety acoustic indie fare. I can easily imagine this is where teh cigarette lighters come out at the concert. As close as we'll get to a slow jam on this? The electric guitar coming in halfway through is a welcome addition, and the way it builds, crests and smashs against the main sturcture of the song reminds me of Radiohead's "Electioneering". "Someday Soon" - If Lennon came to mind on "Red Eyed and Blue" then this catch number has got some McCartney DNA in it, espcecially from his early post-Beatles country-pop stuff. "Outta Mind (Outta Sight)" - Am I crazy or is this just straight up Sesame Street theme here in the opening? Ok. I could not put it better than the first commnet I read when looking this up - "Sesame Street is owed some royalties." Other than this distracting bit, a perfectly... ok indie rock thing. I just can't stop hearing it. I thought it would just be in the opening. Has to be on purpose, right? "Someone Else's Song" - Very pretty bit of folk country here. Would not be out of place on a prime Kris Kristoferson album. "Kingpin" - More Tom Petty vibes here, especially "You Don't Know How it Feels". But not so much that it overpowers anything. Turns a but funky near the end with the (Hammond?) organ. "(Was I) In Your Dreams" - Randy Newman on quaaludes. I like Randy Newman, so that's fine. "Why Would You Wanna Live" - Seems like every song on this reminds me of some other specific artist, and that is how my brain works in general with most artforms - I just can't help seeing the influences and connections, and I live coming across them. Even when it may be a ghost of something not really there or no one else hears it, I find it comforting somehow. This one at times reminds me of Elliott Smith, Andrew Bird, and even Amy Mann. All positive comparisons, and not any kind of straight lifting I can identify. Entirely possible ( probable even) that these people are all drawing on the same influences. Anyway - damn fine track "The Lonely 1" - The sparseness here works as a great contrast to the stripped down , but dreamy chamber pop elements. Makes me want to revisit Hour of Bewilderbeast by Badly Drawn Boy. "Dreamer in My Dreams" - Comes in like a reprise of some earlier song we actually never heard. Though the tone and speed of this is perfect, can't help but wonder what a more bombastic, faster version would sound like. This one reminds me of that time john Lennon and Chuck Berry jammed on "Memphis Tennessee" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y40Yw9Lz2y4) but without the Yoko Ono backing vocals. Not sure this would have fit anywhere else on the album but here. HIGHLIGHTS - "Far, Far Away" - "Forget the Flowers" - "Someday Soon" - "Why Would You Wanna Live" LOWLIGHTS - Struggling to find much to complain about here at all - I don't hate it, but "Outta Mind (Outta Sight)" is pretty hard to listen to on its own merits FINAL THOUGHTS This was much more eclectic than I thought it would be. I was expecting a more or less straight alt-country thing with very little to distinguish the songs from one another. A lot of varied influences are all over this. Country and western, power pop, jangle pop, singer songwritery yacht rock accents here and there. But even though so many specific artists came to mind while listening to this, I never felt it was overwhelmingly derivative of any of them. Everything blends well, and often goes off in original sounding tangents that end up far from the source ( "Hotel Arizona" for example). Ultimately, I can't really knock this for unoriginality. It seems to wear the influences pretty openly, and synthesizes them all pretty well ( save that Sesame Street riff...) Supremely catchy and at turns both mellow and uplifting, I can honestly say I'd be happy to keep this one around. First half I slightly prefer. Looking forward to hearing more Wilco. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Maybe drop "Outta Mind (Outta Sight)" for crimes against muppet-kind
“Music is my savior…I was maimed by rock and roll.” It was raining the day this album showed up on my project. I listened to it walking through the rain with the dog before the sun came up. It was still raining when I was listening to this album during my morning commute. It added to the introspective ambience. I wish I had found this album earlier in life. I wonder if my entire life would’ve turned out different had I found this album during my teenage years when it came out. Like that Jim Belushi movie where he gets to see what it would’ve been like if he had hit a home run instead of striking out in a high school baseball game. Would’ve it have been a parade of fashionable lovers, a garage full of cars, and the career fast track? Okay, probably not. What I do know is that my mind wanted to manufacture years, decades, of nostalgia for this album as I was listening to it for the first time today. I can imagine hearing this on a college rock station. I can hear this on a NPR’s Rock & Roots alternative rotation. It is infused with this certain 90s sensibility, a yearning to experience the epiphany that figures life out and the disappointment when it doesn’t occur. And it is all soundtracked by pure uncut 90s alternative rock country. Needless to say, I loved the album. Solid 4.
Het was prima. Maar niks om over naar huis te schrijven
le falta algo
This was a major album for me in college - although nobody else I was around was into it, so it was a bit of a lonely pursuit. And yet, when I looked at all the song titles, the only song I could remember was Misunderstood. But then I listened and it all came back. I'm glad I don't sit around listening to sad guy alt-country music anymore, but this was a great trip down memory lane and rounding up for sentimentality. Saw them at Newport Music Hall in 1999 and one of the best shows I had seen up to that time.
It sounds like so many other things, most of which I can't quite pinpoint, but one of which is definitely the Sesame Street theme tune. I can see why the author like them, there's a bit of a Costello feel in places though without his dreadful voice. This album is fine, it's okay, nothing more.
the first shift in track one? loved that. i literally stopped when it went low, then bang, up again. that’s how you grab someone. when an album runs over an hour, it’s a trick: either you’re really good or really pretentious. this one? truly a diamond. i usually don’t vibe with country, but this is too damn good to ignore. cohesive as hell. jeff tweedy’s voice just matches the vibe. genuine. good to listen to. it melts seamlessly into the general work, smooth like in "why would you wanna live," then more chill chat in "say you miss me." no ego, just serving the song. the instrumental it1s perfect. like, c’mon. the ragged country rock, the ballads, the noisy moments, it all lands. some lyrics are a bit too much here and there, but it's fine it match the vibe. and the country tracks are interesting enough to make this album damn cool. like, pick that damn banjo, bro. this is the kind of album 90% of rock bands wish they could pull off, but usually can’t. it reminds me of troubadourism, very bob dylan, johnny cash, fabrizio de andré. the “sit here, i’ll tell you a story” type of music. and the upbeat tracks like "monday"are great, very let’s go out for a drive and sing along energy, but without forcing that radio-friendly formula. let me add: this is the kind of thing that shaped artists like john mayer and others who give folk a shot. maybe even some alternative bands. you can hear the DNA. i’ll hear it again for sure. 100%.
This is going to be an unfair rating but its just too melancholic and long for me to get into this world and characters. Just not my space right now. It sounded quality but made no lasting impact.
извини но нет
Too Country for me personally
Snoozefest but I’d probably enjoy it if it was my only option.
Very pleasantly surprised, this is a really good album. I loved most of it, except for the fact that it's too damn long. Cut it in half (or at least throw away a third of it) and it's probably for the better. Will definitely be revisiting this one. If it wasn't so long, it probably would have been a point higher, but alas. 7.5 / 10
Can't describe how much I love this album.
A double album with a bunch of different sounds and ideas and only a couple of them are interesting.
Loved the first song. The rest was quite forgettable though unfortunately
The album where Wilco started to become Wilco
A lovely album to listen to, probably could be a little bit shorter though. I’d say that I liked every song on here but a lot of them did sound similar so it’s kind of hard to pick a standout song, I feel like that would come with time as a natural favourite emerges. It’s a simple formula, some great acoustic instrumentals and a harmonising voice to pair, the result is quality and almost sounds ahead of its time the vibe of it. It’s a good album not super special but as I said I did like every song and could see myself maybe purchasing a vinyl of it so a decent 4-star is my rating.
This is not my favourite Wilco album, but it's still pretty good. Solid songwriting along with interesting mixes of instruments. It was nice that I got to hear it on a Monday! I definitely need to listen to this again. Liked Songs Added: Misunderstood Forget The Flowers Someone Else's Song Kingpin
Indie country rock? Not for me thanks.
This is clearly a serious album. It wasn't recorded with TOTP appearances in mind. It was slightly tedious, tbh. Nothing offensive in there, but it didn't half drag. Worthy, laboured, lengthy.
First half was better than the second half, definitely dragged on towards the end.
No sophomore slump for these alt-country heroes.
This could just be the album's intended effect working better on me due to the fact i listened to it after i got home from an 8 and a half hour shift from my part time job but i really enjoyed Being There. This album had a pretty nice mix of both country rock and indie rock with each of the styles working pretty well with each other and generally being consistently good. I do of course gravitate a bit more to the latter due to me just liking the genre more. I still think i like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot more due to that album being more concise and generally just more interesting. But still, i enjoyed this album quite a lot for what it did. Best Song: The Lonely 1 Worst Song: Forget the Flowers Side note: Last Wilco album, you know the drill at this point 1. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 2. Being There 3. Mermaid Avenue
Nice. I love Mermaid Avenue and have never got round to listening to more Wilco. Nothing stood out hugely though, and sadly, double albums that come up in this project always feel like a bit of a chore.
Fantastic album. It’s long but it doesn’t overstay its welcome. And what an opener, it really announces itself and lets you know this isn’t going to be just another alt country album. This is Wilco starting to spread their wings and experiment.
Aside from 1 or 2 tracks, this double album really didn't do much for me, I found it pretty boring. Not the Wilco album that I'm going to come back to. 2/5
Too long. There were a few tracks that I liked on the 2nd half. Overall, just OK. 2.75/5
Could have been a much shorter, much better album but they included too many meh songs on there.
Pretty decent alternative country, if that’s what this is. Probably will listen to some of it again.
Enjoyable little ride music.
Good, just long
Mostly boring without any edges to have a grip on.
Country music is not my thing. At all. Just barely made it to the end of the first album. Half a point extra for the weirdness and psychedelia they've added here and there, which I liked. I didn't like anything else. 1,5/5
Nice, Wilco. I, of course, as a proud patron of the arts, know of these gents for their contribution to the Sponbo Pantprism Movie. Their offering is, admittedly, the weakest of the songs which made it into the credits (Ocean Man and ...Psychic Wall of Energy are some incredibly steep competition), though Wilco squeezed out more list albums than Ween and The Flaming Lips combined, so I guess they had the last laugh. Outside of the Bob, I've also been meaning to listen to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or whatever that album was called. I remembered the name correctly? I genuinely wasn't expecting that. Anyways, if I'm to listen to Wilco at what I assume is their creative peak, then I suppose I must start with where they began to build that traction. Here goes. Fuuuuck. Double album. It seems that I'll continue to be bent over by these long-as-fuck albums until my morale has completely degraded. An alt-country album, too? That's a surprise - I thought these guys were indie rock from the get-go. Alt-country has always struck me as being the best country offshoot despite my fledgling experience with the genre. This, fortunately, gives some credence to my theory. However, as I have subtly inferred in the beginning of this paragraph, I'm not a fan of the runtime. The hold that this album had over my attention fluctuated between tracks, which is different to my experience with most albums. For every song I thought was decent, the following three tracks would fail to grab my attention. Still, the good songs were pretty alright. I can appreciate the hushed, sentimental feel that much of this album has. The piano and acoustic guitar are generally the best instruments as a result. They're nice and relaxing, with a surprising level of dynamism and fidelity. The electric guitars are no slouch, either. They give the album a good bit of bite and growl whenever the music wants to get more energetic. The rest of the instrumentation is generally pretty decent, though I must admit that I'm not a fan of the organ. It's droning and draining in the worst possible ways. Overall, this was a fine listen. It just didn't invigorate or inspire me all that much. Book time. "...the first mighty musical jump in a career increasingly distinguished by great artistic leaps and bounds." "...a shock to the system for many alt-country loyalists...". Has a wide range of styles. A critical slam dunk with a humdrum commercial performance. There isn't much on the Wikipedia page that isn't already covered in the book. Not gonna lie, I think Wilco are punching one album above their weight by having three of their works on the list. That being said, I'm pretty sure Wilco have always had a solid run with critics, and this is better than many of the other albums I've listened to through this list. Unless their non-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album bombs, then I guess I'm content with letting all three of these albums through. I cosign this inclusion.
This was fine but not particularly great.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Första gången jag hörde detta och var nyfiken på detta American album då jag hört gott om Wilco. Det är jämnt och det har en viss dynamik som gör att det känns intressant och jag instinktivt gillar. Tycker kanske det är lite för långt, speciellt när jag för detta projektet vill kunna lyssna på det flera gånger. Känner inte riktigt att jag han ge det den tid jag vill men samtidigt är det ett album jag vill komma tillbaka till. Därför får det en 4a.
I really love this album. It’s not really one to listen to in one sitting. Dip into over the course of a day and by the end you’ll of the day it feels like you’ve arrived at a destination. It’s always felt like an album about music. One where the narrator feels a crisis of confidence but emerges with his love of music reinforced. It does seem pivotal in the history of Wilco like Jeff’s setting aside the alt-country of Uncle Tupelo and early Wilco and moving to the stadium indie of the later years. Apart from the Woody Guthrie albums I don’t really like anything after this, many do but not for me. The album was quite important for me. I bought it at the same time as If You’re Feeling Sinister and the first Fountains of Wayne LP. Which kind of brought me back to early indie, power pop, and paisley underground I’d been listening to 10 years before. A focus more on the songs than the attitude. So Wilco lead to The Handsome Family and Golden Smog.
Some good melodies and an ecclectic mix of styles, does get a bit bogged down under its own weight.
7/10
This album just dragged on. 1:17 was not needed to get the point across. Like a more mature Radiohead. Not for me.
I was bored. V bored
Nah. 2.5. I know people like them but I just don’t connect.
I've never heard much of Wilco's early works. While "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" feels like a folk-tinted indie rock from the early 2000s. This one feels a bit more like light country rock. At times I felt like ZZ Top has a three men and a baby situation and the child grew up and moved out to Williamsburg. But hey, even though I prefer Wilco's later work, this is still good for what it is. My biggest complaint is that it's far too long. I thought for sure that disc 2 were bonus tracks, but no. One disc would have been fine.
Not my taste
This album pays homage to 70s rock, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Yardbirds, Grateful Dead, country music, and alternative rock. It is all blended seamlessly, without being derivative and not forgetting to add its own personality to it. It's like a love letter to rock and country. Deal with it.
I'm not a fan of country, even 'alt-country' but this is a solid, genre-busting album. I acknowledge that it might overstay its welcome in places but overall, I really enjoyed this.
Only got around to disc one but what I heard was very good. Nice album to hit you in the feels 7.5/10
If meh was an album, this would be the album. After listening to the other albums, I’ve normally finished and had an immediate opinion, however this time it was just ‘ok, that happened’. Not rubbish, good instrumentation, but very same-y and not particularly innovative.
I love this album and have loved it since the late 90’s. I saw Wilco open for REM playing these songs and still remember it almost 30 years later. Yes it’s long, but it varies plenty from song to song, has lots of different sounds and instruments on it, and the quality of the music more than justifies its length. “Being There” is aimed dead center at a 19-21 year old who grew up surrounded by country music, is trying to figure out life, and is pretty sure he’s not doing a very good job at it. This was exactly the album for me when I was 18 and it still sounds great to me at 48. An all-time great record.
Loved it, don’t think there is a single song on here I dislike
Got dumped by someone who was a Wilco fan and can't listen to Wilco for a bit, sorry
somehow both incredibly bland and insanely insufferable and at least 40 minutes too long
This album has its moments but it has a tendency to the mediocre. It also really goes on so would have been better had they made it shorter and kept just the more interesting parts.
this was very pleasant and i think warrants further listening
If you cut everything before and after Outta Sight and Outta Mind you’d have a good solid album and plenty of tracks for the Special Edition release. But this is just too damned long and bloated.
A double. Track 1 is nice, but slow, and building up in a slightly ponderous way. I have a feeling I might be bored before the end. They're taking their time. Let's see. My interest peaked midway through "disc one" and wasn't sustained. I hate to sound like everyone else, but too much of this is mediocre (on a first listen) to make a full double album really enjoyable, at least in the context of a project like this where we need to assess quickly. I enjoyed the more banjo-led, country tracks, as they had a bit of attitude, and it's nicely produced and all very accomplished, but I did get a bit fed up.
Not bad.
First time Wilco listener here after years of hearing their name. Wilco is a lot country-er than I expected (having now looked into them more, yeah, duh...) with more of an indie rock vibe, but their roots show through with some twangy guitar and fiddle sprinkled in throughout. Being There has a raw unpolished quality that adds a lot to the overall feel of the album. It sounds really good, more heartfelt and intimate. That said, it's a long double album and I was kinda tired by the time the second disc rolled around. But there are a few good tracks lurking back there too. Standouts for me were "Red-Eyed and Blue" "I Got You" "Kingpin" and "Dreamer In My Dreams." Overall, this is a 3. It's cool and got some really good moments but not enough to keep me coming back for more than a couple of the better tracks. Would be interested in checking out more Wilco though!
Nothing about this caught my attention.
Good
Wilco eventually settles into a pleasant, rootsy groove, but it takes a few annoying detours to get there. The core vibe is solid and likable, yet the outlier tracks feel scattershot enough to break the flow. Fine company for a listen, just not consistent enough to love.
Some really pretty ballads mixed in with some alt rock and country, with some classic rock influences in there as well. That makes for a pretty interesting album, and an enjoyable one at that. Seeing that it's labeled country had me underestimating the album when I started, but I very quickly started enjoying it. "(Was I) In Your Dreams" was my favorite song off the album, it's very pretty and emotional. If you find country off-putting, like me, this album is much more than country. It's very much worth a listen. Favorite Song: "(Was I) In Your Dreams"
Like it! Not their best but Wilco are always grand.
I’ve never listened to Wilco before but this album was SO good. I knew people loved them, and now I understand why. I want to give it 4.5 stars.
so so
Fuck me, that’s 3 double albums in a row. You tryin’ ta kill me, Generator?!?! Never really got the love for Wilco, their songs always seemed nice enough (admittedly only hearing limited selections, prob most from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) but didn’t push the right buttons. But then comes ‘Misunderstood’, nearly 6 minutes of glorious noise and Jeff Tweedy banging on about being misunderstood. And it just works! Then on to ‘Far, Far Away’ which has a sweet melancholy about it. Monday presents a rocking story of Choo-Choo Charlie, getting the hell out of FLA. The album then follows a pattern of a couple of rockers, a couple of slower, country tinged songs, and before you know it, over an hour has passed by and everything seems right with the world. Some will say it’s too long and they are probably right, but I really enjoyed this. 4 stars
Favourite Song: Dreamer in My Dreams Didn't get much time with this one due to its length and I was fairly busy, but it sounded decent on first listen.
the main theme of this album is "long" second theme is "dive bar" i listened to this at work (like i do all the albums) and it was good focus music 3 stars
So unnecessarily long. Why did they put so many songs on this album when they’re all uninspired? Honestly it’s mid but the length of the album ruins even the mediocrity
I’ve long been aware of Wilco but had never actually sat down to listen to them. As someone who loves both rock and country, "Being There" should be right up my street - and by George, it was. Wilko's influences are apparent as the album progresses; you can hear the DNA of The Byrds, Gram Parsons, Neil Young, The Stones, and The Faces woven throughout. Across the two CDs, the band proves incredibly eclectic, backed by excellent production and clever arrangements. It’s an excellent rock record that eventually won me over with its sheer charm and melodic hooks. While it does feel a touch over-long in places, you have to admire the sheer bravado and ambition of such a sprawling work. I suspect that with a few more spins, these tracks will really get under my skin, but first impressions are overwhelmingly positive. Four stars. Disc One 1 "Misunderstood" (4/5) 2 "Far, Far Away" (4/5) 3 "Monday" (4/5) 4 "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" (4/5) 5 "Forget the Flowers" (4/5) 6 "Red-Eyed and Blue" (4/5) 7 "I Got You (At the End of the Century)" (5/5) 8 "What's the World Got in Store" (4/5) 9 "Hotel Arizona" (5/5) 10 "Say You Miss Me" (4/5) Disc Two 1 "Sunken Treasure" (4/5) 2 "Someday Soon" (4/5) 3 "Outta Mind (Outta Sight)" (4/5) 4 "Someone Else's Song" (4/5) 5 "Kingpin" (5/5) 6 "(Was I) In Your Dreams" (4/5) 7 "Why Would You Wanna Live" (4/5) 8 "The Lonely 1" (4/5) 9 "Dreamer in My Dreams" (5/5) Total - 80 Average - 4.21 228/1001 127/228 albums reviewed were new to me
Sounds like films from the early 2000s
I wish I hadn't gotten a double album for my first Wilco album, because I feel like they're probably my kind of band. This was too long and meandering, but there were some gems - Someone Else's Song was really beautiful. 3.5 to flag that I'd like to revisit this band, but rounding down for now.
Very country-driven, it's wild that this was made in the mid 90's cause it really sounds older than that, it's a really interesting album with some relatable song-writing that I liked, but not really much for me to revisit to.
Not that big of a fan of Wilco, I get why people like them and I understand the draw, but not really for me.
Love me some Wilco
I've always known of Wilco but never did much of a dive into their music. This was an entertaining listen - heard echoes of early 70s Rolling Stones (especially some of their forays into country rock) filtered through mid-90s alt/college rock. Liked the slide guitar and occasional alt-country echoes. Definitely could use a little trimming, but still enjoyable.
There’s some really great songs on the album and I’m stuck between rating it between 3 or 4 stars. Will definitely listen to Wilco again and maybe add some songs to my playlist. I think this would be amazing driving music.
The equivalent of boiled chicken and plain white rice music. Little to nothing of actually substance has struck me yet. And I'm 4 songs in. I have what feels to be and eternity to go of just buttered noodles music. By the end of disc 1 I can say one positive thing for sure is that the creative use of instruments is not that boring. I don't mind a banjo, lap and pedal steel and harmonica. By the end of disc 2 with a 10,000 foot view these guys are responsible for Coachella Country and thats unforgivable. 👎
Not the best Wilco album, but I like it a lot.
There was a period in my life where I was very emotionally fragile and insecure. Wilco was a band I listened to a lot at that time. It's hard to decouple the emotions of those times with the music. This album is a little bloated but this was a time before streaming where getting more music for the same price was great. I like this album, though it isn't my favorite from the group.
I know more than a few people that were mega in to Wilco in the 90's, and while I agree that they have a sound unique to the decade, they're not really that memorable and do more for a specific genre movement than they do for music as a whole. This style of guitar rock/country/pop was pretty popular among people that weren't in to grunge or were trying to be less cringe than nu-metal or other heavier 90's genres that were popular. This is what you listened to if you wanted to smoke cigarettes and drink beer, but weren't depressed or anything. You just had feelings. The songs are fine but I don't think this needed to be a double album. Honestly if you take out the songs that should have been Uncle Tupelo songs (pretty much all the full on country tinged ones) it would be a perfectly good 90's alt rock record. Maybe that's exactly why it's a double though, to stand out from that label. Anyway it was good enough, but too long and not standout I think. They'd go on to do better things.
I like Wilco enough. However, this was just too long and bland.
This was a fun new band to me. Catchy rock songs that bring me back to the 90s. Definitely a band I will look up more songs from. After listening through this album a second time that is.
I can get jiggy with this!
It’s a good indie rock record with some hints of Tweedy’s alt-country roots. It’s got the usual double-album problem of being too long. The cuts are less obvious to me though, because I just let it wash over me. There was nothing about it that made me want to let it in.
Not my cuppa
iyi gibi aslında sadece ben bir şey sevecek gibi değilim lmao
I really don't know how this made it on this list
What a gem! I only knew Wilco's "hits" but this was great.
Really strange I don’t know but good
I bought this double CD in the 90s for Outtasite (Outta Mind) but didn't remember a single other thing about it. Turns out, the rest of the album was packed with fucking bangers. Who knew?
Quite like this. Loving the ebbs and flows throughout the album. Maybe I need to listen to some more Wilco
This is the type of music that generally appeals to me, but there’s just too much of it! The second half drags and I found myself hoping it would end soon.
There’s a lot I like about this album and believe I’ll like it more after a few listens. Get a solid 4.0
I get it only a couple songs in. Not listening to 80 minutes.
Positives: Musicianship is great, singing is great and the lyrics are very immersive. When it's rock 'n' roll, alt rock with obvious country influences, folk rock and even indie, this album kicks ass. Negatives: When it goes full country, it sucks, and it does it a few times. Which brings me to the next part, if the album was trimmed (guess which type of songs), this would've been a 5 star contender single album. All in all, a good 3.5-4 stars.
This has been on my list for years now. I can't say that I enjoyed it that much. I think the album is much too long and I only really appreciated a handful of songs. I was only familiar with a few of their songs prior to this listen and I think I might enjoy some of their later albums a bit more if their sound changes some.
This was the Wilco record that got me into them. I will admit that this sucker is long in the tooth, it really drags towards the end of the 2nd disc. But I dig how country-fied this is. Outtasite (Outta Mind) and Misunderstood are the highlights for me.
Kinda divided, on one hand I don’t think there’s any real misses on the album but I definitely wasn’t singing along to any of the songs It kinda feels like they picked up a random live band from a local venue and recorded a polished album Definitely wouldn’t have picked this to be a 90s album I’ll say that
i was scared there would only be albums from the 70s here its a good listen. i'd listen to it again
Good stuff. Wilco's second album and you can hear the evolution from A.M. and prior to Mermaid Avenue. Double album was sold at single album price, a savvy marketing move which no doubt paid off down the road for Tweedy and Co. Now to address this Alt Country thing... Don't know who coined the phrase, don't know where it came from. But it seems a stretch to label Wilco Alt Country just for adding pedal steel and banjo to 5% of your songs. That said, a good album. Made basically with their backs to the wall (not to the level of Springsteen and Born to Run) and with considerable pressure mounting. First track is Misunderstood and does follow the First Rule of First Tracks: get the listener's attention. I like Monday, and the Outtasite and Outta Mind tracks being on separate records. Also liked Red-eyed and Blue, and Kingpin. Good sophomore effort, as the band really started hitting their stride after this. Good, not great. I'd probably go 3 1/2 stars if I could, but I don't feel I can go 4.
The first song started interesting, then got boring, then got interesting again and that set the mood for the whole album. I liked how the first part of the album is lowkey slower and then vibe of the songs change in disk 2 as it goes to something more exciting. I’m honestly just glad to get out of the 70s with these albums. I can’t entirely put how I feel about this album, there are parts that I dislike but never hate and then there are parts I like, but never love.
This album isn’t bad or terrible, but it falls squarely into the category of basic, simple, and middle of the road The album itself covers a lot of genres which gave it some good variety with the indie, country, and alternative. All of it was pretty standard to me. It’s the kind of music that’s perfect for background noise while taking a nap or washing the dishes. It serves its purpose, but it doesn’t stand out or demand attention. Now that I’m thinking about it, maybe it was because I was at work when listening to this. hm In the end the songs are well written, well performed, and well produced but they just did not hit me at all. I can see why people love it, but it just isn't for me. 3/5
Not my type
Too slow. Reminds me of country and grateful dead
This album is like 9 songs too long. It all really does sound the same. Slightly whiney voice and some acoustical guitar playing. Jason’s deli classic. 4/10
Not a Wilco fan. The singers voice is just not great.
Sinceramente, suenan bien, pero carecen de toda gracia. Son como Tom Petty sin inspiración. Y su cantante resulta a menudo desagradable. No sé qué mística les ve la gente.
I liked "what's the world got in store" 2
1st listen to the album and band. Good blend of folk and rock/punk
yup, not my thing but well produced because it kept me hooked anyway
Album 1011 of 1089 Being There - Wilco (1996) Rating : 4 / 5 Wilco is one of those bands that, to me, should be far more widely known than they are. They just don’t seem capable of putting out a real dud, and this album is another strong example of that consistency. The overall mood here is relaxed and introspective - peaceful without being dull, calm without being empty. It’s the kind of album that doesn’t demand your attention but rewards it if you give it some. The songs carry meaning without feeling heavy-handed, and the whole thing flows in a way that makes it easy to just settle in and listen. This is thoughtful, well-crafted music that feels honest and grounded. Nothing flashy, nothing forced - just a really solid album from a band that quietly keeps doing things right.
i am being bombarded by long/double-disc albums this winter, it's killing me. i've never listened to Wilco but i haven't heard bad things. i hope this will be worth sitting through Misunderstood - 5/5 Far, Far Away - 5/5 Monday - 4/5 Outtasite (Outta Mind) - 4/5 Forget the Flowers - 4/5 Red-Eyed and Blue - 4/5 I Got You (At the End of the Century) - 3/5 What's the World Got in Store - 3/5 Hotel Arizona - 4/5 Say You Miss Me - 4/5 Sunken Treasure - 3/5 Someday Soon - 3/5 Outta Mind (Outta Sight) - 3/5 Someone Else's Song - 3/5 Kingpin - 4/5 (Was I) In Your Dreams - 4/5 Why Would You Wanna Live - 3/5 The Lonely 1 - 3/5 Dreamer in My Dreams - 3/5 Average score: 3.6/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ this was alright, pretty enjoyable in some ways. however, like i mentioned, this album is waaaay too long i feel like this would've been rated much higher if some tracks in the last half were trimmed off entirely (or at least labeled as "deluxe edition" content that's optional to sit through). if i had stopped at the 10th track, i would have been pretty content in not hearing the other disk
Really good album
long, but engaging. i should check out more wilco beyond schmilco
I used to like Outtasite(Outta Mind) but now not so much. The rest of it I liked even less.
Never been the biggest Wilco fan but this was a fun listen!
So long that I had to listen in two sessions. I expected it to fade in the second half but I found myself enjoying those songs at least as much as the first half.
massively long album. live versions are pretty good. solid late 90s jam band. nice to hvae on.
Thoughts before listening: Wilco is one of my favorite bands, and I typically say this is my favorite album by them (although it might actually be Sky Blue Sky). It's a transitional record bridging the gap from their firmly alt-country beginning to the more experimental sounds found on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I haven't listened to this in a while so I'm glad to have a reason to revisit it. Review: Yeah I'm having major flashbacks listening to this album and it really is just so good. I pretty much nailed the description on this one: there are still country sounding songs on this album (i.e. "Forget the Flowers" which is a favorite) but overall this fits more comfortably in the 90s/00s indie rock world. I remember people calling Wilco the American Radiohead, and that's probably a fair description although Wilco certainly has stuck to traditional song structures more than Radiohead. All in all this is a great album by one of my favorite bands. 5-stars
At the time or maybe around yankee hotel these guys were getting hyped up by everybody as standard bearers or saviors of rock, or so it sometimes felt. Then and now, they are just ok. Lotsa midtempo midenergy rock and roll here, some songs hit, but probably not enough to justify the double.
Very good. Excellent variety in styles of songs and instrumentation
Definitely on the re-listen list. How did I miss out on Wilco in the 90’s?
251225 1:38 3.5
Quite pleasant alt-country/folk album, but probably not something I would relisten again. It's also very long, with 25-30 minutes less it would have been a much more complete album.
Class stuff
Not my favourite by them and a bit long but it's good stuff
Enjoyed this, bit too long (3.5)
A bit too long but nice. No real standouts.
Excellent tunes but it felt like there was no link between the songs, still vg though
um álbum muito bem gravado - e executado. Boas composições, um molho country bem dosado. 3-4 estralas
It's okay, but nothing particularly mind blowing. Not to mention the fact that it's far too long. Compress this down into a single album and you might have had something more interesting. As it stands, it's perfectly competent, if a touch bland, guitar rock.
You have to be in the mood for Wilco. When this record came out it connected with me and I found that listening to it in the car on long drives was a pretty darned enjoyable experience. And as I listened today for the first time in more than 20 years, it took me a full pass before it connected again. Certain songs are placeholders in time. They stand out immediately- Monday, Outtasite (Outta Mind) (such a great fucking song), Say You Miss Me. On the second pass the genius of this record is exposed. Jeff’s voice sucks you in and the less immediate tracks now suddenly click into place. Misunderstood and Far Far Away take you to fields of tall grass as the world spins past your window. This is music for the middle of America, a simpler time, and where the pace is just a little bit slower. What’s the World Got in Store for you? Hopefully more Wilco. I spin this record all the way through 4 times today. Side 2 is the same. There are a couple of tracks that are immediate - Outta Mind (Outta Site) with its Sesame Street piano, and The Lonely 1. The rest come after a few spins. I used to listen to this record very regularly- it was always in the rotation. And, now it may be again. 4/5
It’s good, but a little too long. A good double album that would’ve made a great single disc.
There were moments in here that conjured up The Killers/Brandon Flowers - which should have been an easy win. However, nothing ever felt all that well put together, and I was left feeling largely bored, annoyed, or both. Perhaps I'd have a better appreciation for this with more playthroughs, but its length seems too high a price to pay for entertaining that notion. Had it been halved, I'd have given it a 2 (or possibly higher with attainable replays), but at 75-minutes, it's a flushable fail that I'd rather just forget.
This was far too long for how mediocre this was. If I had the patience to listen to this twice I might really enjoy some of this. In the end it’s not worth the investment.
As an avid National fan, the algorithms would have you believe I should love Wilco. Not to suggest our algorithmic overlords are fallible, but this album just don’t click for me. It was an OK listen, but I kept waiting for the lyric that would be clever enough to either make me laugh or contemplate life but it never came (or at least was far too rare). The music is an interesting mix of indie rock with country influence but rarely catchy enough to turn up the volume. Maybe I’ll like their later work better
3.5 I went to a Wilco concert one time that ran like 3plus hours so the double album isnt a foreign concept for them. Some good, some meh, a couple really good.
Actually didn't mind this one, although it is way too long
Amiable rock & roll with various drops into a country-ish vibe. I admit, a lot of this went in one ear and out the other, but the more energetic tracks were enjoyable enough ("Monday" being my favorite), and I don't mind giving this another, more attentive listen.
Wow. I've listened to "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: a bunch and while I liked it, it took until this for Wilco to fully click. I assume most people will call this album too long but this is a great album to put onto in the car or someplace and just vibe to. 9/10
smooth
Me encantan Wilco. Y más me encantan su lado tranquilo y pausado que el marchoso
I have always had a hard time with Wilco because i could never pinpoint what they are. Are they alt country? indie rock? folk? just Chicago...? This album definitely did not help - but whatever they are...i like it.
Mostly harmless, but too long for what its offering.
I really liked Uncle Tupelo's sound, so it has been very frustrating to me that Wilco never quite hit the same way for me
Really really enjoyed it until I realised after 10 songs I was only half way through
A pleasant mello album punctuated by some more aggressive indie songs. I have some Wilco in my collection and this one might be better than the album I have. would listen again.
I like Wilco. They're always a good listen. For whatever reason, they do tend to fade into the background for me, but only in a pleasant way. Rarely do I intentionally seek them out. Not sure why. 3.49 stars.
This was the first Wilco album I bought, right around when it came out. Nearly three decades later, it sounds so straight-forward, even with the swirling feedback in "Misunderstood." That's not a dig. Sadly, Wilco doesn't do much for me these days, so I have a lot of affection for this album, particularly the first disc. "Misunderstood," "Far, Far Away," "Monday," and "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" are all top-notch. The 2nd disc fades in the back half, but this remains great.
Doesn't do much for me
Absolutely listenable
There's probably a time when this album is nice to listen to, but now wasn't the time for me. It was a bit too long too much of the same too. Enjoyed some bits more than others, perfectly fine, but at the same time I don't think anything truly stood out to me while listening. And for those that know me, this would sometimes venture into 'gekwelde man' territory for me.
I really enjoyed the Wilco collaboration with Billy Bragg featured elsewhere in this challenge. Americana is my thing. But this bored me, and I listened to it twice just to be sure. If you shoot to create a carefree everyman sound, it’s quite possible you’ll come up with a character like the neighbor who you only see at the community block party, who talk your ear off about failed romances and college football. That’s a bit harsh, so let’s just say that Wilco, as in “Will Comply,” is sometimes aptly named. A 2.
I don't think this album was my cup of tea, but I can see why others would enjoy it.
Rockero? Alternativo? Country? Definitivamente no está mal
liked some of them, some were really bad
Someday Soon I won't have to listen to any more Wilco. Can't wait.
You again! Better than yankee hotel foxtrot, still long and boring
This one has a lot to like. Far, Far Away got a lot of play on my ipod around the time of its release. By the end of the record though I was feeling a bit worn out like this was a long long story that never seemed to end. There is a lot of musicianship on this one, and a few great songs, which is awesome... but it's not a truly great record I think. It meets the bar for a 4 from me (I would play it again) but only just.
Different from what I expected.
Underrated album. Yankee Foxtrot Hotel and Summerteeth get all the love but this one is up there.
One of the greatest sophomore albums of all time in my opinion. Similar to The Bends progression from Pablo Honey, the growth Wilco showed on Being There from A.M. (not a bad record by any means) is outstanding. It’s also on my short list of greatest double albums of all time. For such a lengthy album there’s almost no filler: I think the only questionable inclusion here is Outta Mind (Outta Sight), a probably unnecessary reprise that doesn’t add much to the infectious Outtasight (Outta Mind). While that one may have been better off as an outtake release later on, it still can be an earworm for me occasionally. Misunderstood is Wilco at their gloriously weird and avant-garde best. It’s not a song for everyone, and that may be the point. It’s a ballsy song to kick off a record and it’s incredible. Jeff screaming “I know you got a god shaped hole…” gives me chills. There are so many killer tracks here and I probably added more songs to my ongoing playlist of top tracks from the 1001 list of any album I’ve crossed so far. Oddly enough, I fell in love with this album in college while I was living in Pensacola for a internship, and first heard the song Monday (“he must be down in Pensacola hiding from the snow”) while I was down in Pensacola missing all my college friends. Anyway, it’s a masterpiece. This kicked off one of the best streaks of four consecutive albums by any artist or group ever (Being There -> Summerteeth -> Yankee Hotel Foxtrot -> A Ghost Is Born). Sublime.
It would be easy to say its too long, but its a double album lad. At times its beautiful.
A lot of fun, listened a couple times. First listen was driving back from Thanksgiving and it was great driving music.
Where there's a Wilco, there's a wayco
(74/100)
(8/19 liked songs = 42%) Pretty okay. Wasn't really a fan of some of the slower songs though. Might listen to it again in the future. First album in my journey here.
Not a huge Wilco fan so this is a biased review. I was pleasantly surprised but not enough to want to dive into their discography more. I have a sneaking suspicion though that the author of 1001 will have me returning to Wilco some time soon.
I like Wilco, I have liked this album since it came out, they expanded the alt- country into further places, resulting in a damn fine album. My only real issue is that they are almost but not Uncle Tupelo, and I get the reason Tweedy and Farrar couldn’t continue but the knock on this album, which isn’t a knock really is I miss the change in vocal style/songwriting change that Tupelo had with. But that’s just me. High 4 star
One of my faves by Wilco!
I've always been torn on Wilco. Love some of their stuff, but most of their catalog is so-so to me. There are some of those great songs on this album however, so it's a 3/5 for me.
Really surprised me! Slow ish start but really picked up and had some good variation in there too meaning I didn’t find it too long. Pleasantly surprised and will be back
Actually kind of liked this one. Slower alt rock sound. 4/5
Would have been 4, but you lost me half way through the second disk
Enjoyed it for what it was, not my favorite from Wilco
When I initially saw the length of this album I was like here we go again, another long ass bad album. But Wilco shocked tf out of me, not once did it feel like the project was dragging on and we got two totally different feels during each disc. Thoroughly impressed by this!
I don't know, I liked Yankee Hotel, but I'm just not vibing with it
Misunderstood 3.4 Far, Far Away 3.2 Monday 3.5 Outtasite (Outta Mind) 3.5 Forget the Flowers 3.2 Red-Eyed and Blue 3.6 I Got You (At the End of the Century) 3.7 What's the World Got in Store 3.4 Hotel Arizona 3.5 Say You Miss Me 3.4 Sunkin Treasure 3.4 Someday Soon 3.2 Outta Mind (Outta Sight) 3.3 Someone Else's Song 3 Kingpin 3.7 (Was I) In Your Dreams 3.3 Why Would You Wanna Live 3.4 The Lonely 1 3.1 Dreamer in My Dreams 3.3 Score: 3.373684211
Too noodly
OK
This is it
I did not know that Wilco was so country. In fact, I previously thought that they weren't country.
Easy listening
Didn't do anything for me tbh. Some echoes to the Byrds, Burrito Bros, etc (which Uncle Tupelo did better anyway), mixed with more contemporary sounds as if trying to be determinedly "different", it just comes across as a bit schizotic to me. Not one I'd return to.
I really loved AM when it first came out and it's still my favorite Wilco album. I wasn't as excited about Being There when it came out and didn't really listen to it much. Now, it really holds up and foreshadows what Jeff Tweedy was going to do over the next 30 years with the band.
First track, Misunderstood, is riveting. Great song. This is the catalyst as you're pulled into song, after song on the album. Even going from a melodic track to an uptempo one felt like a genuine flow for the album.
Not too shabby! Didn’t rise to the one of the greatest albums of all time standard for me. Won’t rush to listen again.
I prefer A.M. over Being There but I also appreciate Being There as a bridge to bigger and better Wilco things. It's probably a little too long, but still a good listen. IIRC, this album was one of the first CDs I owned that came in a paper/cardboard CD case instead of a plastic jewel case. Hashtag The More You Know! 3.9 Stars.
Another album that’s just eh, vocals to soft and not my style.
Not a fan.
I was teetering between 3 and 4 stars, as I wasn't particularly compelled by this album but it was not half bad. Then 'Someone Else's Song' came on, which served as the basis of Team Fortress 2's 'More Gun' song that the Engineer sings. Thanks for the good memories, solid 4 star otherwise.
Is Wilco dad rock?
Not an album of happy songs. On on the whole, I preferred the Alt-Rock tracks to the Country-Rock. My favourite track was "Kingpin". A couple of the tracks echoed other music, for example "Monday" had echoes of David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel", while "Someone Else's Song" most definitely used "Norwegian Wood" by the Beatles.
I see Wilco, I give 5.
Gotta be honest - did not expect a double album from Wilco to slap as hard as this did. The sheer amount of influences present on this album is crazy. Early on in this I heard some Exile-Era Stones, then later some Dylan, Beach Boys, Beatles, Neil Young and more. All with a twist of Wilco. I didn't know they had the kind of range to incorporate so many different influences and styles, but here we are. What intrigued me most about this album, and maybe this is because of my unfamiliarity with Wilco on the whole, was the sheer amount of style, energy, and volume on this thing. The inclusion of horns (which is what really gave me the Exile on Main Street vibes) really took me by surprise. Do they normally do this? Are all Wilco albums bangers like this one? I don't know. As with all double albums, the question arises again - could this have been a single album? Well, considering most of the tracks I favorited were from disc 1...yes it could've been a single album. The first half carries more energy, more gusto and more intrigue for me. The second half is just a different, largely calmer vibe. When presented with the two halves back to back, the second just felt lacking to me. It was still great, but nothing could beat the first half. On the whole, however, I really enjoyed this, more than I thought I would. Four easy stars. Standout Tracks: Monday, Outtasite (Outta Mind), Forget the Flowers, Red-Eyed and Blue, I Got You )At the End of the Century), Hotel Arizona, Someday Soon
Yee-haw. Folk country music is annoying, even if they have a cool band name.
I feel the album has no one genre and it throws the listener off by a great force. Liked Far Far Away and a few more songs but not that influencing for me. Maybe because I share a different taste in music. Was pretty disappointed.
Great under appreciated music.
I really liked this album, even though nothing really stood out to me after multiple listens. It's just generally very good. 3++ but maybe a 4.0.
I liked what I heard - added to my bands/albums to return to
An American masterpiece. An everyman voice for everyday people. USA! USA! USA!
sehr cool aber viel zu lang
Some really good seeds of greatness but not up to the high bar for them
Not bad
Got half-way through the second disk when I felt I had heard enough of this album to give a fair review. Not paricularly eye opening overall to be honest. 'Outtasite (Outta Mind)' feels like a song you've heard before and stuck a bit to my mind, but the rest passed me by. Don't have any particularly deep reflections of this, but overall it felt a bit too soft and the soft rock/country/blues blend made it a lacking of an identity.
Felt like a weak 3 type of album. Just another in album in the giant catalog of soft rock indie on this list. Nothing really to differentiate it from anything else. I know Wilco is quite popular but they honestly feel like middle-of-the-road, safe rock to me. Favourite song was Kingpin which felt like it had some funk compared to the rest (I’ve noticed I’m a real big fan of syncopation). Main drawback is it’s length which pushes it down to a strong 2.
Big sprawling quintessential Wilco.
Meh.
Þetta er ansi skemmtilegt, ekkert sem stekkur beinlínis á mann, en mjög áheyrilegt og rennur vel í gegn. Sérstaklega gaman þegar bandið hendir í hressandi country, líkt og í lokalaginu. Svolítið langt, svo ég læt tvö rennsli nægja, en ég gæti alveg hent þessu aftur á síðar. Segjum 3,8.
3.5 stars. Not their best, but on the way to it. Probably would have been better as a single album. 1st half: 4 stars; 2nd half: 3 stars
Well, it's a double album, so some of these songs are gonna be a bit meh. That being said, it's "sloppy" for a reason, given that this is rock (country rock?). I was pleasantly surprised and loved that it ended in musical chaos. 5 solid stars.
Shit 💩
Some nice choons
Duller than dishwater. Even the cover art is garbage.
Whoa, I did not think of myself as a Wilco fan, but this is really a tour de force. It took me quite a while to decide between three and four stars, and even now I'm not totally sure. But I'll give extra points for the element of surprise.
Cool. There are some really beautiful pieces on here. There are also a few that don't stand out to me and I struggle to get into such a long double album where I can't easily get a sense for the whole record's arc. However the quality of one or two of these makes me really want to invest time with the rest.
enjoyed very melancholy, like those sounds from that time
It's fine? My biggest dig is probably just that I didn't care much one way or another.
Just okay forgettable to me
Het was weer tijd voor een belachelijk groot album met 4 discs. De meeste nummers geven me een amerikaanse country rock vibe, wat niet onaardig is maar mij ook niet superveel aanspreekt.
I really like this album, but it suffers from bloat and doesn't get to the highs of AM or YHF for me.
I’ve tried to like Wilco. They seem like they’d be nice? They love Chicago, I love Chicago. Apparently Jeff Tweedy gets migraines; a kindred spirit. The music, to me, is just very bleh, very dad rock.
Enjoyed this…downbeat but in a good way
Slow
Trått
6 star
Good musicianship but not my style at all. Ok in the background, but I keep thinking I'd rather be listening to something else. Sunken Treasure was an enjoyable track.
Blind album. 1st half was SO GOOD. Would've been a 5. Just lacked in the 2nd half.
Over the past week, we've gotten a lot of boring rich music. I liked this one better for no articulable reason. Still more boring rock.
At first, I really liked this album. And then it went on and on and on. The singing was great, the instruments were great as well. But the album as a whole was just too boring and repetitive. Maybe some of these songs are great, but as a whole, the album just isn't great.
Ah, another Wilco album. Yay (sarcastic). Yet again they've made an album that is fine. It's like the ham sandwich of music; there's nothing wrong with it really, but it is in no way exciting and it gets old pretty fast. The boringness of the music is more prevalent here since it's a double album that runs so long. It's like all of the songs were so similar in OK-ness that they couldn't decide what to cut and what to leave, so they just kept all of it. Any interest I had was gone well before it finished. To quote myself from the last time I reviewed a Wilco album: "I appreciate when an album manages to have no bad parts. But being not bad doesn't really make it good on its own. There should be more to it for it to be a great album. I can't say I thought this was more than fine." The sentiment holds true here again. I'm ranking this one slightly lower given how long it was, though. Overall: 2.6/5
I see why people like this band. Good grooves and overall quality mellow rock music. The melodies and chords they produce are appealing to the ear and their sequencing of songs is well done. Engineering and production fits well with their mold. I’d listen again.
Really interesting with some great tracks, felt this could have been cut down a bit and been a real banger. Some 4 star tracks but 3 stars overall
I've made modest effort to look into Wilco for the past year, by doing the sidequest albums with Billy Bragg. I've heard Yankee Hotel Foxtrot maybe a few years before that. I do know Someone Else's Song, it was my introduction to Wilco. I first heard it in the 'Meet the Engineer' video Valve created for Team Fortress 2, the greatest video game of all time in its prime. Lots of subversion going on, songs sounding pitiful and soft and then erupting with lots of fun loud guitars and other assorted madness going on from it. Not the biggest fan of Tweedy's vocals, as much as it works for a lot of the songs. That nasally white male indie voice thing is not my thing. Overall I did enjoy the majority of Being There and kind of understand why it would be on this list. It's certainly better than some other questionable choices. Wilco's a significant enough band to have a few albums on there, and I can see why this one was a choice along that other album Pitchfork loves.
Hmm, probably should like this more than I do at 1 listen. Not hooked, a little bored
Gosteii da vibe
Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: ? I've heard of Wilco, but never heard any of their music before. The less-country-oriented, psychedelic songs were okay, but the songs that leaned into the country style were meh. Overall, I was wholly nonplussed. It just reminded me of REM, with some country genre thrown in, and maybe a dash of Cake (who I love).
Never heard of the artist before, but its a good album. Very pleasant sound, with influences from many different artists and sounds. If this album is only the 3rd best album by Wilco, I'm very excited for the other 2!!
Rating: 4.7/5 Short Review: Country-rock at its most human: imperfect, unfiltered, and quietly transcendent. Favorite Track: “Misunderstood” — starts as a whisper, ends as an existential scream; the anthem of people who overthink everything but still mean it.