The Wilco Book (with CD)

Rating:
Summary: Outlandish and Annoying
Review: Since the controversy over Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Wilco have become increasingly self righteous and unhinged. Their latest album, although containing some of their greatest songs, is shaky at best(10 minutes of feedback anyone?). The Wilco Book picks up where the album leaves off. This annoying waste of paper and ink takes the cake as far as their outlandish artistic ambitions are concerned. The text is filled with scatter shot ramblings and irritating didactic sermons. It's not quite as worthless as Tweedy's book of poetry but it comes close.
Thinking of buying it for the photos of the band and the exclusive music? Think again, most of the photos are of instruments, objects, diagrams, and art that are about as pleasurable as cat vomit on the pavement. Oh, and the bonus CD? Well its full of quasi avant-garde ramblings, luke-warm leftovers, and derivative tripe.
It turns out that Bennett was the lucky one, he got out just before Tweedy's ego went completely heywire. Save your money and go find a Wilco bootleg from the Summerteeth era, that seems to be the forgotten period. Back then they did not act like an American Radiohead. Although if you like excruciatingly pretentious musings by musicians trying to pass themselves off as enlightened philospers this book may appeal to you.
After a fiasco of this nature Tweedy might have to resort back to his pain pill addiction to quell those Belleville blues. Or maybe he will just fire a few bandmembers and bring in some more yes men.



Rating:
Summary: PURE BUG BEAUTY
Review: I own a book by David Byrne (Strange Ritual) It's a great photography book with poetry between some of the pages. This book kind of reminds me of it. I love that it comes with a soundtrack. Of course it's not the kind of record you put on at a party but the kind you put on while your working on something, perhaps on your computer or Hey, how about while your reading and going threw the book. or painting a wall or making dinner. It's an art book, and the music in it is in the same vain. Think art. think sketches. The book itself is great
It's got cool photos and text by the band. I been slowly going threw it since last thursday. I pick it up and i put it down. and again and again. Enjoy don't rush it.

Rating:
Summary: jeff as a team player
Review: Much has been made of jeff being the "boss" of Wilco. I'm sure he has the final say on most of the goings on but this book proves without a doubt what a collaborative effort the Wilco team really is! The book is funny, fun, interesting, exciting, inciteful... It can be browsed, read in chunks or read in one giant sitting. I have had the most fun opening it randomly and letting my eyes and head wander. It is intellectually and emotionally stimulating. Cool. I'm not trying to be pretentious or anything. If you get yr hands on the book you gotta know what to expect, at least a little bit. The disc is...interesting. that's an adjective used when reviewers can't find a polite way of saying they don't totally like the music but in this instance the music really is interesting. It does sound like outtakes but listened to straight thru gives a wonderful overview of the "Wilco process". And there are some structured songs too that are awesome like the alternate version of "Hummingbird". Anyway, lovers of art, culture, literature and music will be satisfied to the fullest. There's something there for everyone. It's truely worth the $ and effort.

Rating:
Summary: It's obvious what kind of content this is.
Review: So if you dont think they're Gods, why would you buy this in the first place? This isnt like an introduction to the band. Wilco is putting something additional out there. For me, it sucks when there's an artist I love and they have their crap filter set way too high. Experimentation from bands should be encouraged, and if you love Wilco you shouldnt be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Loved it...completely unvarnished
Review: The smartest book about rock in years-and, no it's not about Uncle Tupelo, it's about Wilco. This is book is a subtle, thoughtful riff on being a band, making music and the creative process. If you want to look at glistening pictures of a rock band, go watch the MTV music awards or buy Star magazine. The Wilco Book is a welcome take on the entire process of making an album, not just strutting for the camera. Some people have whined that Wilco is too self-important. You can't complain that the band is hopelessly narcissistic, and then complain that they didn't put enough pictures of themselves in the book.

Rating:
Summary: Great Coffee-Table Book!
Review: The Wilco Book is a collection of beautiful photos and personal thoughts about and by the wonderfully progressive alt-rock band, Wilco. It is not meant to be read as a book, it is intended to be picked up and opened to fill your senses, visually. And then, there's the music...a CD of unreleased songs is included in the book. There are no gems, they're not even real songs, mostly just sound tracks, but very nice background material while you create yourself, by way of pen or brush. The only problem with a book like this is that you get to know the band a little too personally. They seem less like geniuses and more like mere troubadors. Especially when you put their philosophies and short essays next to those of Henry Miller's, whose are also included in this book. Pick up the book, put it on your coffee table, and it'll get picked up quickly by your guest while your Monet and Thomas Kinkade books are used as coasters.

Rating:
Summary: Coffee Table Art
Review: The Wilco Book is a great book if you enjoy the creative process. This book is less about the band and more about how they record, why they do it, and what the environment around them looks or feels like while they are doing it. It's an open-minded look at a process most of us don't enjoy on the same scale, but that we can all relate to in our own creative lives.

The accusations of pretense are understandable. But if you are someone who loves the process as much as the finished product this will be an inspiring piece. The cd and the book fit perfectly together in creating a mood of idea exploration. I found this book insightful and a very nice addition to a progressingly great body of work.

Rating:
Summary: Self-Congratulation Run Amok
Review: Wilco is a great band (their latest, A ghost is born, notwithstanding), but they've let their pretentions get the best of them. The once great Rick Moody's essay, in particular, is particularly painful in every way an essay can be. I was greatly disappointed by this book of self-congratulation: Essays detailing why Wilco is so great (answer according to them: because their experimentation is better than a nameless Everyone Else's status quo - as if The Flaming Lips and Beck and numerous others don't even exist); pointless photographs (example: a boombox with a leaf next to it. Gee, thanks guys); and a CD full of Noise, which Wilco has officially decided is DEEPER than real music. They have become blinded by the notion that impenetrability equals depth and brilliance. In the case of this book and cd, it most certainly does not. They got the balance right on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and now they just don't know what to do anymore. It's a shame they've opted for arty pretention, because they still have the potential to be one of our time's most vital bands. I would only recommend this book to huge wilco fans that have lots of money to waste.