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After a decade, Summerteeth still has bite
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As has been the case for the last few years, a new Wilco release is marked by ample press coverage and fawning critics falling over themselves to say something new about the band who has evolved from Uncle Tupelo’s alt-country beginnings into one of the country’s best rock/pop bands.
So, while most music bloggers are lauding the brand new Wilco (The Album), I thought it might be a good time instead to revisit a watershed moment in the band’s discography and celebrate the 10th anniversary of Summerteeth, which was released in the spring of 1999. This was the record that broke them out of any musical category; it blends genres and features a wash of intriguing sounds. The phrase “wall of sound” is used too liberally in music journalism, and Phil Spector references are not exactly popular since that whole murder thing, but at its best moments, Summerteeth soars with a combination of undeniable melodies and a complex musical subtext. .jpg)
Discussing the album is a bit bittersweet because remembering Summerteeth is also remembering Jay Bennett, who passed away May 24th at the age of 45 from an accidental overdose of a prescription painkiller. Bennett was arguably the band member who was most responsible for Summerteeth’s splendor – even more so than front man Jeff Tweedy. The album marked the first time the band stretched their sound to the extent people now expect it to be taken. Before Summerteeth, the band’s guitar sound wasn’t too dissimilar from that of former Uncle Tupelo member Jay Farrar and his band Son Volt; see A.M.’s Box Full of Letters and Too Far Apart. But on Summerteeth, Bennett’s piano and keyboards dominate the melodies and fully realize the ample hooks. Tweedy may be the undisputed leader of the band, but Bennett was the most integral member on Summerteeth and the impetus for their expanding sound. The keyboards are lush but never in the way. One listen to Shot in the Arm, and the piano line becomes unforgettably hummable.
Candy Floss sounds more like The Who and 60s British Invasion rock than it does No Depression fare. She’s a Jar features Tweedy’s aching harmonica and Bennett’s keyboard strings, which are lush but not overdone. His piano also lends a quiet elegance to How To Fight Loneliness. Meanwhile, ELT is shiny slice of rock and roll goodness, in which Bennett plays all guitars and keyboards, and adds backing vocals – as he does on the rest of the album as well. My Darling has the feel of a perfect summer song. I’m Always in Love is immensely catchy even though the guitar part at the end of the song is an exact match to riff in New Order’s Love Vigilantes. Bennett’s electric guitar playing on the title track is its driving force. Oh, and imagine a Beach Boys’ song featuring a banjo (played by Bennett) and an unexpected trumpet part, and you’ve got Pieholden Suite.
Regarding Nothingsevergonestandinmy way(again), some critics may have gone on about how the alarm clock in the middle of the song is metaphorical to the band’s evolution, but I won’t venture into some unwarranted analogy. Instead, it is simple enough to suggest that Summerteeth was a defining creative point. This isn’t to say that their preceding two albums, A.M. and Being There were traditional alt-country or unambitious. Outta Mind (Outta Sight), with its Sesame Street theme-like bounce, and Monday are two toe tapping gems that pre-date Summerteeth, and it should also be noted that Summerteeth didn’t sell as well as Being There. Still it did broaden their exposure and firmly established them as critical favorites. Maybe Summerteeth sounds a little sunnier and friendlier than Wilco releases this decade; maybe it’s an imagined inherent feeling in the word “summer,” but I’d say it’s the sunny harmonies and the music’s warmth are the real reason.
After the completion of Summerteeth’s follow-up, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Bennett was dismissed from the band. This May, Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Just weeks before the lawsuit, Bennett announced that he needed hip replacement surgery but couldn’t afford it because his insurance company wouldn’t cover what they deemed a pre-existing condition. It was a sad way for a life to end, and it followed an unfortunate separation between Wilco and Bennett, who’d been a member since 1994.In a statement on the band’s website, Tweedy wrote “We are all deeply saddened by this tragedy. We will miss Jay as we remember him -- as a truly unique and gifted human being and one who made welcome and significant contributions to the band's songs and evolution. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends in this very difficult time.”
One of the wistful songs on Summerteeth is When You Wake Up Feeling Old. Sadly, Bennett never got the chance to wake up old, but his work with Wilco on Summerteeth, in particular, will not get old anytime soon.
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