Summerteeth
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''Summerteeth'' (stylized as summerteeth) is the third
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by the American rock band
Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...
(stylized as ''wilco''), released on March 9, 1999, by
Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...
. The album was heavily influenced lyrically by 20th century literature, as well as singer Jeff Tweedy's marital problems. Unlike previous albums, ''Summerteeth'' was heavily overdubbed in the studio with
Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...
. Tweedy and Jay Bennett wrote most of the album in the studio, a contrast to the band's previous albums, which were often recorded live by the entire band with minimal overdubs. The album was met with critical acclaim from numerous outlets, including
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' and ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
''. ''Summerteeth'' sold approximately 200,000 copies, a modest number compared to the sales of their previous album ''
Being There ''Being There'' is a 1979 American satirical comedy-drama film starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, and Melvyn Douglas. Directed by Hal Ashby, it is based on the 1971 novel '' Being There'' by Jerzy Kosiński, and adapted for the scr ...
'' (1996). Wilco agreed to remix "Can't Stand It" with David Kahne to cater to radio markets, but the single failed to attract substantial airplay.


Background and production

Wilco released ''Being There'' in 1996 to a higher level of commercial success than its first album, '' A.M.'', selling 300,000 copies (nearly double the number of its first record). After the promotional tour to support ''Being There'', Wilco began to record tracks for a third album. The initial ''Summerteeth'' recording sessions were in November 1997 at
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
's music studio in Spicewood,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. Lead singer Jeff Tweedy was particularly emotional during the sessions because he was upset that he was unable to spend time with his wife and son because of the constant touring schedule.Kot 2004. p. 138 As a result, the songs recorded then reflected an introspective view that was also influenced by literature that Tweedy was reading at the time. While touring, Tweedy would read books by Henry Miller, William H. Gass and John Fante. According to Tweedy: The sessions produced a number of songs, including "I'm Always in Love", "She's a Jar" and the Henry Miller-inspired murder ballad "Via Chicago". Tweedy's relationship with his wife Sue Miller became the inspiration for several of the songs, although she was portrayed mostly in a negative sense. Miller was reluctantly willing to give Tweedy the creative license to write songs, but was concerned about lyrics such as "she begs me not to hit her" from "She's a Jar". Before the album was completed, Wilco decided to collaborate with
Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic th ...
on the album that became '' Mermaid Avenue''. Once the ''Mermaid Avenue'' sessions were completed, Wilco entered Chicago's Kingsize Soundlabs with engineers Dave Trumfio and Mike Hagler to finish ''Summerteeth''. Tweedy and Bennett wanted to start the recording sessions again by experimenting with a new approach to mixing the songs. Unlike previous material, which was performed live in the studio, the pair heavily overdubbed many of the songs with Pro Tools. As a result, the contributions of other members were diminished. To complement the "bold, but depressing" lyrics, Tweedy relied more heavily on the production skills of the
multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...
Jay Bennett, who played a variety of instruments besides his usual lead guitar and keyboard work, including
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...
,
tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...
and
synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s. Bennett even played the
bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
and
drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...
s when the bass guitarist John Stirratt and drummer Ken Coomer were not in the studio. Coomer was not pleased about a reduced role in the band: After a series of personnel changes,
Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...
sought to release a hit single from the album to increase album sales. Wilco agreed to do this "once and once only" on the basis that they wanted to cooperate with the label that allowed them such freedom. The band and Reprise executives agreed to re-mix "Can't Stand It" to make it more radio-friendly. Within one day, the song was remixed into the version that appeared on ''Summerteeth'', cutting out portions of the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
and adding bells. "Can't Stand It" failed to cross over from
adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...
to modern rock radio stations.


Reception

Upon release, ''Summerteeth'' peaked at number 78 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It was their first album to chart in the top 40 in the United Kingdom. By 2003, it had sold over 200,000 copies. The album was placed eighth on the ''
Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...
'' critics' poll for 1999, and ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' gave it position 31 in its list of the best albums of the 1990s. Jason Ankeny of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
gave the album five stars, lauding its "lush string arrangements and gorgeous harmonies". Ankeny also compared the music on the album to
The Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...
in their prime. ''Pitchfork'' writer Neil Lieberman praised how Wilco "craft dan album as wonderfully ambiguous and beautifully uncertain as life itself" and how Bennett "paint dthe album in
Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...
".
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
gave the album a two-star honorable mention, calling it "old-fashioned tunecraft lacking not pedal steel, who cares, but the concreteness modern popcraft eschews". The ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' critic
Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
championed the album in his review and ranked it the year's best album, calling it "pop so gorgeous it belies the intricate studio experimentation that brought it to life".


Track listing


Personnel

* Jeff Tweedy – vocals (1–14, 16), electric guitar (1, 9), backing vocals (1, 2, 10, 11), acoustic guitar (2, 3, 6–9, 11–14, 16), harmonica (2), 12-string guitar (3), synthesizers (3, 9), baritone guitar (5), claps (6), bass guitar (7), tambourine (7), toy harp (12), bowed and tremolo guitars (14) * Jay Bennett – piano (1, 3–9, 11, 13, 14, 16), keyboards (1–3, 5–8, 10–13, 16), bells (1, 13), percussion (1), backing vocals (1, 2, 4–8, 10–14, 16), electric guitar (2, 10, 11, 13, 16), tambourine (2, 6, 7, 9–11), lap steel (3, 13), synthesizers (3, 7, 10), drums (3, 5, 17), Farfisa (4), bass drum (4), bass guitar (5), baritone guitar (6, 11, 16), e-bow guitar (6, 11), claps (11), banjo (7, 9), organ (9, 14, 16), Moog (9), slide bass (11), tiple (12) * John Stirratt – bass guitar (1–3, 6–14, 16), backing vocals (4–8, 11–13, 16), piano (5) * Ken Coomer – drums (1, 2, 5–14, 16), timpani (3) * Leroy Bach – piano (12) *Dave Crawford – trumpet (7) *Mark Greenberg – vibraphone (11) * David Campbell — String arrangements (1) *Mitch Easter, Chris Grainger, Larry Greenhill, Mike Hagler, Russ Long, David Trumfio –
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
s * David Kahne, Jim Scott – mixing *Mike Scotella – mixing assistant *Steve Chadie – assistant engineer *Lawrence Azerrad – artwork,
graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...


Charts


Appearances in media

* "How to Fight Loneliness" can be heard at the end of " Something Old" episode of ''
How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...
'' and was included in the soundtrack of the movie '' Girl, Interrupted'' (1999), and at the end of " You Must Remember This" episode of ''
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
'' (Season 7 episode 12). * "My Darling" was included in season 1, episode 4 "The Deer Hunters" of "
Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The show debuted October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagship series for the network. The show ran fo ...
" (2000). * "Summerteeth" is mentioned as a minor plot-element in
Jo Nesbø Jon "Jo" Nesbø (; born 29 March 1960) is a Norwegian novelist and musician. His books had sold over 50 million copies worldwide by 2021, making him the most successful Norwegian author to date. Siegel, Lee (5 May 2014).Pure Evil: Jo Nesbø and th ...
's novel '' Phantom'' (2012) * "She's a Jar" was featured in the movie '' The Darwin Awards'' (2006). * “Via Chicago” was featured in Hulu TV series The Bear (TV series).


Notes


References

*


External links


Jeff Tweedy interview with Salon about the album
{{Authority control 1999 albums Wilco albums Reprise Records albums Albums produced by Jeff Tweedy Psychedelic pop albums