"Being There" always struck me as Wilco's "purest" record - simple but terrific. Tweedy's aspirations to do MORE! than straight pop/rock always yielded mixed results for this band, IMHO. True, the music's highest points may have gotten higher, but those low points.....
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is easily my favorite late period Wilco, followed by Sky Blue Sky, with Ghost and Summerteeth being just too much for me to swallow.
Just providing another data point for you - from someone who admittedly prioritizes the straight pop elements in this kind of music.
Marty
Incidentally, I'll second the Jay Bennett cheerleading movement. A wonderful talent who had a tough life. I much prefer his record, "The Palace at 4AM", recorded with Edward Burch (sic?) to any of the Wilco records. Ironically, I found that Bennet's other recordings suffered somewhat from "Late Period Tweedy Syndrome" (as described above), with aspirations overpowering his greatest musical strengths.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is easily my favorite late period Wilco, followed by Sky Blue Sky, with Ghost and Summerteeth being just too much for me to swallow.
Just providing another data point for you - from someone who admittedly prioritizes the straight pop elements in this kind of music.
Marty
Incidentally, I'll second the Jay Bennett cheerleading movement. A wonderful talent who had a tough life. I much prefer his record, "The Palace at 4AM", recorded with Edward Burch (sic?) to any of the Wilco records. Ironically, I found that Bennet's other recordings suffered somewhat from "Late Period Tweedy Syndrome" (as described above), with aspirations overpowering his greatest musical strengths.