Wilco - Here Comes Everybody

 

Wilco – Here Comes Everybody

(soniclovenoize reconstruction)

1.  A Magazine Called Sunset

2.  Kamera

3.  Radio Cure

4.  Cars Can’t Escape

5.  The Good Part

6.  Shakin’ Sugar

7.  Laminated Cat

8.  Ashes of American Flags

9.  Heavy Metal Drummer

10.  I’m The Man Who Loves You

11.  Pot Kettle Black

12.  Poor Places

13.  Venus Stopped The Train

14.  Iamtryingtobreakyourheart

In honor of the surprise release of Wilco’s (pretty fantastic) new album Star Wars, here is a reconstruction of what could have been their fourth album--Here Comes Everybody.  Eventually restructured as their 2001 masterpiece Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the album ended up very different than the early working tapes due to shifting band members, song arrangements and label affiliations.  Compiling alternate versions from two sets of demo discs as well as a number of studio outtakes, we are able to piece together a less-experimental album more in-line with the band’s previous album Summerteeth (ideally featuring more appearances of multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett and drummer Ken Coomer, who exited the band during this period).  Some unique edits were made to make new, complete takes;  the tracks were also either crossfaded or banded closely; and all songs are volume-adjusted to create a cohesive listening experience.  

At the end of the 20th Century, Wilco had become critical darling in search of the ever-elusive hit single and the battle between The Artist and The Industry had already bubbled over several times.  Lead singer/songwriter Jeff Tweedy desired Wilco’s second album--1996’s Being There--to be a double album, an idea vetoed by their label Reprise Records; a compromise was reached, in which Tweedy allowed a significant cut of his royalties from the album which offset the label’s loss, in order for it to be released as a double.  The sprawling album that straddled alt-country and experimental-rock gained enough critical success to warrant artistic freedom for their follow-up, 1999’s Summerteeth.  Although once again garnishing much critical acclaim for the album’s lush Pet Sounds-esque layers as well as Tweedy’s songwriting prowess, Reprise Records didn’t hear a hit single and demanded to create a radio-friendly mix of “I Can’t Stand It”.  Wilco acquiesced, knowing how much freedom they had been already allowed in an era of the emergence of media oligopolies and a long list of bands dropped from the label's roster.  The song failed to be a hit, and Wilco approached the danger zone. 

Regrouping at the band’s own rehearsal space in late 2000 to record the follow-up entirely themselves, Wilco’s fourth album at this point had the working title of Here Comes Everybody, a reference to James Joyce’s masterpiece Finnegan’s Wake.  The ever-changing metaphysics of Joyce’s H.C.E. character was appropriate, as the nature of the recording sessions changed as well, moving into early 2001.  While initially the songs were a second wind of Summerteeth—solid songwriting played by a solid rock band with layers upon layers of experimental sounds by multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett—Tweedy wished to push the boundaries of the band itself.  After spending the year with side project Loose Fur (consisting of Tweedy, experimental producer Jim O’Rourke and drummer Glen Kotche),  the more daring and sonically progressive sound of the trio greatly informed how Here Comes Everybody would progress as well.  The first step was replacing Wilco drummer Ken Coomer with Kotche himself.  A less busy drummer who focused on unusual and homemade percussion instruments, Kotche was able to rhythmically reinterpret Tweedy’s new songs (many already recorded) into a more exotic backbone to perpetuate the atmosphere of the songs, in contrast to Coomer’s more traditional rock drumming. 

The second step in the evolution of Here Comes Everybody into what we now know as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, was the song selection and mixing process.  Dropping obvious career throwbacks (the Summerteeth-esque “A Magazine Called Sunset” or the Being There-esque “Never Let You Down") and focusing on the songs that specifically dealt with the curious dissatisfaction and personal alienation in an increasingly modern and technological world  ensured a fresh direction for the band.  Jim O’Rourke was brought in to mix the album and much to the displeasure of the rest of Wilco, the songs were drastically stripped to their emotional core, often leaving merely Kotche’s exotic percussion and Bennett’s dizzying sonics.  Gone was the traditional sound of a rock band and all that remained was the strength of the songs themselves, floating in a sea of opiate-inspired fuzzy guitars, twinkling pianos, anonymous voices and static.   

Not only did the album transform, but the band itself.  The behind-the-scenes battle over creative control of the band between Bennett and Tweedy had concluded with Bennett being dismissed from Wilco, an event depicted in the documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.  Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was also the breaking point of the fragile relationship between Wilco and Reprise Records.  After the band refused to bend to label exec’s requests to “make some changes” upon hearing the album, Reprise refused to release it and instead offered Wilco to buy-out their contract (which included the rights to the album) for $50,000.  Accepting their offer, Wilco not only bought the rights back to the album their label refused to release, but they leaked it themselves--streaming it on their website for free--and went public with Reprise’s tactics.  The situation—as well as the strength of the fantastic album itself—earned a Wilco a new record deal with the indie label Nonesuch Records, this time with complete artistic freedom.  Who owned Nonesuch Records?  AOL/Time Warner , the same oligopoly who owned Reprise Records!  Wilco self-produced an album of music they wanted and essentially sold it back to the company who refused to release it in the firstplace. 

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was the musical turning point in the postmodern era that embodied all the issues that artists presently face: digital media as distribution, the effect of media oligopolies and the transfer of power to the underdog indie artists from the dinosaur cash-cows.   But in its original incarnation as Here Comes Everybody, history could have been very different for Wilco’s fourth album.  Using two different bootlegs of the rough and early mixes of the album (known as the YHF Demos and the YHF Engineer’s Demos) as well as some of the outtakes which didn’t conceptually fit, we are able to make a very different album, one that more logically follows Summerteeth and did not create such a radical artistic shift.  We will try to use as many Coomer-drummed tracks as possible as if he hadn’t been ousted from the band (as much as we ascertain, without knowing the specific credit of every recording).  Just as well, we’ll include two Bennett-penned tracks that were left on the cutting room floor, as if he too hadn’t been ousted from the band.     

We can begin this reconstruction of Here Comes Everybody with the most radio-friendly song, “A Magazine Called Sunset”, taken from the More Like The Moon EP.  Although an early mix most likely featuring Coomer on drums is found on the YHF Demos bootleg, we will use the more polished, finished track featuring Kotche on drums.  This is followed with the more rock-anthem-arranged “Kamera” from the YHF Demos.  Next, an early and very different, nearly tropicalia version of “Radio Cure“ that was originally titled “Corduroy Cutoff Girl”.   Taken from the YHF Demos, the redundant verses are edited out for a more logical and concise song framework.  Next is the fantastic piano ballad “Cars Can’t Escape”, taken from the Alpha Mike Foxtrot boxset and followed by the very Summerteeth-esque “The Good Part”, using the unreleased version from the YHF Demos that seem to feature Coomer on drums.  “Shakin Sugar” from the YHF Demos follows, a deeper album cut for sure but a Jay Bennett original that would later be recorded for his only solo album post-Wilco.  “Laminated Cat” concludes the first half of the album, a song later reimagined and recorded by Loose Fur.  Here is a straightforward Springsteen-esque version from the YHF Demos originally titled "Not For The Season."   

The second half of Here Comes Everybody follows more closely the sequence of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, except all sourced from early mixes found on the YHF Demos; these versions of “Ashes of American Flags”, “Heavy Metal Drummer”, “I’m The Man Who Loves You” and “Pot Kettle Black” all demonstrate how much of an impact Jim O’Rourke was on the sound of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by deconstructing the arrangements at crucial points in the songs.  Next is a personal highlight for this album, the early version of “Poor Places” from the YHF Demos propelled by a barroom piano, featuring a full band and a slightly different structure.  Following is an edit of two rough mixes to create a complete take of “Venus Stopped The Train”, a song composed by Jay Bennett around a Jeff Tweedy poem, also re-recorded by Bennett for his solo album post-Wilco.  The album closes with the early version of “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” from the YHF Demos (which I have stylized as “Iamtryingtobreakyourheart”) which seems to feature Coomer on drums.  Instead of being an exciting opening track on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot that sets the mood for modern disillusionment, it becomes a confusing experimental afterthought to an already stylistically varied album. 

Is Here Comes Everybody an improvement over Yankee Hotel Foxtrot?  I don’t believe it is; pushing Wilco to new musical boundaries is a must for the band, and the album would not have had its historical impact had it not been cutting edge and unified vision.  Here Comes Everybody would certainly have been Wilco's White Album!  But this reconstruction at least shows how much Wilco did push their music at the time, how they got from point A to point B.  At the very least, Here Comes Everybody offers a more traditional option for those who like their Wilco without all the bells, whistles and... static.  

Sources used:

Alpha Mike Foxtrot: Rare Tracks 1994-2014 (1994 CD boxset Nonesuch)

More Like The Moon EP (2003 CD Nonesuch)

War On War (2002 CD Nonesuch)

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Demos (bootleg, 2002)

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Engineer Demos (bootleg, 2002)

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*md5, artwork and tracknotes included

The Misfits - 12 Hits From Hell

The Misfits – 12 Hits From Hell

(soniclovenoize reconstruction)

Side A:

1.  Halloween

2.  Vampira

3.  I Turned Into a Martian

4.  Skulls

5.  London Dungeon

6.  Night of the Living Dead

Side B:

7.  Horror Hotel

8.  Ghoul’s Night Out

9.  Astro Zombies

10.  Where Eagles Dare

11.  Violent World

12.  Halloween II

This is a reconstruction of the unreleased 1980 debut album from The Misfits, 12 Hits From Hell, which was scrapped after guitarist Bobby Steele was replaced by Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein.  Some of the songs were instead released as 7” singles and the remaining tracks were used as a demo to secure a record deal and eventually re-recorded in 1982 as their seminal Walk Among Us.  Although 12 Hits From Hell was given a modern remix and remaster for a posthumous release in 2001, it was again vetoed and scrapped by vocalist Glenn Danzig and bassist Jerry Only because of errors in mastering, artwork and liner note credit.  This reconstruction ignores the posthumous 2001 remix and attempts to collect only authentic mixes to assemble how the album would have sounded in 1980.

Emerging as one of the first wave of hardcore punk acts in 1977 New Jersey, it took a few years and scrapped projects for The Misfits to find their sound.  Harnessing the new-found aggression of hardcore punk, the quartet recorded what was intended as their debut album, Static Age, in 1978.  Following a change in band lineup, image and lyrical subjects—embracing the themes and aesthetic of classic horror movies—the album was scrapped and The Misfits instead focused on touring and single releases.   By 1980, the lineup had solidified with guitarist Bobby Steel and drummer Arthur Googy, backing up Danzig and Only. 

Entering Master Sound Productions Studios on August 7^th, 1980, the quartet recorded twelve songs meant to function as their debut album.  All the tracks were initially cut live in one take, except “London Dungeon”, which required two takes.  Unknown to Steele, Only had been grooming his little brother Doyle to replace Steele as guitarist, and Doyle was brought in for his own set of guitar overdubs.  The effect is unique in The Misfits body of work, as the album—provisionally titled 12 Hits From Hell—is the only release with two different guitarists.  The recordings were equal parts energetic and atmospheric and were never replicated later in their career.  The Caiafa Brothers (Jerry and Doyle) would have their way by October and Steele was ousted from the band, relegating the recordings to function as a demo tape to shop the band to prospective labels. 

Luckily the recordings were not left in the vault for long, as “London Dungeon”, “Horror Hotel” and “Ghouls Night Out” were all released on the abbreviated EP 3 Hits From Hell in April 1981, and “Halloween” and “Halloween II” were released as a 7” on Halloween 1981.  The session also did its job as a demo, securing the band a contract with Ruby Records that year and producing their ‘proper’ debut album Walk Among Us in 1982, which featured re-recorded versions of six of the remaining unreleased 12 Hits From Hell songs.  While The Misfits eventually disbanded in 1983, Danzig took the liberty to overdub and remix a number of unreleased tracks for the 1985 compilation Legacy of Brutality, which featured doctored mixes of “Where Eagles Dare” and “Halloween” as well as pillaged versions of some of the Static Age songs.  The original 1980 mixes of “Astro Zombies” “Night of the Living Dead”, “Skulls” and “Vampira” were released the following year on a self-titled compilation that was eventually known as Collection I, with “Halloween”, “Horror Hotel” and “Halloween II” released on the follow-up compilation Collection II in 1995.  Finally, all the aforementioned tracks as well as the original unreleased 1980 mixes of “I Turned Into a Martian”, “Violent World” and “Where Eagles Dare” were released on The Misfits Box Set in 1996. 

Interestingly enough, the scattered tracks found on the box set was not the last word on 12 Hits From Hell.  After the unreleased Static Age album had been successfully issued as a proper posthumous release in 1997, 12 Hits From Hell warranted the same treatment and was remixed from the mastertapes in 2001 for a tentative Halloween release on Caroline Records.  All twelve songs—as well as the alternate first take of “London Dungeon” as a bonus track—received a more spacious and wide-stereo mix, a very modern-sounding mix that was a sharp contrast to the tight and claustrophobic 1980 mixes.  After a number of promotional copies had been distributed to industry insiders, the album was cancelled, promo copies recalled and subsequently destroyed.  Why?  Both Danzig and Only—the two who retained the rights to the Misfits brand—claimed not only a “mastering error” but incorrect credits in the liner notes, as well as subpar packaging and cover design that didn't meet their standard.  On the other hand, former guitarist Bobby Steele had an opposing point of view: that the newly-remixed album was scrapped because of Danzig & Only’s egos, who wanted to erase his guitar parts that were featured prominently in the new mixes.  In a possible retaliation and absurd twist, Steele recorded his own version of the entire album with The Undead in 2007.  But putting aside petty squabbles, what did 12 Hits From Hell originally sound like?   

For my reconstruction, we will focus solely on the original 1980 mixes of 12 Hits From Hell, for better or for worse; while admittedly the 2001 remix sounds stunning, it is not what The Misfits sounded like in 1980.  Luckily all the (presumably) vintage mixes are found on the 1996 Box Set in their best mastering, making our task extremely easy!  The tracklist will follow the planned 2001 12 Hits remaster, as the CD itself followed Danzig’s own handwritten tracklist from 1980, written on MSP Studios stationary.  The final touch is a cover design that borrows from the 3 Hits From Hell EP, an art concept that is as vintage as possible (also included is alternate cover art designed by Jon Hunt of idesignalbumcovers).  So without further delay, put on your make-up… it’s time for an early Halloween! 

Sources used:

The Misfits - Box Set (1996 Caroline Records)

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*md5, artwork and tracknotes included

The Who - Introducing The Who

The Who – Introducing The Who

(soniclovenoize reconstruction)

Side A:

1.  I’m A Man

2.  Heat Wave

3.  I Don’t Mind

4.  Lubie (Come Back Home)

5.  Out In The Street (You’re Gonna Know Me)

6.  Please Please Please

Side B:

7.  Leaving Here

8.  Daddy Rolling Stone

9.  Motoring

10.  Anytime You Want Me

11.  Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere

12.  Shout and Shimmy

This is a reconstruction of what was almost The Who’s 1965 debut album, consisting mostly of amped-up versions of R&B covers, which was eventually scrapped and re-recorded as their classic genre-creating My Generation.  This reconstruction attempts to follow the original promotional acetate sequenced by producer Shel Talmy to recreate what The Who’s first album could have been.  The best sources are used and of course this reconstruction is all in mono—pretty much the only way this material should be presented! 

How are legends born?  Sometimes they are not ready-made brilliant, but their significance needs to be forged and honed.  Following a change of drummer to the young yet prodigal Keith Moon and a change of moniker from The Detours to The Who in 1964, the band was discovered by manager Peter Meaden who urged them to change their name to The High Numbers and record his own originals “Zoot Suit” and “I’m The Face” to exploit the current mod movement in the UK.  The single failed to chart and the band reverted to their Who moniker.  At this time, The Who were crafting their chaotic and destructive stage antics and making a name for themselves as playing “maximum R&B”—electrified, high-energy covers of American rock and rhythm & blues standards, laying the groundwork of what would eventually become punk rock. 

Meadon was promptly replaced by Kit Lambert, who was impressed by the band’s explosive live show and encouraged guitarist Pete Townshend to write original material to keep up with the current trend of self-contained bands such as The Beatles and The Kinks.  Signed by producer Shel Talmy, the band recorded their debut single that November at the basement studios of Pyre Electronics—“I Can’t Explain” b/w “Bald Headed Woman”, which charted at number 8.  This was the catalyst the band needed and Talmy rushed The Who back into the studio to record a follow-up single, “Leaving Here” b/w “Baby Don’t You Do It” in March 1965.  The single was shelved for unknown reasons but the band relocated to IBC Studios instead to record a full-length album in April.  Prodded by vocalist Roger Daltrey, the sessions focused on reproducing The Who’s current live set in that they consisted mainly of early rock and R&B covers, with the only Townshend originals being recorded of the twelve were the paltry “Out in the Street” and a stunning song that attempted to sonically marry both the melodic and chaotic elements of The Who, “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere”. 

The later was released in May as a single that charted as high as number 10 and Talmy reached a dilemma: should he release the covers-heavy recordings from April as-is, Daltrey’s vision of The Who?  Or should Townshend be pushed to pen all-original material, as proven he could with both “I Can’t Explain” and “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere”?  In a move that set in motion the band’s legendary trajectory, Talmy pressed a nine-song acetate from the sessions and shopped it around to music journalists.  The acetate featured: I’m a Man / Heat Wave / I Don’t Mind / Lubie / Out In The Streets / Please, Please, Please / Leaving Here / Motoring and a final song (most likely “Shout and Shimmy”, as it was the only unheard song from the remaining four, with “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” already released as a single, “Daddy Rolling Stone” as it’s b-side in the UK and “Anytime You Want Me” as it’s b-side in the US).  Aside from Townshend later claiming he hated the album in this early configuration, the feedback was dismal and the material was deemed unoriginal and lacked the electric spark heard on the previous singles.  It was decided that the whole album should be scrapped and to start again from scratch; Townshend had beaten Daltrey over the direction of The Who. 

After a summer tour, the band reconvened to IBC Studios in October with all-new original material and recorded eight more tracks: “A Legal Matter”, “The Good’s Gone”, “It’s Not True”, “The Kids Are Alright”, “La-La-La Lies”, “Much Too Much”, “The Ox” and a little two-chord tune with a bass solo called “My Generation”.  Creating the bulk of the remade debut, The Who rescued “Out in the Street”, “I Don’t Mind”, “Please Please Please” and “I’m A Man” from the April sessions and the album was released in December as My Generation, with its title track as the lead single released the previous month.  The rest may be history, but the twisted path The Who took to find their generation could have yielded a completely different introduction. 

Our first step in reconstructing this early version of My Generation—which I have aptly titled Introducing The Who—is to simply recreate Shel Telmay’s nine-song acetate, sifting in the three remaining songs into side B.  The results create a surprisingly well-balanced album, with side A beginning with the ruckus of "I'm a Man", side A ending with the slow-tempo “Please Please Please” and side B beginning with the up-tempo “Leaving Here” (intended as a single anyways!).  Also seemingly much more than coincidence, the covers-heavy album would then have one Townshend-original buried deep within each LP side full of cover versions, much like another popular rock band also on Decca Records: The Rolling Stones, in which both of their 1965 releases The Rolling Stones No. 2 and Out of Our Heads featured the exact same layout!  As for source material, we will only use the original mono mixes and focus on the very best master of the available material: the 2011 Japanese SHM-SACD remaster of My Generation.  All other source material (the 2008 My Generation box set and the 2011 remaster of Who’s Missing Two’s Missing) was A/Bed, re-EQed and volume adjusted to match the parameters of that excellent 2011 SHM-SACD remaster to make a cohesive whole and as close to the sound of the master tapes as possible. 

Side A specifically follows Telmay’s acetate, which begins with “I’m A Man” from the 2011 remaster of My Generation, followed by “Heat Wave” from the 2008 My Generation box set.  Next is “I Don’t Mind” from the 2011 SHM-SACD followed by “Lubie” from the 2008 remaster, with the side concluding with “Out On The Street” and “Please Please Please” from the 2011 remaster.  Side B deviates slightly from the Telmay acetate in order to include the three songs that were initially dropped due to the single release, although retaining the side opener and closer.  The side begins with The Who single-that-never-was “Leaving Here” from the 2008 box, followed by “Daddy Rolling Stone” and “Motoring” also from the box.  “Anytime You Want Me” is next, taken from the superb 2011 remaster of Who’s Missing Two’s Missing.  Closing out the album is the single version of “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” from the 2008 box and “Shout and Shimmy” from the 2011 remaster. 

Sources Used:

My Generation (2011 Japanese SHM-SACD remaster)

My Generation (2008 Japanese Collector’s box set)

Who’s Missing Two’s Missing (2011 Japanese SHM-SACD remaster)

flac --> wav --> SONAR and Goldwave --> flac encoding via TLH lv8

* md5 files, track notes and artwork included