Customer Reviews

Born Again in the U.S.a.

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've just listened to this record twice and it really surprised me. The last Loose Fur record played liked Yankee Hotel Foxtrot's laid back cousin -- great songs done in extended acoustic jamming style with all the electronic flourishes but a sunny, stoned disposition. It was a revelation of relaxation. This record leans more toward songcraft, but there are a few excellent moments of pure chillin'. What is here that was missing last time around are tightly arranged tunes: what was a shambling, shiny, beautiful mess on the last record is more focused and succint. This makes sense when you think about it: the first Loose Fur record was recorded during the YHF sessions -- that record is focused and precise......this new Loose Fur record follows A Ghost is Born which is itself a shambling, shiny beautiful mess...anyway, my point is that Tweedy is using the Loose Fur project as a way to express himself in ways that don't fall into the parameter of Wilco (if Wilco indeed has paramenters). And anyway that Jeff Tweedy decides to express himself is gonna be good. As a side note, Tweedy plays a lot of bass on this record and he smokes....remember when he was the bass player for Uncle Tupelo? No? This will remind you!

Oh yeah and pretty much every song is a gem. I don't know why I like the vaguely racy cartoons in the foldout as much as I do, maybe because they're all done in pencil and some are reminiscent of old Playboys. Just unique. Then the band photos. Tweedy, Kotche, and O'Rourke all play "mental" ten times over, each song showing the same goofball photo and the instruments they play on it.

But lest you think it isn't about the music. Call it Wilco math rock in some spots. "Apostolic" goes through some winding shifts and ends up making some nice comments on religion (there are a few more religious commentaries on this CD--so interesting to find out what goes on beneath the Wilco zeitgeist). It's not all about the religion and time shifts here. The instrumental harmonies are stunning on "Apostolic"; it switches back and forth from lushness to jaggedness. Absoute ear candy.

"Stupid As the Sun" has a weird math rock march feel that lurches through Jim O'Rourke's smart screed. It's really sweet. Jim Kotche has some stunning drumming on this. Again, varied and intricate. Why doesn't it ever get this complicated on Wilco albums? I'm waiting. That's right, you read me Wilco.

"Pretty Sparks" is fun, but no spark ever exactly materializes. Part of why I can't give this album a five, as much as I want to (your career hangs on my five, Loose Fur, whether or not you actually know it--that's right, there's a contingent of delusional Wilco fans out there, as if you didn't know).

"Thou Shalt Wilt" is another brainteaser from Jim. The music sounds like Sesame Street. It's a song about the virtues of the numbers between and 1 and 10. The music is sweet. "Still, look at number eight,/ what a better way to procreate." Such silly and flip lyrics don't usually give chills up and down my spine (tho' the chills are not exactly on the order of "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," say--just chills at the success of their audacity, wittiness, and instrumental bravado; still quite the accomplishment).

Right now, my favorite is "Wreckroom." Again it is all over the place. It sorts of begins where "Reservations" ends at the end of YHF. This is one that takes several minutes to fade in; it has several minutes of cascading torrents of guitar coming from Jeff & Jim that intersperse with Jeffs plaintive observations; then it fades out with some great analog sounds courtesy of Jim. Absolutely blissful.

If you both like Wilco and like to hear what an even more experimental artist like O'Rourke sounds like with Wilco's drummer and leader (and he mixes and engineers this one, too, like he does Wilco's last few), then you should absolutely buy this one. Even if this isn't the case, you'd be awfully unadventurous to not go out on a limb and get something as absolutely expansive and provocative as this.

I've been a Wilco fan for years, and love everything Wilco related. But no side projection/incarnation has captivated me the way the Loose Fur project has. The Tweedy/O'Rourke combination is unmatched in indy rock today, in my opinion. In a time when any yahoo can make a record in their bedroom with plug-ins and the like, the Loose Fur records are minimal-production marvels that allow the songs to speak for themselves. And they are amazing songs. In many ways (and I expect a ton of flack for this), better than some of the recent Wilco stuff.

***1/2 - I really hesitated picking this up after being so disappointed in A Ghost is Born, but I'm glad I did. Most of the songs come in at around 3 minutes, which is part of their charm. This is good, fun, breezy pop rock. And given the material, I don't even mind O'Rourke's voice all that much. Somehow it fits on "Answers to Your Questions", which offers a nice slower tempo song amidst the lighter tunes around it.

The only reason I didn't give it 4 stars is because of "Wreckroom", which features great 70s style guitar work but is eventually marred by the irritating wall of noise guitar style that, for me, ruined much of Ghost. Take that out and lop off the last 4 minutes of the song, and it would be my favorite song on the CD.

I've been listening to this album since it leaked onto the internet several months prior to its release. At first, I thought it was incredible. As times passed, however, I found myself listening less and less. Now I still come back to the standouts (mostly Tweedy's tracks) but I don't find myself desiring to hear the full album when I sit down to listen. It's still good and songs like "Hey Chicken" and "Thou Shalt Wilt" will knock your socks off.

When I first saw Loose Fur it was at their first show playing together at St. Annes Warehouse in Brooklyn New York. They mounted the stage with such flair that I knew this was going to be a concert I would always remember... Jeff Tweedy, Jim O'Rourk, and Kottke came onstage to glorious applause. Jeff Tweedy thanked the audience for coming out to the show and started playing a beautifully heart-wrenching song that almost instantly spiraled out of control into a collage of noise and guitar noodling.

It sounded like the lads were throwing a party for themselves and no-one else was invited.

In walks in Born Again in the USA. This album is a complete departure to the Loose Fur of yesteryear. The album is delicate and sincerely crafted. Each song is different and inventive in it's progression. The lyrics are sublime and intoxicating, on "The Ruling Class" Tweedy sings "So son you better turn around/ Yeah Christ is on his way across town/ He was getting tired of hanging around/ Yeah he's back Jack smoking crack find him if you want to be found."

Even the 8:34 minute instrumental piece Wreckdom is intensely interesting and enjoyable, without pushing a listeners buttons for too long.

Where A Ghost is Born failed to congeal into a cohesive album and had places which reminded me of the noodling of Loose Fur, Born Again in the USA reminds me of the cohesiveness of earlier Summer Teeth Wilco.

All In all, this album is a true accomplishment of well crafted song writing and balanced distribution of singing between Jim and Jeff. It is a fantastic record, which finally invites Loose Fur fans to the party.

This album is an album, not the noodling and sketches of greatness that could be that the first Loose Fur album was. Highlights are 'Hey Chicken', 'The Ruling Class', 'Apostolic', 'Thou Shalt Wilt', which sounds like Jim O'Rourke's take on a Schoolhouse Rock number(that's a compliment, really!), and the album closer, 'Wanted'. I like the cross between O'Rourke's folksy numbers and Tweedy's more straight ahead rock, even progressive sounding in 'Apostolic'. And I can't say enough about Glenn Kotche, other than he's a percussion genius. The one exception is 'The Ruling Class', which I think should have been on a Wilco effort, EXCELLENT SONG FOLKS!! Buy it...Enjoy it....Love it!!!

I hate to say it, but I was disappointed in the last Wilco CD, "Sky Blue Sky." I found it much too laid back for the band that did "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." Thankfully, an amazon reviewer turned me on to Loose Fur, which is fronted by Wilco lead singer and songwriter Jeff Tweedy. I was hoping "Sky Blue Sky" would be what this album is: 37 minutes of sometimes loud, always thoughtful rock music. That's not to say that all the tracks on "Born Again in the USA" (which is a loose concept album on American religion) is, like the first track "Hey Chicken," full of distorted guitars. Jim O'Rourke's tunes are mostly acoustic and soft-spoken, but they complement Tweedy's louder tracks. The first song, Tweedy's energetic "Hey Chicken" (with the line, "I'm living rent free, in the back of your head") knocked me out in a way good rock should. Tweedy might be getting a bit tired with Wilco, which has been putting out albums for 12 years now. But if he keeps making albums like "Born Again" with Loose Fur, that's not such a bad thing. The band is a tight, crack unit, and they also have a sense of humor (most prominently featured on O'Rourke's "Thou Shalt Wilt"). Now that I've found out about them, I look forward to buying their 2003 album.

Hi everybody. A couple of the reviews here mention "Thou Shalt Wilt" as a song about numbers from 1 to 10. So far as I can see, nobody understood that it's a take on the Ten Commandments. Should have been real obvious by the end of the song: check out the last line.

Another good effort, I like this one better than the last. Band is tight and the production is great. Jeff's Jesus song is awesome.

However, Jim's singing is poor. He's a fine producer, but come on -- he would get polite applause AT BEST at your local open mike. This isn't a 3rd grade pageant -- not everyone gets to sing, pal!