by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Yowza, 2002 was a hard one for the year-end best-album picks. Although some good records that did make their way to the top of many critics’ lists, there seemed to be a glaring lack of really, really great records.

You could even argue that the only really, really great record that kept popping up on top was Wilco’s fourth album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, on which the band’s pop and folk songs are cleverly interwoven with electronics, improvised noise, experimental production and dynamic arrangements, showing incredible growth over their previous releases.

The Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop list, which polls hundreds of critics across the U.S., Canada and Europe for their favourite record of the year, saw the record winning by a landslide. In the indie rag D.I.W., not only did Yankee Hotel Foxtrot win the "best album of 2002" tag, but oddly enough also "most overlooked record of 2002" and "most anticipated record of 2003." For the first time in a long time, it seemed that the critics finally got it right and gave the nod to something undeniably great - really, really great.

Edge of collapse

"We never knew it was going to be a critic’s-choice record. I actually expected the opposite," says drummer Glenn Kotche. "All of Wilco’s records have been departures from their predecessors, so there was a little faith that Wilco fans were going to be used to the records being different from each other. But with Yankee there were a lot of different elements, like a little bit more chaos, noise and different textures, with not so much of a pop structure. I personally thought that it would garner a little bit more negative reactions. I really didn’t see people embracing it the way they did."

But embrace they did as Wilco hit another watermark in their career. The songs on Yankee are allowed to meander freely, taking in the scenery while stretching, if not railing against, traditional form. No two songs are alike - "Ashes of American Flags" could’ve been plucked off the Kinks’ classic Village Green Preservation Society, while "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" is reminiscent of Big Star’s Third/Sister Lovers, verging on collapse until it’s swept up before impact. Much like their songs, the band itself was also nearing collapse throughout the making of the record, and narrowly escaped implosion. Like the Beach Boys’ infamous Smile album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot almost became the greatest album you would never hear.

Taking almost a year and a half to complete it, Wilco would find themselves trudging through the muck of creative differences, internal squabbling and turmoil with their label, Reprise. Original drummer Ken Coomer was fired by lead singer/lyricist and longtime friend Jeff Tweedy on the cusp of recording. Shortly after, another longstanding member, multi-instrumentalist and Tweedy’s foil Jay Bennett, would leave the band halfway through the recording. Finally coming out the other end of the studio tunnel, the band delivered the masters, only to have their label Reprise shelve it due to lack of commercial appeal.

You get the picture

The whole thing was captured on film in Sam Jones’ documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. Despite the film’s original intent to simply document a band hard at work on an album, Jones’ camera captures much more of the story. Much like the lyrical themes and musical moods found on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the film is equal parts light and darkness. It does show the band at its creative zenith, working their songs to fruition, but its stark, prying black-and-white footage also shows a band on the verge of disaster, with the internal friction between Tweedy and Bennett hitting full swing.

Another punch is delivered in the form of Reprise’s indifference towards the final product. "We had some inner band problems and that wasn’t the only story, but that was the one that got caught on tape," says bassist John Stirratt. "It was a difficult record to make. The way I feel about the film is, it could’ve been a lot worse.

"I went to the premiere and I saw the extra footage on the DVD but to be quite honest, it’s not really something I watch too often. There was stress and you can see it in the film, but you have to remind yourself that it’s still a real privilege to make records and especially to have people listen to them."

Reprise finally dropped the band after casually tossing out word that Wilco had created a record so bad, "it would end Wilco’s career." In a rare record-industry moment, Reprise allowed the band to take the record in hand and start shopping to other labels. Ultimately, Wilco found a home for Yankee with Nonesuch, whose artist-friendly approach boasts a roster of people like eclectic composer/saxophonist John Zorn and equally eclectic guitarist/composer Bill Frisell. Finally, Wilco had found a label that not only understood the band’s need to grow musically but actually encouraged it.

"We’ve been sending the label new stuff as we’ve been recording," says Kotche, "and some it has been all instrumental or complete noise, improvised music. They were like, ‘Cool,’ and would’ve put it out right away. They have enough trust in us that if it’s something we believe in, they will support us."

Where do we go now?

With over 40 songs already tracked for the next record, Wilco have begun the task of trying to assemble a list of favourite songs to see what direction the next record will take. So far it is anybody’s guess, as Wilco insist that they are not so much concerned with "making the follow-up" as they are just documenting the songs as they come out. According to Kotche and Stirratt, the new songs are running the gamut, from pop tunes that would not have been out of place on their first record A.M. to loud rockers, experimental soundscapes and stripped-down folk songs.

The secret to their creative wellspring is constantly challenging themselves and finding new ways to create music. "We’ve taken several different approaches with the record we are working on now," explains Kotche. "Some songs will just be us setting up with an acoustic guitar and a small drum set, and just playing through live. That stuff has given us more lyrical and song-based songs. There’s also a batch of songs where we will set up in the studio and Jeff will make up songs on the spot from his notebooks and some of the players wouldn’t be able to hear each other but just hear Jeff. Those songs worked out to be these beautiful, floating, freeform songs. One session, I set up a rule that I wasn’t allowed to use cymbals because it would make me think and react differently."

Kotche and Stirratt both insist that the band is only now beginning to hit its stride. New member Mike Jorgenson is providing keyboards and a laptop to capture live sounds and manipulate them, adding yet another dimension, and Yankee’s mixer, post-rock producer laureate Jim O’Rourke, has once again signed on. A completion date is pencilled in for October.

Delivering the follow-up to a record that had so many jaws on the floor can put enough pressure on a band that many would simply crack. But Wilco insist that they are feeling no pressure at all, chalking it all up to the joy of the process without worrying too much about the end result. "We’re just recording what comes out. If we went into a studio in the traditional way and thought, now it’s time to record our follow-up to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, we would be really shooting ourselves in the foot. I don’t think some of our decisions would have been good. But by setting up different situations and making up different rules for ourselves, we have avoided making a follow-up record and just let the songs happen. That’s the real joy of being in this band."

At the Montreal International Jazz Festival, with Neko Case at Metropolis on Sunday, June 29, 9pm, $29.50

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