Why keep on trying to break my heart?
Former Wilco member Jay Bennett died in his sleep yesterday at age 45.
I love all incarnations of Wilco, but it’s safe to say they never were and likely never will be better than they were on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. They simultaneously shook off the shackles of the annoying “alt-country” label and aspired to create an album that was grander and more complex than anything they’d done before. I’ve heard YHF described with the same reverance that critics have for Radiohead’s OK Computer. It was a game changer. For the band and everybody following in their footsteps. It also lead to Bennett, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer, quitting the group soon after the album was complete.
Bennett also played on Being There and Summerteeth, and those albums have a special place in my heart. I love both the quiet, mournful longing of Far Far Away and the raunchy horns on Monday, both from Being There. I dig the joyful, ringing chorus on Can’t Stand It from Summerteeth, which also gave us thehand-wringing anthem I’m Always In Love. This, too, is a classic.
But Yankee Hotel Foxtrot moved the group beyond all of that. It pushed and pulled them in new directions and maybe even tore them apart. Jeff Tweedy always seems to be changing and one gets the feeling if you can’t keep up, you’re left behind. There’s been a lot of bickering over who did what and how much on YHF, but in a 2002 interview with Glorious Noise, Bennett attempted to clarify just what his contributions were to the album with a track by track listing.
I love almost every single track on the album. I’m especially partial to sweet summer ode to percussionists, Heavy Metal Drummer, but it’s a trifle compared to Ashes of American Flags and Jesus, Etc.
Earlier this month, Bennett filed a lawsuit against Tweedy seeking $50,000 in royalties and compensation for the documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, which chronicled the making and marketing of YHF, the problems with the group’s label and the devolution of the musical partnership between Bennett and Tweedy.
Maybe nobody will ever know what really happened between Bennett and Tweedy to cause such a rift. The documentary definitely didn’t make Bennett look very good, but lead singers are not exactly known for their manageable egos. I think his prescence in the band definitely changed the dynamic and pushed Tweedy in a different direction. Wilco would not be what it is without Bennett’s touch.
Before the lawsuit, Bennett announced on his myspace that he’d need hip replacement surgery. He also offered a link to rockproper.com, where fans can download his most recent album, Whatever Happened I Apologize. Tracks from Kicking at the Perfumed Air, another solo album he had yet to release, are also available at his myspace.
No matter what, Jay Bennett was a talented musician who contributed much to the fabric of alternative and folk music, and it’s sad that he won’t make more. Especially because his song The Engines Are Idle from Whatever Happened I Apologize is fantastic.
The production is there, but it’s stripped way down to a simple acoustic guitar, which highlights Bennett’s weathered vocals and solid lyrics: “The best part of the record is the part where it skips/but you lost the lyrics and the jacket got ripped.”
Wilco - Monday: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Wilco - Far Far Away: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Wilco - Can't Stand It: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Wilco - I'm Always In Love: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Wilco - Jesus, Etc. : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Jay Bennett - The Engines Are Idle: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
