| Kicking Television: Live in Chicago | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | November 15, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | May 4–7, 2005 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 114:05 | |||
| Label | Nonesuch | |||
| Producer | Wilco | |||
| Wilco chronology | ||||
| ||||
Kicking Television: Live in Chicago is alive album byChicagoalternative rock bandWilco, released on November 15, 2005, byNonesuch Records. The album consists of material from four live shows at Chicago'sVic Theater recorded May 4, 2005 to May 7, 2005. Although the band filmed the concerts, they decided not to release the footage as aDVD. It was the band's first album with an expanded lineup featuringNels Cline andPat Sansone.
Kicking Television debuted on theBillboard 200 at number forty-seven, and has since sold over 114,000 copies. Critical reception to the album was generally positive. Publications such asThe A.V. Club andPitchfork lauded the band's performance of material fromYankee Hotel Foxtrot andA Ghost Is Born.
On April 17, 2010, forRecord Store Day Wilco released an audiophile, 180-gram vinyl pressing ofKicking Television. The vinyl pressing, spread across four LP's, included eight previously unreleased tracks recorded in May 2005.[2]
Shortly after the release ofA Ghost Is Born,Wilco's fifth studio album,multi-instrumentalistLeroy Bach left the band to pursue a career in theater production. To replace him, the band addedjazz rock guitaristNels Cline and multi-instrumentalistPat Sansone to their lineup.[3] The lineup was expanded because lead singerJeff Tweedy was concerned that the other members were multi-tasking on instruments. This made performing material live fromSummerteeth andYankee Hotel Foxtrot difficult. While touring in support ofGhost, Wilco decided to record their firstlive album.[4]
Wilco decided to use concerts from their hometown of Chicago "because [they] wanted to be really comfortable". They chose a string of four consecutive shows from May 4 to May 7, 2005, atThe Vic Theater inChicago,Illinois. The band recorded the four shows on a 24-trackdigital recorder. The shows were filmed for a potential DVD release, but the band decided not to release the footage. According to Tweedy, the band was disappointed by how the footage "sapped" the energy out of the performances.[4] On September 13, 2005, the band announced that the album would be released on November 1, 2005.[5] The release date was later delayed two weeks.[6]
Most of the material from the album—16 of 23 songs—is from Wilco's twoNonesuch Records releases:Yankee Hotel Foxtrot andA Ghost Is Born. The title track was an outtake from theGhost recording sessions because the band considered it to be one of their most exciting songs live. Tweedy explained why it was chosen for the title:[4]
A rock concert is "kickingtelevision." If you're out of the house and with a bunch of people enjoying something together, that's kicking television to me. I don't think very many people, myself included, will ever kick television cold turkey, but I certainly think more people should be aware of what it's doing to them.
Two live tracks fromSummerteeth were also included on the album, as well as one song each fromBeing There,Mermaid Avenue andMermaid Avenue Vol. II. The final track was a cover of "Comment (If All Men Are Truly Brothers)", originally performed byCharles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.[7]
Guitarist Jeff Tweedy provided the lead vocals for the album andJohn Stirratt, the only other original member of the band, playedbass guitar and addedbacking vocals. Lead guitaristNels Cline and multi-instrumentalistPat Sansone performed here on a Wilco album for the first time.Glenn Kotche performed on thedrums and otherpercussion instruments, andMikael Jorgensen played keyboards. Other instrumentation was provided by Patrick Newbery (trumpet andflugelhorn), Nick Broste (trombone), and Rick Parenti (baritone sax).[7]
Nonesuch Records released the album on November 15, 2005. The album debuted at number forty-seven on the U.S.Billboard 200 and spent two weeks on the chart. As of April 13, 2007, the album had sold over 114,000 copies.[8][9]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 85/100[10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| Blender | [12] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[13] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [14] |
| Mojo | [15] |
| Pitchfork | 8.3/10[16] |
| Q | [17] |
| Rolling Stone | [18] |
| Spin | A[19] |
| Uncut | [20] |
Kicking Television was well received by critics; according toMetacritic, it was given a score of 85 out of 100 based on "universal acclaim".[10] Scott Tobias ofThe A.V. Club called the album "stellar" and expressed surprise over how well theA Ghost Is Born songs sounded live.[21]AllMusic editor Mark Deming lauded the "new muscle and force" of the songs, and commented on "the élan of this band in full flight shows," declaring that "the fun has been put back in Wilco."[11] Marc Hogan ofPitchfork called theYankee Hotel Foxtrot songs "still awesome" and remarked that "this is whatA Ghost Is Born is supposed to sound like."[16]Q said that "Live albums rarely come equipped with such a strong pulse" and later named the album one of the top 20 live albums of all time.[17][22]
E! Online said that Wilco "[turn] each song up to 11 and [let their] rabid hometown fans provide thousand-strong backing vocals. It'll make you want to yell 'Woooh!' too."[10]Spin stated: "Not since Grateful Dead'sEurope '72 has there been a live double album in which intimacy and expansiveness, guitar mess and piano reflection commingle this sweetly."[19]Billboard said that Wilco had "never sounded better".[10] Ben Gilbert ofYahoo! Music UK stated that the album "documents a band on fire and a frontman in clarion clear voice."[23]Under the Radar said the album "Captures a band at the height of their creative powers."[10]Uncut said, "In this live setting, fascinatingly, the brutality to which the songs are subjected only serves to underscore their poignancy."[20]Blender said it "sounds like a greatest hits set."[12]
Although most reviews applauded the effort, critics also expressed discontent with elements of the album. Hogan noted in hisPitchfork review that Tweedy's banter was "ho-hum", and stated that "Kicking Television" and "The Late Greats" should have been cut from the album.[16] Andrew Gaering ofStylus Magazine gave the album a B rating, but was disappointed with how the songs "find the band holding serve".[24]
All songs were written byJeff Tweedy, except where noted.[7]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Misunderstood" | Being There (1996) | 6:08 | |
| 2. | "Company in My Back" | A Ghost Is Born (2004) | 3:44 | |
| 3. | "The Late Greats" | A Ghost Is Born | 2:40 | |
| 4. | "Hell Is Chrome" | Tweedy,Mikael Jorgensen | A Ghost Is Born | 4:56 |
| 5. | "Handshake Drugs" | A Ghost Is Born | 6:23 | |
| 6. | "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" | Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) | 6:03 | |
| 7. | "A Shot in the Arm" | Tweedy,Jay Bennett,John Stirratt | Summerteeth (1999) | 4:51 |
| 8. | "At Least That's What You Said" | A Ghost Is Born | 5:18 | |
| 9. | "Wishful Thinking" | Tweedy,Glenn Kotche | A Ghost Is Born | 4:26 |
| 10. | "Jesus, Etc." | Tweedy, Bennett | Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | 4:00 |
| 11. | "I'm the Man Who Loves You" | Tweedy, Bennett | Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | 3:58 |
| 12. | "Kicking Television" | B-side of "I'm a Wheel" single (2004) | 3:03 | |
| Total length: | 55:35 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Via Chicago" | Summerteeth | 5:14 | |
| 2. | "Hummingbird" | A Ghost Is Born | 3:19 | |
| 3. | "Muzzle of Bees" | A Ghost Is Born | 4:49 | |
| 4. | "One by One" | Woody Guthrie, Tweedy | Mermaid Avenue (1998) | 3:26 |
| 5. | "Airline to Heaven" | Guthrie, Bennett, Tweedy | Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (2000) | 4:41 |
| 6. | "Radio Cure" | Tweedy, Bennett | Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | 4:42 |
| 7. | "Ashes of American Flags" | Tweedy, Bennett | Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | 6:03 |
| 8. | "Heavy Metal Drummer" | Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | 3:21 | |
| 9. | "Poor Places" | Tweedy, Bennett | Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | 5:31 |
| 10. | "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" | A Ghost Is Born | 11:17 | |
| 11. | "Comment" | Yusef Rahman,Charles Wright | previously unreleased | 6:13 |
| 12. | "Monday" (iTunes bonus track) | Being There | 4:11 | |
| Total length: | 62:53 | |||
"How to Fight Loneliness" (fromSummerteeth) and "Monday" (fromBeing There) were included with purchase of the album oniTunes.
All information is taken from the liner notes ofKicking Television.[7]
