Wilco – Ghost Is Born Deluxe Vinyl 9xLP/4xCD

WARNING: This is a long post, but what do you expect from a 9-LP/4-CD box set?

I am a long-time Wilco fan. I bought each new album on CD, as that was the only choice in those days. Wilco reissues a deluxe edition of albums from their catalog roughly around the twentieth anniversary of an album. These reissues include the original album with lots of bonus material and are released on vinyl and CD (the complete edition is typically not on streaming services). The A Ghost Is Born box was recently released (the original album was released in the summer of 2004) and contains nine LPs and four CDs (the LPs and CDs have different content; the CD version has nine CDs). Per the band’s website:

“A Ghost Is Born (Deluxe Edition) is a 9-LP + 4 CD (9 CD for CD version) set that features Wilco’s 2004 Grammy-winning album alongside alternates, outtakes, and demos, charting the making of the album, plus the complete 2004 concert recording from Boston’s Wang Center and the band’s “fundamentals” workshop sessions. The deluxe box includes 65 previously unreleased music tracks as well as a 48-page hardcover book with previously unpublished photos and a new liner notes by Grammy-winning writer Bob Mehr. A Ghost Is Born (Deluxe Edition) is mastered by Bob Ludwig and pressed in Germany by Optimal Media.”

I strongly remember buying A Ghost Is Born (I will shorthand it for the rest of this post as Ghost) on CD. We were on a family vacation, and I picked up the new release at a record store in Madison, Wisconsin. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (YHF for short) had been a huge commercial and critical success for Wilco, and this was the follow-up album. I liked YHF, but not as much as the band’s previous releases. With Ghost, I realized that YHF was the innovation, but Ghost was the perfection of the YHF idea. I like Ghost more than YHF.

In anticipation of ordering the box set, I listened to Ghost on streaming and was reminded how much I loved the album’s weirdness- Wilco was the American Radiohead.

A Ghost Is Born (original album)

Once the box was opened, I started listening to the original album (a double vinyl album). Hearing a vinyl version of Ghost is delightful, which I have only owned as a CD version, as mentioned earlier. The vinyl pressing sounds excellent. My only issue is that Nonesuch used paper vs. audiophile inner leaves. On a $250 box, you can’t spend the extra couple of dollars to do it right, Nonesuch?

The Hook At The Wang (10/1/04 Wang Center-Boston, MA)

I next moved on to the live set: The Hook At The Wang (10/1/04 Wang Center-Boston, MA). This is a triple vinyl album. What an outstanding live album! It is well-recorded, mixed, and mastered for vinyl. It sounds amazing. It is an excellent set list (see below)! This is an outstanding document of the band live at their critical and commercial peak. I have always loved the Wilco live album Kicking Television (2005), a similar document, but this is even better. This is the iteration of the band you still hear live and in the studio today – the lineup started on the fall 2004 tour that supported Ghost:

Jeff Tweedy: Lead singer and guitarist
John Stirratt: Bass
Nels Cline: Guitarist
Pat Sansone: Multi-instrumentalist
Mikael Jorgensen: Keyboardist
Glenn Kotche: Drummer

Regarding the new lineup, Tweedy says, “I’d finally found what I’d been looking for.”

A nitpick I have with the box is that the credits for the live show are not listed—they are buried in the liner notes.

The Hook At The Wang (10/1/04 Wang Center-Boston, MA) setlist:

1. Muzzle Of Bees (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
2. Company In My Back (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
3. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
4. A Shot In The Arm (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
5. Hell Is Chrome (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
6. Handshake Drugs (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
7. Jesus, Etc. (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
8. Hummingbird (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04
9. I’m Always In Love (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
10. At Least That’s What You Said (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
11. Ashes Of American Flags (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04
12. Theologians (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
13. I’m The Man Who Loves You (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
14. Poor Places (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
15. Spiders (Kidsmoke) (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
16. She’s A Jar (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
17. A Magazine Called Sunset (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
18. Kingpin (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
19. The Late Greats (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
20. I’m A Wheel (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
21. Via Chicago (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
22. California Stars (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)
23. Christ For President (Live at Wang Center-Boston, MA 10/1/04)

Fundamentals

Next, I moved on to the first of four Fundamentals CDs. I had no idea what Fundamentals was/is. Listening to disc one and reading the liner notes, I learned it was a combination of a jam session and a rough sketch of song ideas. Per the liner notes:

“One of the primary setups would find Tweedy on the studio floor, armed with a notebook and an acoustic guitar, his voice drenched in plate reverb. ‘And then John, Glenn, LeRoy, and I were in the control room,’ says Jorgensen, ‘each with some instrument or sound making device. Jeff would play, and we could hear what he was doing and we would respond to it. But he couldn’t hear what we were doing. And then afterward he would come in and would sort of mix what we’d done on the fly. Some of it was weird and probably unlistenable, but when the stars aligned, it was pretty magical.’”

The first CD includes “Fundamental 1” and “Fundamental 2” which are each about thirty minutes a piece. This is not for the casual fan, but it is not unlistenable. Some of it foreshadows specific songs, but generally it is just a vibe. As a Wilco obsessive it is really cool to listen to the early Ghost work in progress. It is kind of like listening to Jeff Tweedy’s dreams.

I moved on to the second CD (”Fundamental 3 and 4”), which is more of the same but with more song-like structures and singing. I like it more, but that could be because the first CD put me in the right state of mind to receive the music. Bassist John Stirratt can’t recall if he gained anything musically substantive from the Fundamentals experience, “But I remember getting baked and sort of enjoying listening to it all,” he says, laughing. I get it, John.

The third CD (”Fundamental 5 and 6”) is even more song-like.

Fourth CD (”Fundamental 7”)—I assume the four CDs are chronological. Each CD is tighter and further along in the songwriting process. The fourth is an excellent setup for listening to the original album. There is a significant missing link, but that is filled by the Outtakes/Alternates LPs.

Fundamentals summary:

• Jeff Tweedy is a technically good but artistically brilliant guitarist
• Tweedy’s voice oozes weariness, honesty, intelligence, and soul
• I rarely know what Tweedy is singing about, but man, can he put words together that sound cool
• Despite Tweedy’s prominence on vocals and guitar, this is a band recording—their contribution moves Tweedy’s folk noodling to something artsy
• The mix is actively stereo – this is a fantastic headphone experience.

Outtakes/Alternates

This box set section comprises two double vinyl LPs (four LPs) of Ghost, you guessed it, outtakes and alternate takes. The background on Ghost is that after the commercial and critical success of YHF, the band was in a tough place. Multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett, a major contributor to the band as a player and composer, had left the band after seven years. Band leader Jeff Tweedy was suffering from mental illness, physical illness, and drug addiction. Despite these obstacles, the band, and Tweedy specifically, muscled through the adversity and made another masterpiece.

The band started with the Fundamentals sessions described above. They then entered the Chicago studio SOMA to finish the songs and record the album. After recording YHF at their studio, The Loft, they needed to use a commercial studio as Jay Bennett had taken most of the recording equipment with him (with the band’s blessing, as it was mostly his stuff, anyway). Most songs on the Outtakes/Alternates LPs were recorded at SOMA. The band was unsatisfied with the results at SOMA, so they decided to work with Jim O’Rourke, who had saved YHF with his mix, at Sear Sound in New York City. The Sear Sound recordings ultimately appeared on Ghost.

These are more than demos; they are fully realized recordings that could have been released as A Ghost Is Born. Although these versions of the songs are cool, they are not as good as the Sear Sound songs on the released album. But as a Wilco obsessive, these outtakes and alternatives are essential. The band chose to dismiss the SOMA sessions and head to NYC. These versions generally lack the brilliant weirdness of the Sear Sound versions that appear on the final album. I would have loved a SOMA Ghost; it would not have been a masterpiece.

The SOMA versions are significantly different from the Sear Sound versions, which is often not the case in these box sets. Too often, the outtakes and alternatives are just imperfect versions of the official release versions. The SOMA tracks are different versions of the band; the Sears Sund versions are a band with a fully realized vision. Again, this is an excellent example of Tweedy’s brilliance as a guitarist. Tweedy’s vocals are particularly vulnerable on the SOMA recordings.

Outtakes/Alternates Track List

1. At Least That’s What You Said (8/13/02 SOMA-Chicago)
2. Hell Is Chrome (10/5/03 SOMA-Chicago)
3. Spiders (Kidsmoke) (9/28/03 SOMA-Chicago)
4. Muzzle Of Bees (7/15/03 SOMA-Chicago)
5. Hummingbird (2/8/02 SOMA-Chicago)
6. Handshake Drugs (11/13/03 Sear Sound-NYC)
7. Wishful Thinking (11/1/03 Sear Sound-NYC)
8. Company In My Back (2/8/03 Hothouse-St. Kilda, Melbourne
9. I’m A Wheel (August 2002 SOMA-Chicago)
10. Theologians (3/19/03 SOMA-Chicago)
11. Less Than You Think (11/11/03 Sear Sound-NYC)
12. The Late Greats (7/19/03 SOMA-Chicago)
13. Kicking Television (3/18/03 SOMA-Chicago)
14. The High Heat (2/5/02 SOMA-Chicago)
15. Panthers (March, 2003 SOMA-Chicago)
16. Diamond Claw (3/21/03 SOMA-Chicago)
17. Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard (June 2002 SOMA-Chicago)
18. More Like The Moon (2/8/02 SOMA-Chicago)
19. Improbable Germany (10/7/03 SOMA-Chicago)
20. Handshake Drugs (First Version – 6/26/02 SOMA-Chicago)
21. Hummingbird (February, 2002 SOMA-Chicago)
22. The High Heat (2/4/02 SOMA-Chicago) (3:04)
23. Spiders (Kidsmoke) (February 2002 SOMA-Chicago)
24. Diamond Claw (March 2003 SOMA-Chicago)
25. Muzzle Of Bees (October 2003 Sear-NYC)
26. Like A Stone (11/10/03 Sear Sound-NYC)
27. Leave Me (Like You Found Me) (6/26/02 SOMA-Chicago)
28. Losing Interest (11/11/03 Sear Sound-NYC)
29. Old Maid (6/26/02 SOMA-Chicago)
30. Spiders (Kidsmoke) (August, 2002 SOMA-Chicago)
31. Panthers (October 2003 Sear-NYC)
32. Muzzle Of Bees (7/16/03 SOMA-Chicago)
33. Diamond Claw (10/9/03 SOMA-Chicago)
34. Losing Interest (7/20/03 SOMA-Chicago)
35. Spiders (Kidsmoke) (October 2003 SOMA-Chicago)
36. The Thanks I Get (6/26/02 SOMA-Chicago)
37. Two Hat Blues (March 2003 SOMA-Chicago)
38. Improbable Germany (January 2002 Pre-Production Loft session)

Book and liner notes: The Ghost Box includes a lovely coffee table book with photos and an excellent liner notes essay by Bob Mehr. Mehr is a two-time GRAMMY winner for Best Album Notes. He does a nice job explaining how the album evolved and the challenges that the band faced, mainly the stress of following up on a career-high watermark and Tweedy’s physical and mental deterioration.

Nitpicking: I mentioned earlier that I believe an expensive LP box set should use audiophile-quality inner sleeves for the LPs. Although the liner notes are great, there could be better documentation of the sessions and lineup for each track. When you order the box, you also get the album digitally in MP3 format (192 kbps—a medium to low-quality format). You should get a high-resolution version when you pay this much for an album. As much as I like to spin the vinyl, I need a portable album version. Asking the consumer to download a file, import it into something like iTunes, and then synchronize it with your phone is a significant pain. There should be some way to stream the album in high resolution (the original album is available on streaming as a 24-bit/192 kHz FLAC) while still enforcing a paywall (in my case, the vinyl purchase). Playing CDs (the Fundamentals section) will also be challenging for many consumers.

Acquisition: It was quite a process to acquire this box. I forgot to pre-order it, so I ordered it from Wilco’s website on release day (2/7/25). It took almost a month for it to arrive (3/4/25) due to processing delays and the crazy route it took to get to me:

• Wilco mailed it via USPS on 2/21/25 (two weeks later – come on guys, this is the era of Amazon same-day delivery) from Raleigh, NC (Wilco’s fulfillment partner Kung Fu Nation is based there)
• It arrived in Avondale, AZ (I live in Phoenix)
• It then went back across the country to Trenton, NJ
• Only to return to Avondale, AZ
• Finally, to my local post office, which delivered it to my home in northern Phoenix on 3/4/25

Unsurprisingly, the box looked like it had been to hell and back.

Shockingly, the actual box set only had minor damage. I contacted Kung Fu Nation, and they quickly responded that they would replace the damaged components (the slipcover, the book, and one of the album covers) at no cost, and I could keep the damaged goods. The replacement components were in the mail within a day and arrived at my home a few days later. Excellent recovery by Wilco/Kung Fu Nation!