Show Post: In House #1494

For a myriad of reasons, live albums often fail miserably, doing less than justice to music for all but a small segment of rabid fans. Whether it's poor audio quality, lousy translation from stage to record, or excessive excess on the part of the band or the audience, something's generally awry in either the formula or the calculation. For the uninitiated, this is a shame, since these albums should serve as the best kind of primer to a band and their work-- after all, a good portion of a band's catalog is generally on display and, well, this is how the band actually sounds.

All of that having been said, Wilco's new double-live release (a rock & roll cliche, to be sure, but it matters not), Kicking Television: Live in Chicago is completely unbothered by any of the usual live recording issues. In fact, the sound is amazing. Of course, it doesn't exactly hurt that Wilco has the Wilco back-catalog to work with, and they pepper the set with a selection spanning all but their debut release (even slipping in a couple from the Mermaid Avenue releases). The result is a great band, now grown to a sextet, at their height-- with songs structured enough to avoid a live jam tranquilizer, but free enough to take some creative leaps of faith here and there.

In House #1494.
Airdate: 11/16/05
Focus: New live release from Wilco, Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, plus a new album from Edith Frost, It’s a Game, and the Kingsbury Manx in Salt Lake City tonight.

BONUS- from Wilco's new Kicking Television...: "Airline to Heaven" (MP3).

PLAYLIST

In House PODCAST #18