Production
Shortly after the release of A Ghost Is Born, Wilco's fifth studio album, multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach left the band to pursue a career in theater production. To replace him, the band added jazz rock guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone to their lineup. The lineup was expanded because lead singer Jeff Tweedy was concerned that the other members were multi-tasking on instruments. This made performing material live from Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot difficult. While touring in support of Ghost, Wilco decided to record their first live album.
Wilco decided to use concerts from their hometown of Chicago "because wanted to be really comfortable". They chose a string of four consecutive shows from May 4 to May 7, 2005 at The Vic Theater in Chicago, Illinois. The band recorded the four shows on a 24-track digital 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. On September 13, 2005, the band announced that the album would be released on November 1, 2005. The release date was later delayed two weeks.
Most of the material from the album—17 of 23 songs—is from Wilco's two Nonesuch Records releases: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. The title track was an outtake from the Ghost 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:
A rock concert is "kicking television." 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 from Summerteeth were also included on the album, as well as one song each from Being There, Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II. The final track was a cover of "Comment (If All Men Are Truly Brothers)", originally performed by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. "How to Fight Loneliness" (from Summerteeth) and "Monday" (from Being There) were included with purchase of the album on iTunes.
Guitarist Jeff Tweedy provided the lead vocals for the album and John Stirratt, the only other original member of the band, played bass guitar and added backing vocals. Lead guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone performed here on a Wilco album for the first time. Glenn Kotche performed on the drums and other percussion instruments, and Mikael Jorgensen played keyboards. Other instrumentation was provided by Patrick Newbery (trumpet and flugelhorn), Nick Broste (trombone), and Rick Parenti (baritone sax).
Read more about this topic: Kicking Television: Live In Chicago
Famous quotes containing the word production:
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—Friedrich Engels (1820–1895)
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—Jane Addams (1860–1935)
“The heart of man ever finds a constant succession of passions, so that the destroying and pulling down of one proves generally to be nothing else but the production and the setting up of another.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)