Release and Reception
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 has sold over 114,000 copies.
Kicking Television was well received by critics; according to Metacritic, it was one of the top twenty-five best reviewed albums of 2005. Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club called the album "stellar" and expressed surprise over how well the A Ghost Is Born songs sounded live. Allmusic editor Mark Deming lauded the "new muscle and force" of the songs, and commented that "the élan of this band in full flight shows that the fun has been put back in Wilco." Marc Hogan of Pitchfork Media called the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot songs "still awesome" and remarked that "this is what A Ghost Is Born is supposed to sound like." Hogan gave the album an 8.3 out of 10 rating. Q Magazine named the album one of the top 20 live albums of all time.
Although most reviews applauded the effort, critics also expressed discontent with elements of the album. Hogan noted in his Pitchfork review that Tweedy's banter was "ho-hum", and stated that "Kicking Television" and "The Late Greats" should have been cut from the album. Andrew Gaering of Stylus Magazine gave the album a B rating, but was disappointed with how the songs "find the band holding serve".
Read more about this topic: Kicking Television: Live In Chicago
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