Wilco: Sunken Treasure

by Tim Grierson

With an eclectic blend of country, alternative rock and classic pop, Wilco was born out of the influential alt-country group Uncle Tupelo in 1994. Led by Jeff Tweedy, Wilco then made a series of albums that won varying levels of acceptance. From the relatively unsuccessful A.M. through the praised but contentious Mermaid Avenue collaboration with Billy Bragg and the troubled Yankee Hotel Foxtrot that eventually became their best-selling album, Wilco and Tweedy have kept the show on the road for two decades, winning Grammys, inspiring countless other bands and taking the flak on the way. This is their extraordinary story. Sunken Treasure is a fascinating look at one of the most interesting and, perhaps under-appreciated, bands of recent years. Despite being musically very talented, they can often be difficult to accommodate, with feuds with record labels, collaborators and even themselves marring their undeniably brilliant musical output. In Sunken Treasure, Tim Grierson has managed to actually unearth a lot of valuable information, through interviews with artists, producers and engineers. This re-evaluation of their back catalogue is an essential read for any fan of great music. For new and old fans, Wilco: Sunken Treasure offers a great deal of interest. In an authoritative and trustworthy account of this band, Tim Grierson offers the new fan an incredibly detailed introduction to the band, while the experienced fan will be served a lot of food for thought and previously-unknown information.

Genres: Nonfiction

277 pages, Hardcover

First published June 14, 2013

About the author

Senior U.S. critic for Screen International and chief film critic for Paste, as well as contributing editor at Backstage and writer at The New Republic, Rolling Stone and The Wrap.

Reviews

[John Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable enough for any Wilco fan but it's basically a recycling of interviews and reviews previously published elsewhere. The author does a competent job charting the growth and development of wilco but it's obvious he did not have direct access to the band itself so it all comes across as once -removed from its source. Overall I preferred Greg Kot's book on wilco but that book is older and ends just as wilco's current lineup--it's longest now--is just being formed. "Sunken Treasure " at least carries the story up to the whole love album which is it's one advantage over Kot's book.

[Jani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim Grierson manages to walk a fine line in his biography of Wilco. The book manages to both take a point of view and not let that POV swallow everything else in its path. While Sunken Treasure is mostly about the artistic route the band chief songwriter and front man, Jeff Tweedy, has followed it does not get bogged with this descriptive work but manages to tell the story of the band at the same time in a readable manner.

Grierson's choice was most likely helped by the fact that this is the second biography about Wilco. As such his approach is understandable, even if there was a period not covered in the previous volume, there was no need to just repeat what was said earlier. To achieve this, Grierson has also bypassed the usual channels, for example, the band itself, and stuck to a story he has gathered from the world of journalism and few choice sources. As such the book doesn't sound like it was dictated to him by the official people nor does it seek to dig up the dirt found loitering around it too much either. What it ends up doing is giving a pretty solid and realistic-sounding picture of a band that is of course lovingly compiled.

Because of his more journalistic interest Sunken Treasure is not one of those self-loving bios where the wild rock 'n' roll aspects are celebrated and perhaps you couldn't have even written a book like that about Wilco (although perhaps there could have been some space in roughly that direction). In addition, as the book concentrates more on Tweedy's development as an artist than his life story, the spotlight can sometimes veer a bit of form the man himself and illuminate the people that have affected his music. While due to the approach there might not be too many new personal revelations, the seeming depth of material used brings out enough information to leave the picture that most of the story is covered.

All and all, Grierson's book is just smart enough to standout among rockbios which often are as narcissistic as their subjects and well-readable to keep the reader entertained. Of course, it is a specialized book and, as such, won't offer those not interested in the band anything special but well worth a read for those interested who perhaps have not the read the earlier book.

[John Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a lot of people, I think I preferred Greg Kot’s book, which I read some years ago. This one does have the advantage of having been written 10 years later, so it does update the story a bit. After finally getting around to finishing Jeff Tweedy’s memoir, I thought it might be a nice palate cleanser to read this, and it was. It’s a pretty solid biography, and I appreciate the album by album chapter plan.

[Erlend Bergsagel · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK.
A strong 3 Star review.
I have learned new things about and surrounding Wilco and Uncle Tupelo that I didn't know.
I liked the way each chapter surrounds a Wilco record . Cahpter 1 and 2 the beginning and Uncle Tupelo.
Chapter 3 covering A.M. until chapter 10, The Whole Love.

But there is not an interview done by Tim Grierson. Everything is articles and interviews gotten somwhere else.
And sometimes this shows.

[Remi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid biography. Whereas Greg Kot's book from 2004 (Wilco: Learning How to Die) is more convincing in a narrative sense, Grierson's perspective is more balanced (exploring the band's story beyond Jeff Tweedy and his hero's journey) and reflective about the band's significance and status in the great history of rock & roll.

Since Kot's book covers only the period until A Ghost Is Born, Sunken Treasure is especially instructive on everything that followed afterwards. At long last, it is thanks to the author that Jay Bennett comes back into favour: One can only hope that at least some of those who watched Sam Jones' documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart will read this differentiating account of a rather sad chapter in the band's history.

[✨ Anna ✨ | ReadAllNight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Want to begin right away.
Definitely wants to document as much as is out there on the band spanning the albums. Sort of a nice compendium in that way. Don't really care for his own criticism. Makes you want to listen as you read, though. What can I say--one of my all-time favorite bands as it has evolved in my lifetime (being just a year younger than Jeff), and not sure what the future holds--if any more Wilco at all. We'll see. The band has done what great bands do: evolve.

[Andrew Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Workmanlike biography of the band. Interesting, but I'm still looking for a more in-depth book. I think this one was hampered by not having direct access to Jeff Tweedy etc, relying on previously printed or broadcast pieces and interviews with associates who have worked with them over Wilco and Uncle Tupelo's working life.

[Jamison Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Wilco bio up through the Whole Love era.