Wednesday Wilco Song Spotlight: “Summer Teeth”

As the Deluxe Edition of Wilco’s third studio album, Summerteeth, releases this week, the Spotlight shines on one of that record’s most infectious tunes:

“Summer Teeth” (Jeff Tweedy, Jay Bennett)

Jeff Tweedy: vocals, acoustic guitar
Jay Bennett: electric guitar, lap steel, piano, keyboards, bells, backing vocals
John Stirratt: bass, backing vocals
Ken Coomer: drums

“I’ve got summer teeth - some are, some aren’t”

This title track of sorts is a McCartney-esque piece of pure pop pleasure featuring 60s-style oohs and ahhs by Bennett and Stirratt. After some nature sound effects, including a babbling brook and bird noises, the song’s rich guitar flourishes cascade into a mix of Bennett and Tweedy on electric and acoustic guitars, jingle-jangling into the song’s easygoing rhythm. Key line: “It’s just a dream he keeps having but it doesn’t seem to mean anything.”

Matthew Greenwald of allmusic.com heard another strong influence in the track. “After all of the Velvet Underground–influenced songs on the Summerteeth album, the title song is definitely a direct homage, being more than reminiscent of ‘Who Loves The Sun,’” he wrote. “The sunny atmosphere and feel are a combination of influences that range from pop cliché and quotes as well as original pop vision. Utterly charming and positive.”

This makes sense in the knowledge that Wilco would go on to cover “Who Loves The Sun” at their all-covers concert at Solid Sound Festival in 2013, and on one further occasion that year.

Tweedy performs a solo acoustic version of “Summer Teeth” at Calvin Theatre in Northampton, MA in 2005:

Over half of the tracks on Summerteeth have been played live a hundred or more times, but ‘Summer Teeth’ the song has only had around seventy-five airings. Tweedy has played solo acoustic renditions of it a further fifty times, from his live debut of the song at the Lounge Ax in Chicago on the eve of the album’s release in 1999 to a performance at Solid Sound in 2015.

This is an edited excerpt from Wilcopedia by Daniel Cook Johnson, published by Jawbone Press (www.jawbonepress.com). Order your copy here.

You can order the lavish Summerteeth: Deluxe Edition boxset at wilcoworld.net.

More later...