I can't tell you I'm the most informed person when it come to Jay Bennett. What I know about him mostly centers around his work with Wilco, the big point being he and Jeff making Summerteeth and his involvement and eventual leave of the band during the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot era. I didn't follow his post-Wilco work but, having read Greg Kot's "Learning How To Die", it sounded like the break was amicable and he'd left on a good note. That positivity came into question a few weeks ago when Bennett announced he was suing Tweedy for unpaid royalties in relation to Wilco recordings and for his appearance in Sam Jones' "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart", the film which documented Wilco's struggles during the "Yankee..." era and Bennett's leave. Shortly before this, Bennett had stated he required hip-replacement surgery and was concerned how he would pay for it as he either didn't have insurance or didn't have enough. A lot of chatter followed online about the true intentions behind his lawsuit, especially since Tweedy would have had nothing to do with money related to the film and most likely nothing related to a lack of royalty payments, but whatever the intent, it all came to a screeching halt this morning as it was announced that Jay Bennett has passed away in his sleep, most likely due to complications surrounding that hip surgery that he needed. It hasn't been clarified whether his death was related to any of the meds he was using post-op or if it was something else in relation to the surgery, regardless though it is a shame. Jay was an incredibly talented musician and should be remembered for more than being "that guy who used to be in Wilco". I'll openly admit, that's where I'm most familiar with him, but that's the most disrespectful way he could be remembered.
I'm a little ashamed to say that I'm probably contributing to that awful way of him being remembered with this post today, but I can say with certainty that it is not my intention. I've always considered his contributions to "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and "Summerteeth" very important, it just seems that, at least around the time of "Yankee...", he might have began to believe that his role in Wilco could be bigger than that of the person who actually started the band. It's been said that the band wasn't comfortable being in the same room with him during his endless mixing sessions and that he may have been overworking himself to avoid dealing with problems in his personal life. Whatever the reasons, he was still there and his importance to that album is unquestionable. Even more so, "Summerteeth" was basically the Jeff and Jay show, as they wrote and recorded much of the album without much outside influence from the other band members. So, it is with sadness in my heart that I post demos and alternate takes from the "Yankee..." and "Summerteeth" eras.
I want to note, while these may be available for free elsewhere, most notably on Owl and Bear's fantastic Wilco archive, they are available there in lossless format and not as mp3s. Despite my preference for lossless, I still have high quality lossy files I play on my iPod of these recordings and I understand why other people would want them in that format too, so this post consists of V0 mp3s created from the original lossless files as hosted at Owl and Bear. If you'd like to check out their endless array of Wilco and Wilco-related bands (as well as a fabulous archive of non-Wilco related bands) you would do yourself well to visit their site.
Two more things before the links... the "Yankee..." sessions featured here are most likely from before Jim O'Rourke became involved in the album. This means that Ken Coomer is most likely on percussion and Jay made the mixes. Sadly, this has not been confirmed to this date, but it is widely believed/assumed to be correct. Secondly, please keep in mind as I said earlier, it would be a shame for Bennett to remembered merely as an ex-member of Wilco. He is someone who will be dearly missed by his friends and family. He was also a fine musician who made music both before and after his time with Wilco.
Wilco - Summerteeth Demos
UPDATE: It seems my file-sharing provider has an issue with the Summerteeth Demos as everytime I repost them, they disappear shortly thereafter. If you really want the Summerteeth Demos, please visit Owl and Bear's Wilco Archive via the link in the above text. Oddly enough, the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot links below are untouched and still very active, so please feel to grab them if the spirit moves you to do so.
01 A Shot In The Arm
02 We're Just Friends
03 I'm Always In Love
04 Candyfloss
05 How To Fight Loneliness
06 Tried and True
07 She's A Jar
08 Pieholden Suite
09 Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again)
10 Via Chicago
11 ELT
12 My Darling
13 In A Future Age
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Demos/Outtakes
NOTE: Make sure you download both parts. You can't decompress one on it's own.
Part 1
Part 2
01 I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
02 Ashes Of American Flags
03 I'm The Man Who Loves You
04 A Magazine Called Sunset
05 Reservations
06 Kamera
07 Not For The Season
08 Shakin' Sugar
09 Nothing Up My Sleeve
10 Venus Stop The Train
11 Rhythm
12 Poor Places
13 Won't Let You Down
14 Heavy Metal Drummer
15 Let Me Come Home (Instrumental)
16 Corduroy Cutoff Girl (Instrumental)
17 Corduroy Cutoff Girl (Alternate Instrumental)
18 Kamera
19 A Magazine Called Sunset
20 Shakin' Sugar
21 Not For The Season
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