The same year of his Oscar®-nominated performance in Training Day, Ethan Hawke made his full-length film directorial debut with Chelsea Walls, starring Kris Kristofferson, Uma Thurman, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Robert Sean Leonard. A fan of Wilco, Hawke approached Jeff Tweedy about scoring the film, and Tweedy agreed.
Around this time, Tweedy had collaborated with musician and producer Jim O’Rourke (Sonic Youth, Stereolab) for a special live performance. As fate would have it, O’Rourke had been working with Glenn Kotche, and O’Rourke introducing Tweedy to Kotche would lay the groundwork for the trio’s work together on the debut album by their band, Loose Fur. Tweedy also asked Kotche to work with him on an improvised soundtrack to the movie he had agreed to score. The relationships moved past Loose Fur and the Chelsea Walls soundtrack. Wilco was in the process of a creative sea change, the result of which would be the modern-day masterpiece, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Kotche joined Wilco and O’Rourke mixed Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
The soundtrack to Chelsea Walls featured improvised instrumentals by Tweedy and Kotche, as well as vocal performances by Leonard (whom Hawke met when they both worked on the film Dead Poet’s Society), Steve Zahn (Reality Bites, That Thing You Do!), jazz legend “Little” Jimmy Scott, plus contributions from Billy Bragg, and Wilco themselves.
Two decades later, this influential soundtrack returns, not only with two previously unissued bonus tracks, but for the first time as a double-vinyl LP, including an online exclusive colored vinyl variant. (www.omnivorerecordings.com). Bonus tracks include Leonard’s performance of Wilco’s “Promising” previously only available in the film, and an extended version of Tweedy and Kotche’s “Finale.” The packaging contains new photos, new and original liners from Hawke, a remembrance from Kotche, and an interview between Tweedy and Grammy®-winning set producer Cheryl Pawelski.
Street date for this set is January 14, 2022 on Omnivore Recordings.
Chelsea Walls is a pivotal piece in the creative development of Tweedy and Wilco as they became one of the most important bands of our time. Critically, it revisits the creative burst that would lead to one of the first true rock masterpieces of the 21st century in Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
Track list:
1. Opening Titles - Jeff Tweedy & Glenn Kotche
2. Red Elevator - Jeff Tweedy & Glenn Kotche
3. Promising - Wilco
4. Frank’s Dream - Jeff Tweedy & Glenn Kotche
5. When The Roses Bloom Again - Billy Bragg & Wilco
6. Jealous Guy - Jimmy Scott
7. The Wallman - Jeff Tweedy & Glenn Kotche
8. The Lonely 1 - Robert Sean Leonard & Steve Zahn
9. Hello, Are You There? - Jeff Tweedy & Glenn Kotche
10. Softly And Tenderly Jesus Is Calling - Robert Sean Leonard
11. Finale - Jeff Tweedy & Glenn Kotche
12. End Credits - Jeff Tweedy & Glenn Kotche
13. Finale (Extended) [Bonus Track] - Jeff Tweedy & Glenn Kotche
14. Promising [Bonus Track] - Robert Sean Leonard
