Jeff Tweedy was preoccupied with trying to establish Wilco as a viable band on the Reprise label and decided to add another guitarist to the band. Brian Henneman, the lead singer for The Bottle Rockets, was brought into the recording sessions as a lead guitarist. Steel guitarist Lloyd Maines and bassist Daniel Corrigan also contributed to the album. Corrigan also photographed the band for the liner booklet. Howie Weinberg mastered the album, while Barbara Longo provided graphic design. Brian Henneman had to leave the band shortly after recording the album, and was replaced by former Titanic Love Affair guitarist Jay Bennett. Tweedy also attempted to create a more collaborative environment than Uncle Tupelo, requesting songwriting contributions from other members. John Stirratt submitted three songs, hoping to become a secondary songwriter for Wilco. However, although the songs were recorded as demos, only one ("It's Just That Simple") was selected to appear on the album, and was the only Stirratt song, and the only song by Wilco not to have lyrics written by Tweedy, to appear on any Wilco album.