Critic Katie Toms of London's the Observer addressed fan speculation in an advance review: Boy, was it worth the wait.... Simple and soothing, yet rich and rewarding, this is an album you unknowingly yearn for, like a cool hand on a hot forehead.
For the A Ghost Is Born recording, Wilco was Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Leroy Bach, Glenn Kotche, and Mikael Jorgensen; Jim O'Rourke, who mixed the band's previous release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, co-produced the album with Wilco.