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One of the most revealing things Wilco's leader Jeff Tweedy says on this week's Sound Opinions (airing on WBEZ 8 p.m. tonight, 11 a.m. tomorrow, and available as a podcast after that) is his answer to Greg Kot's question of what stood in the way of Wilco being truly collaborative in the past. Tweedy answers, "Well, I probably stood in the way of that a lot of times, to be completely honest."
We've been following Tweedy's career ever since our neighbor used to drag us to see this little band her brother played drums for named Uncle Tupelo. At that time we thought Tweedy was the less talented of the two primary songwriters in that band, since Jay Farrar's songs just seemed so much, well, deeper. Wilco's A.M. did nothing to dissuade that notion, but then, out of left field, came the stunning Being There, the first in the line of a number of Wilco albums that were just absolutely terrific. In our minds Tweedy had found his counterbalance in wild man Jay Bennett, and that yang to his yin allowed Tweedy to produce some of the best music of his generation.
Until A Ghost Is Born (AGIB).
On AGIB, Bennett was long gone, Jim O'Rourke was behind the boards, and there was no one to rein Tweedy in. The end result was a self-indulgent and largely disappointing album. More members left or were fired, and we feared our love for Wilco had finally run its course, as the band seemed to be turning into a Tweedy solo project.
However, if there's one thing Tweedy is an expert at, it's confounding expectations, and that's just what he did post-AGIB when he assembled Wilco's strongest line-up to date, anchored by guitar master Nels Cline. A live album followed, and we began to hope again that Tweedy was finally ready to let Wilco function as a collaborative effort.
And that's just what he did.
Sky Blue Sky, Wilco's newest album that was released earlier this week, displays a band fully functioning as a single unit. On Sound Opinions the band explains the disc was recorded in a very short period of time and was tracked in a live setting with the group playing in a circle facing each other. The result is a softer-sounding album than one might expect from a group that has grown to Wilco's size, and to be honest it was a little too "Adult Contemporary" for us at first.
Repeated listens, though, reveal a tender song cycle with lyrics reflecting Tweedy's recent internal healing (after years of debilitating migraines and a bout with an addiction to painkillers), while at the same time offering ample display of the interplay between members of the group. The guitars are mostly muted, but when they pop out and above the mix, lines twirling about each other, the result is entrancing.
Our primary gripe about the disc was actually best coined by Time Out Chicago last week when they said, "Given the stellar band Tweedy has assembled, it occasionally feels like he's behind the wheel of a brand new Porsche but won't take it above 25 miles per hour." And that's a fair enough observation. But we think it's also fair to note that while this is the longest time a stable line-up has held fast in the history of Wilco, the members are probably still finding their way when it comes to writing together as a group. And if Sky Blue Sky is merely the band's tender first steps as a resurrected ensemble, we can't wait to hear what they sound like when they're primed and running at full speed.
Band photo from Wilco's website by Jim Saah.
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Solid review.
This morning on my way into work and listening to this album, I totally had the same thought as you - too Adult Contemporary on first run through. I hope Jeff has truly loosened the reins and lets the band's talents complement his own from here on out.
Julene beat me to it, but Adult Contemporary is the perfect description. I could be reading a book in my back yard and have this on in the background, when I'd much rather have something that I could play on the highway with the top down. Softer + Tender = Boring could sum up most of the songs.
BTW, I loved A.M.!
Good review but you forgot YHF!
dw, YHF is assumed to be included in the "first in the line of a number of Wilco albums that were just absolutely terrific" observation, don't worry!
Although Ghost might be a little too heady for some people too digest, I find it far from disappointing. Tweedy had a vision and, although it might have been incoherent or out of focus at times, he displayed a rare artistic conviction in putting his vision onto record.
As far as the new album is concerned, i've been listening ever since it was released in mid-March and it only gets better with time. While they may be a bit too Weather Channel for some, there are almost countless jaw-dropping guitar hero moments. The musical precision of the instrumental break during Shake it Off really shows off the tightness of the band. I could go and On and On and On, but you just have to let the album sink in over time for yourself.
Who wants to wait three months for an album to "sink in"? If it's a good release, you should be able to tell after a few listens.
Anyone know why Wilco's tour is skipping Chicago??
Who wants to wait three months for an album to "sink in"? If it's a good release, you should be able to tell after a few listens.
I like to think of it like Anchorman. I thought it was the worst piece of shit excuse for a movie I'd ever seen the first time I watched it, but as I saw it a couple of more times it kept getting funnier.
While I didn't necessarily think Sky Blue Sky was terrible the first time I heard it, it definitely got better the more I listened to it.
But really, I just wanted an excuse to talk about Ron Burgundy.
The songs are ok--my main issue is with this Nels Cline character. He plays like some sort of shredding Yngwie Malmsteen on speed--trying to put as many notes as possible in his solos.
It may be impressive tehnically, but musicially it is a bit dull.
A Ghost is Born was a master piece album(the first Wilco album I owned)rich with the great songwriting, creativity and musicianship that is lacking in 99.9% of rock music today. Sky Blue Sky is a continuation of that. Simply stooping to a level by resorting to calling an album like this "Adult Contemperary" is just another example of how little you actually hear. No surprise for a generation of "background music" fans and critics who never in their life attempted to listen to and understand music on any deeper level than the one you watch TV at.
To each his/her own, but if you only like Ghost is Born and Sky Blue Sky, I feel you are missing out on at least 3 great albums by the band (who wouldn't agree with that). Ghost is Born on is almost like two different bands, and I'll take the earlier lineup hands down.