Album Review: Wilco (the album)

May 19, 2009 SoItGoes 2 comments

Wilco’s newest offering may not reach stores until June 30th but as many of you are probably already aware the the album leaked last week and was subsequently posted on the bands website for all to hear in its entirety. If you are one of the few who have not heard it head hereto check it out for yourself. If Wilco (the stream) as it is being referred to is not enough for you the band is actually cool enough to understand you may have to download it. If you do though they are asking that you make a donation to their favorite charity “The Inspiration Corporation” which they have worked with in the past and will continue to raise money for moving forward.

One thing as a long time Wilco fan i have come to understand is don’t expect the band to make a certain kind of album. The wonderful thing about Wilco (the band) is they do follow their own muse and because of this they typically make wonderful music instead of trying to meet expectations of fans, record labels, or peers. It is what sets them apart from many others on the scene today that may feel pressure to make a record that sounds a certain way.

Wilco (the album) follows that philosophy to the T. This is the first album in the bands entire career that the line up has remained the same for two consecutive albums. Pretty hard to imagine that for a band that is putting out their 8th album this June 30th.

With Wilco (the album) the band shows off their song writing and melody abilities as the they have assembled the most “pop” friendly album since Summerteeth. For me i find much of the album to be a cross between Summerteeth’s poppiness and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’s layering. Not a bad combo by any stretch of the means. Gone though are the frantic Nels Cline solo’s that dotted Sky Blue Sky. They are replaced with much more well placed and well thought out melodic additions by Nels. Nels is not in your face on this ablum as much as he was on Sky Blue Sky but make no mistake after close listens his influence is undeniably there. As are all the other members of the band too. They all play flawlessly together and seem to be very comfortable with each other as musicians at this point.

The album starts how any album titled Wilco (the album) should kick off and that is with “Wilco (the song)”. Where we find Jeff reassuring his fans during this time of duress not to worry because “Wilco, will love you baby”. Basically showing that a band that has been branded at times as being pretentious has quite a comical side too. The album progresses with nicely layered and darkly melodic tracks “Deeper Down ” and “One Wing” before it jumps into the most interesting song on the album “Bull Black Nova”.

Before the album was readily available to anyone with a computer first reviews of this song would lead you to believe it was a jam of epic proportions. Comparisons to fan favorite live song Spiders were used multiple times as well as one early review mentioning “Nels is finally allowed to go crazy in the studio”.

Settle down boys and girls this song is not the explosive Nels attack many have been waiting to hear on a Wilco album, but once you get past that expectation it is easy to realize it is the most interesting track and one of their best songs they have made. The production of the song and the laying for me harkins back to much of what the band was doing on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. It builds simple yet infections groove and grows from that point. It seems to be about a killer watching the cops at his crime scene from the distance in his Bull Black Chevy Nova. One can only hope in the future they will visit this type of sound again. Also I’m ecstatic to hear this one live as you can’t help but think it will be quite an affair.

The album then progresses into “You and I” a tender ballad that is helped by the presence of some lovely guest vocals provided by Feist. Tweedy and Feist take turns harmonizing and singing and the song comes off as quite a nice number. This is followed by the first single “You Never Know” that is the catchiest song the band has put on an album since “Shot in the Arm”. One can’t help but hear the Sly and the Family Stone influence on the keys, but other wise it is a song that easily gets stuck in your head and finds Tweedy speaking as the Dad of all Dad rock when he comments: “Come on children. You’re acting like children Every generation thinks its the end of the world”

Then the album loses momentum with “Country Disappeared” and “Solitaire”. On their own i think the songs are very nice and work well, but in the context of the album they just seem to suck the life out of what the first half of the songs works so hard to acquire. Even though “Country Disappeared” has some of the more interesting lyrics of the album the composition of the song really does not do it for me. I think “Solitaire” on its own would have worked, but being placed back to back with “Country Disappeared” makes it a difficult one two punch.

The album picks up again for the final push as “I’ll Fight” goes right back into the territory “You Never Know” captured by putting you in sing along mode again, and “Sunny Feeling” does not stray far from that either. The album closes with a touching lyrically driven “Everlasting” that seems to end the album very well.

I really enjoy this album and I think most Wilco fans will like it also. This one is highly recommended to for those long time fans. If you are new to the band there are probably better albums to start with, but this is one you will eventually want to check out. The biggest complaint for me is adjusting to Nels role on this album. I won’t say he is in the background for this album I just think that the songs did not lend themselves well to wild and crazy solo’s so being the musician that he is Nels does what he does in a more quiet melodic way instead of the over the top insane solo’s we came to expect from his live performances.

My favorite songs initially are “Bull Black Nova”, One Wing, & “I’ll Fight”, but the tenderness of “You and I” should not be dismissed and the more I hear “Deeper Down” the more it seeps into my mind. Fear not Wilco (the fans) that have not heard this yet. You will not be disappointed. It is Wilco and you just know they are gonna love you!

Here is a great clip from the song One Wing performed last summer. This is a bit different then what ended up on the album. The jam at the end did not make the album and Pat’s solo displayed live here (part of that jam) is no where to be found either.