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Post by joker on Jan 19, 2007 14:29:09 GMT -5
Any Wilco fans? I'm cautiously optimistic for another strong album. "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" still ranks as one of my favorites of the decade so far, and "A Ghost is Born" wasn't a letdown. -------------------------------------------------------- billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003534789Wilco Soars Into 'Blue Sky' In MayJanuary 18, 2007, 4:45 PM ET Jonathan Cohen, N.Y. Wilco's new album, "Sky Blue Sky," will arrive May 15 via Nonesuch, frontman Jeff Tweedy said on stage last night (Jan. 17) during a solo show in Nashville. Among the new songs Tweedy has been playing are the title track and "We Can Make It Better." As a full band, Wilco has also previewed the tracks "Is That the Thanks I Get," "Lullaby for Rafters and Dreams," "On and On and On" and "Walken" in the past year. "I think people may have an idea in their head about what it will sound like, but it's going to be different than that," Wilco bassist John Stirratt told Billboard.com in November. "Jeff had a lot of creative fire. And also, the way we recorded was so cool because a lot of the arrangements just grew right there with everybody sitting around. I'm over the moon about it. I think it will be a really beautiful record. It's a great time to be in Wilco." "Sky Blue Sky" is the follow-up to 2004's "A Ghost Is Born," which has sold 346,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Tweedy's solo run continues through Jan. 31 in Charlottesville, Va. The lone Wilco live dates on tap at present are three mid-April shows in Australia: April 16 in Brisbane, April 18 in Melbourne and April 21 in Sydney.
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Post by joker on Feb 15, 2007 15:04:57 GMT -5
"Sky Blue Sky" tracklist announced:
01 Either Way 02 You Are My Face 03 Impossible Germany 04 Sky Blue Sky 05 Side With the Seeds 06 Shake It Off 07 Please Be Patient With Me 08 Hate It Here 09 Leave Me (Like You Found Me) 10 Walken 11 What Light 12 On and On and On
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neally
Diamond Member
Everybody wants to throw it all away sometimes
Joined: October 2005
Posts: 12,140
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Post by neally on Feb 15, 2007 15:30:09 GMT -5
Any Wilco fans? I'm cautiously optimistic for another strong album. "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" still ranks as one of my favorites of the decade so far, and "A Ghost is Born" wasn't a letdown. -------------------------------------------------------- billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003534789Wilco Soars Into 'Blue Sky' In MayJanuary 18, 2007, 4:45 PM ET Jonathan Cohen, N.Y. Wilco's new album, "Sky Blue Sky," will arrive May 15 via Nonesuch, frontman Jeff Tweedy said on stage last night (Jan. 17) during a solo show in Nashville. Among the new songs Tweedy has been playing are the title track and "We Can Make It Better." As a full band, Wilco has also previewed the tracks "Is That the Thanks I Get," "Lullaby for Rafters and Dreams," "On and On and On" and "Walken" in the past year. "I think people may have an idea in their head about what it will sound like, but it's going to be different than that," Wilco bassist John Stirratt told Billboard.com in November. "Jeff had a lot of creative fire. And also, the way we recorded was so cool because a lot of the arrangements just grew right there with everybody sitting around. I'm over the moon about it. I think it will be a really beautiful record. It's a great time to be in Wilco." "Sky Blue Sky" is the follow-up to 2004's "A Ghost Is Born," which has sold 346,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Tweedy's solo run continues through Jan. 31 in Charlottesville, Va. The lone Wilco live dates on tap at present are three mid-April shows in Australia: April 16 in Brisbane, April 18 in Melbourne and April 21 in Sydney. Thanks very much, joker ! This is my at least 3rd (or maybe 2nd) most anticipated record of 2007 !!! If I have to pick a record that I wish to sound most similar to, I would say 'Summer Teeth'
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Post by joker on Mar 1, 2007 22:08:40 GMT -5
No prob, neally. Three songs from the new album have leaked: "Walken," "You Are My Face," and "Either Way". I don't have any of the mp3's yet, but apparently they're available for streaming at the Hype Machine.
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Post by joker on Mar 5, 2007 14:32:32 GMT -5
Here's another new track: New Music: Wilco: "What Light" [MP3] Wilco have always been generous about giving away their music, and this first free track from their forthcoming album, Sky Blue Sky, not only continues that tradition, but also addresses it. "What Light" is musically as pleasant and sweet as its counseling lyrics. More sweep and feeling than hooks and melodies, the song sways back and forth on acoustic guitar and piano. Jeff Tweedy's advice is simple: "If the whole word's singing your songs/ Just remember, what was yours is everyone's from now on." pitchforkmedia.com/page/forkcast/41529#Wilco_New_Music_Wilco
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oscillations.
Diamond Member
Opinion = Fact
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age.
Joined: February 2005
Posts: 10,130
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Post by oscillations. on Mar 9, 2007 17:12:04 GMT -5
it's all over Hype Machine
I haven't even listened to any of the new stuff; they aren't really my cup of tea but I wish them the best
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Post by joker on Mar 9, 2007 19:19:49 GMT -5
I've heard three of the songs so far... hopefully I can resist long enough to keep it that way till the album's official release. ------------------------------------- Wilco Unfazed By Early Album LeakMarch 09, 2007, 5:40 PM ET Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.In what is becoming something of an unfortunate tradition, Wilco's new Nonesuch album, "Sky Blue Sky," has leaked online, more than two months prior to its May 15 release date. The group's 2002 album "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" was online for nine months before it was eventually released in stores, and 2004's "A Ghost Is Born" also hit the Internet well before street date. In the latter instance, Wilco fan site Justafan.org asked fans who had downloaded the album early to donate money to Doctors Without Borders, a fund which eventually grew to $15,000. "There's probably some good argument to be made that it will prevent a few people from buying the record," Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy told Billboard yesterday (March 8) at the band's Chicago loft. "But there's also the idea that I believe is true for us, which is, it's people listening to our music." "We feel very proud of our record and we want people to hear it. Ultimately, that's the goal," he continued. "I think most people will do the right thing and support us and buy the record, even if they have downloaded it." "Frankly, I would like to have people get a head start on knowing the material before we come to whatever town they live in," bassist John Stirratt added with a laugh. To stem the tide, the group will stream "Sky Blue Sky" from 9 a.m to 9 p.m. ET this Sunday (March 11) on its official Web site. "We've always viewed the whole thing as similar to radio," Wilco manager Tony Margherita tells Billboard. "We were prepared for it to leak as soon as the first advance CD went out. That's just part and parcel of the deal. As with previous records, our plan was and is to give people another way to hear the record besides the download, since these often sound like crap and are a pain in the ass for people who don't have a lot of time or are not super tech-savvy." Wilco will get busy on the road beginning April 16 in Brisbane, Australia. www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003556600
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Post by jaxxalude on Mar 10, 2007 11:35:30 GMT -5
I like Wilco. But I think the supposed genius of Jeff Tweedy is, at least, debatable. Sure they've come a long way since the country-rock stylings of Being There. But really, most of those who hail Tweedy as some sort of new Gram Parsons or Arthur Lee could do worse than get a bit of a hold on themselves.
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Post by busyboy on Apr 4, 2007 11:44:52 GMT -5
Wilco Expand World Tour Wilco have added North American dates to their previously reported world tour. On June 13, they'll begin their short North American trek in Davenport, Iowa. In July, they'll head to Europe for a few festivals. The tour is in support of Wilco's newest album, Sky Blue Sky, which Nonesuch will release on May 15. Thanks to reader Rachel Korman for the tip! Dates: 04-06 Chicago, IL - The Vic Theatre (Jeff Tweedy solo) 04-16 Brisbane, Australia - The Tivoli * 04-18 Melbourne, Australia - The Palais Theatre * 04-19 Melbourne, Australia - The Palais Theatre * 04-21 Sydney, Australia - Enmore Theatre * 04-22 Perth, Australia - Metropolis Fremantle * 05-19 Somerset, England - Butlins Minehead (ATP) 05-20 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire 05-21 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire 05-23 Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall 05-24 Berlin, Germany - Kesselhaus 05-25 Hamburg, Germany - Grosse Freiheit 36 05-26 Dresden, Germany - Alter Schlachthof 05-28 Stuttgart, Germany - Longhorn 05-29 Paris, France - Le Bataclan 05-30 Gent, Belgium - De Vooruit 05-31 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso 06-02 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Festival 06-13 Davenport, IA - Adler Theater 06-15 Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theater 06-17 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo 06-19 Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheatre 06-20 Charlotte, NC - Ovens Auditorium 06-22 Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theater 06-24 Northampton, MA - The Pines 06-25 New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom 06-28 Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion 06-29 Shelburne, VT - The Green at Shelburne Museum 06-30 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall 07-07 Kongsberg, Norway - Kongsberg Jazz Festival 07-12-15 Suffolk, England - Latitude Festival 07-20 Benicassim, Spain - Festival Internacional de Benicassim * with Glenn Richards www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/42133-wilco-expand-world-tour-
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Post by busyboy on Apr 13, 2007 16:38:19 GMT -5
Wilco: In The Comfort ZoneAfter Conquering Addiction And Label Drama, Jeff Tweedy Takes Solace In His Bandmates On An Intimate New Album Jonathan Cohen The Wilco loft takes up a full floor of a nondescript building in Chicago's Irving Park. This expansive place could use a paint job and some new rugs, but it's cozy in a way that makes you feel like you're in a grown-up's clubhouse. Several sets of bunk beds double as office space underneath, while large road cases on wheels and shelves full of gear occupy their own corner of the site. Loud, unexplained banging noises come from the floor above, while the band's road manager excitedly divulges that an employee at the local Jewel grocery store has just set aside multiple cases of the lime soda Wilco's members like to drink at the loft. Meanwhile, frontman Jeff Tweedy gets comfortable on a couch surrounded by old Wilco concert posters. Tweedy has slept on the futon here when he's been too immersed in band work to drive home to his wife and two preteen kids. Wilco has played parties here for friends and family. Tweedy also recorded an album with his side project Loose Fur here in late 2005, and he liked the experience so much that he decided to track the next Wilco record -- "Sky Blue Sky," due May 15 via Nonesuch -- here, too, even though it required the band's six members to squeeze into a cramped alcove no more than 30 feet wide. It may sound like forced intimacy, but it's in this environment that Tweedy feels most comfortable right now. And it's this close-knit vibe that permeates the beautiful, soulful "Sky Blue Sky," the follow-up to 2004's "A Ghost Is Born." Tweedy, bassist John Stirratt, drummer Glenn Kotche, keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen and the newest members, guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone, worked on one song at a time, crafting arrangements together in a way Wilco has never done before. "Somehow it has organized itself into a one-mind kind of thing," Tweedy says of Wilco's modus operandi in the studio. "We sit in a circle over there without headphones for up to six hours at a time, just working on one part. For six guys to stay focused on something like that is pretty remarkable. This is the first time in my life I've ever been part of a band that can really mine something that deep and have that kind of stamina and attention." The band's newfound internal harmony is a far cry from the near-implosion that occurred during the making of 2002's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." That troubled period is chronicled in the 2003 documentary "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," which showed how at odds Tweedy had grown with multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett (Tweedy hired Jim O'Rourke to remix the album, despite strong protests from Bennett). In a devastating one-two punch to the band's stability, Bennett was booted from Wilco once "Yankee" was finished, and the album itself was unceremoniously rejected by Reprise, which then severed ties with the band. On top of everything else, Tweedy conquered an addiction to painkillers that forced a brief postponement in the release of "A Ghost Is Born" as well as tour dates in support of that album. To be sure, Wilco's current lineup has Tweedy feeling more confident in his abilities than ever. "We've gotten better at writing as a group," says Kotche, who joined during the early stages of "Yankee." "A lot of these ideas still come in as seeds from Jeff; a chord progression or riffs. But working together in this way, it's due to where Jeff's at now, compared to when we were writing 'Ghost.' He's in a different place mentally. He's a lot more confident and able to trust us around him. He can take a lot of suggestions and ideas and have the confidence to know they're a good or a bad idea." "Yankee" and "Ghost" offered significantly more experimental music than Wilco's prior albums, which were rooted in the tried-and-true song forms of the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. Yet they brought the band to a new level of commercial and critical acclaim. "Yankee" has sold 590,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, while "Ghost" debuted at a career-best No. 8 on The Billboard 200 and has shifted 348,000 to date. In contrast to its post production-enhanced predecessors, "Sky Blue Sky" is startling in its simplicity: an album recorded straight to tape with hardly any overdubs, and Tweedy singing live in the same room with the musicians. The singer estimates at least half the songs feature vocals captured on the first take. The inscrutable turns of phrase (i.e. "I am an American aquarium drinker") that marked the last two albums have been largely dispensed with. Instead, Tweedy's narrators clearly struggle to be heard, to be loved and to be worthy of love on poignant songs like "Leave Me (Like You Found Me)," the drumless "Please Be Patient With Me," "Either Way" and the goose- bump-inducing closer, "On and On and On," which Tweedy wrote for his dad after his mother passed away. The album also evinces the band's more lighthearted side on the ZZ Top-worthy rocker "Walken," while "Impossible Germany" indulges Tweedy's love of the harmonized guitar leads patented by Television and Thin Lizzy. Elsewhere, the strummy first single, "What Light," sounds airlifted from "Mermaid Avenue," the first of Wilco's 1998 and 2000 collaborations with Billy Bragg that brought to life unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy insists he didn't plan to tone down the experimentation of Wilco's recent albums, although he admits when he thought to himself, "What record do I want to hear right now?," the answer was, "I want to hear somebody just sing me some songs." Stirratt adds, "We had rockers that existed with these songs for a while, but this sort of mood took over with tunes like 'You Are My Face,' " he says. "We had roughs in this sequence early on, and it felt so much like a record even at that point. It was like, 'God, this is the record that is trying to present itself to us.'" When it came time to write lyrics, Tweedy pushed himself to keep things personal. "I've written a lot of stuff in the past that has been very, very uncomfortable for my wife to listen to, and uncomfortable for us both to live with in the context of people reading into it in a really autobiographical way," he says. "There's a part of me that was very conscious on this record of writing directly to my wife a little bit more; some things where I can say, 'This is how I feel.' "I have to stay focused on what's really going on in my world, or I'm not writing about anything," he adds. "I feel like I've gotten through a lot, and I feel a lot better about my life. I feel like I'm able to contribute a lot more to my family. I don't think any of that is sad, silly or embarrassing to talk about." Surprisingly, Wilco pulled off "Sky Blue Sky" with much less of an assist from O'Rourke, who is also Tweedy and Kotche's partner in Loose Fur. O'Rourke penned string arrangements for "Either Way" and "On and On and On," but his mix was ultimately scrapped in favor of a second attempt by Jim Scott that was more in keeping with the intimacy of the recording sessions. "Compared to the demos it just didn't feel quite the same or like the record we, as a band, had made," Tweedy says. "The mixes we did with Jim Scott put you in this room a lot more than the ones we did [with O'Rourke], which sounded much more like a 'record.' The room was gone." The bulk of "Sky Blue Sky" was tested on the road, where Wilco has thrived since the start of the decade. The group, which permits fans to tape its shows and frequently streams concerts for free on its Web site, has grossed nearly $8 million from 117 shows reported to Billboard Boxscore since 2000. A 2005 live album, "Kicking Television," has sold 114,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Wilco takes its relationship with its fans very seriously, going so far as to stream "Yankee," "Ghost" and "Sky Blue Sky" on its Web site months before their retail release. Of course, this resulted in fans ripping MP3s from the streams and posting them online, where they spread quickly. But Wilco devotees apparently do not take without giving back. When "Ghost" leaked in 2004, one fan site began soliciting donations from listeners who just could not wait until street date without downloading it. The result was a $15,000 check for Doctors Without Borders, a charity the band had specified when contacted about the initiative. Fans will get an insider's peek into Wilco's creative process via the documentary "Shake It Off," which will be included as a DVD with the deluxe edition of the new album. "A lot of it is the band rehearsing in the loft, before some dates they did in November," manager Tony Margherita says. "They're playing through the songs start to finish, and there's a lot of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews." Further honing in on the hardcore fan, Nonesuch is releasing "Sky Blue Sky" on 180-gram, audiophile vinyl with a CD of the album included. "This is fairly unusual," Bither says. "A lot of people give you download cards, but we wanted to do something of even higher quality." The iTunes version of the album will include the outtake "Let's Not Get Carried Away," while indie coalitions will receive a bonus disc with the non-album song "One True Vine" and a previously unreleased live take of "Theologians" from the same Chicago shows that yielded "Kicking Television." And even though Tweedy's beverage of choice is Diet Coke (he claimed to drink 30 of them a day on his 2006 solo DVD "Sunken Treasure"), "Sky Blue Sky" will be Wilco's first album to be carried at Starbucks. Tweedy, who says Wilco has so much unreleased material that he often can't identify those tracks when they come up on his iPod, is already thinking ahead to the band's next album. "We'd like to try and get something out fairly soon," he says. "By fairly soon, I mean within a year-and-a-half or something. The general scheme of things these days is that Wilco spends so much time touring, and the record industry doesn't seem to be geared toward putting out a lot of records by any one artist quickly. So, we're battling against things like that. But it'd be nice to do it before three years pass." But first, the band is returning to the road. A run of Australian shows got things moving in mid-April, to be followed by a three-week European tour. North American dates get under way June 13 in Davenport, Iowa, and include a June 17 appearance at the Bonnaroo festival. Afterward, the band will visit Europe for a handful of festivals. Beginning in mid-August and stretching into September, Wilco will embark on a more extensive tour of the United States and Canada, according to Margherita. As "Sky Blue Sky" prepares to hit the marketplace, Tweedy marvels at the turnaround in his outlook since 2004. To his ears, the sound of the new album is the ultimate proof how all the upheaval had positive consequences that seemed impossible at the time. "After a lot of complexity and a lot of reflection on a lot of difficult topics, allowing ourselves to relish being in a band and having the ability to make things really musical was soothing," he says. "I think we were wanting to make something beautiful." ______________________________________________________ I think the album's pretty sweet. Is it on my shopping list? Not yet, but I feel it'll get there, along with the new Amerie getting its release the same day.
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Post by joker on Apr 18, 2007 14:14:43 GMT -5
It's all blue skies for WilcoBy Patrick Donovan April 18, 2007 BEFORE he died last week, American author Kurt Vonnegut requested that his epitaph read: "The only evidence he needed for the existence of God was music". Vonnegut loved American music — he even created an album cover for US jam band Phish. And American musicians loved Vonnegut's writing — last week, US country rock band Wilco placed the writer's epitaph on its website as a tribute. "I loved his recent book A Man without a Country — it said so many things that I feel," says Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, in Australia on the eve of the band's hugely anticipated tour this week. "It had a rather defeatist feel about it, which expresses the tragic feeling that one couldn't help but feel in our country at the moment. He is one of the geniuses of our culture and he will be dearly missed." In contrast to Vonnegut's final book, Wilco's forthcoming album, Sky Blue Sky, is far from downcast. In fact, with singer-songwriter Jeff Tweedy having overcome his recent addiction to painkillers, the new songs are positively upbeat, from the opening stanza: "Maybe the sun will shine today, the clouds will blow away". It is such a stark departure from the wistful melancholy of the band's previous two critically acclaimed albums that it is already polarising some fans. In online debates, the sweet new sound has thrilled some fans who describe it as heartbreakingly beautiful, and confounded those who must believe in the adage that magical music is derived from misery and deride it as "easy listening". But Melbourne Wilco fans have faith in their favourite band; they have snapped up 4000 tickets to the band's shows tonight and tomorrow at St Kilda's Palais Theatre, despite the album not being released for another month. It is Cline's first Australian tour with the band. He is one of three new members of Wilco to work on the new album. The latest personnel changes were just the latest chapter in Wilco's dramatic, 12-year history, which was captured in the revealing 2002 documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. www.wilcoworld.net/
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Post by joker on May 2, 2007 17:18:53 GMT -5
Riverfront Times reviewersWilco's latest album, Sky Blue Sky (due out May 15), so far appears to be polarizing fans and critics alike; people either love or loathe the group's meandering, rootsy direction. In the spirit of dialogue, here are two takes on Sky from two longtime fans — one who's enthusiastic and one who's, well, not so much.If Wilco put together a greatest-hits album, it would probably only contain two or three songs from Sky Blue Sky — and while that may sound like a criticism, it's actually more a testament to the band's already-impressive body of work. Whereas 2004's A Ghost Is Born was a tad unfocused and jam-heavy, Sky is far more song-oriented and less Krautrock-influenced than it is informed by legendary folk acts such as the Band. However, despite the album's laid-back feel, it's still unquestionably a Wilco record. "Impossible Germany" is reminiscent of "Jesus, Etc." from 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, save for a jaw-dropping jazz-fusion guitar solo courtesy of recent addition Nels Cline; "What Light" is a Dylan-influenced, acoustic-driven number that recalls Wilco's early material (or even Uncle Tupelo's final recordings); and the stripped-down "Please Be Patient With Me" displays a side of frontman Jeff Tweedy that's so vulnerable, the song will break your heart as fast it'll embed itself in your brain. Lyrically, Sky Blue Sky is far less cryptic than the band's last effort — and while there are no ghosts being born, songs such as "Hate It Here" manage to take a familiar theme (getting over a breakup) and put it in a fresh new context. Come to think of it, that last statement is what made most of us love Wilco in the first place. — Jonah Bayer ----------------- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot opens with a couplet of such swaggering beauty that I fall in love again every time I hear it: "I am an American aquarium drinker/I assassin down the avenue." The beginning of Foxtrot's follow-up, A Ghost Is Born, isn't quite so evocative, but it grounds that album's emotional and psychological torment in specific detail: "When I sat down on the bed next to you/You started to cry." Here are the first lines of Wilco's sixth studio album, Sky Blue Sky: "Maybe the sun will shine today/The clouds will blow away/Maybe I won't feel so afraid" — which is practically Leonard Cohenesque compared to the next verse: "Maybe you still love me/Maybe you don't/Either you will or you won't." On Sky Blue Sky, Jeff Tweedy trades poetry for banality, introspection for navel-gazing. The sighing narrators of these songs yearn for someone or something, yet never with any urgency — and even when they get what they're after, they aren't thrilled or just plain happy so much as content. Consider the final lines of "Impossible Germany": "Nothing more important than to know/ Someone's listening/Now I know/You'll be listening." Or consider the Big Bird pabulum of "What Light," whose everyone-is-special ethos represents the lack of artistic ambition that bedevils the entire album: "If you feel like singing a song/And you want other people to sing along/Just sing what you feel/Don't let anyone say it's wrong." The band ambles along behind Tweedy, giving a competent performance — the worst insult I can imagine for these guys. Nels Cline unleashes a few wicked solos, but these don't feel organic to the songs; instead, it just seems like Tweedy pointed to him at that moment. And poor Glenn Kotche doesn't even get a good groove going until the last minute of the second-to-last song. Fans turned off by the studio experimentation and occasional self-indulgence of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born may welcome the less obtuse lyrics and utterly pleasant melodies. And after hashing out his personal issues on those two albums, it's understandable why Tweedy may want to step back from the precipice. Sometimes, when you're back in your old neighborhood, the cigarettes really do taste so good. Sometimes, though, they just taste like nasty-ass cancer sticks. — Ian Froeb
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Post by joker on May 3, 2007 13:02:12 GMT -5
Video: Wilco: "Side With the Seeds" (live at the band's Chicago loft)If you count the live set Kicking Television, then Sky Blue Sky marks the first time in Wilco history that the same lineup has stayed intact for more than one album. Not surprisingly, the disc sounds like a band very satisfied with itself, so if you still think Wilco band practices mean debilitating headaches, arguments and vomiting, check out this footage capturing the group tearing through the deceptively simple "Side With the Seeds", which emphasizes how tight-- musically and personally-- Wilco seem to be. And wouldn't you be happy, too, with Nels Cline shredding away? Video (at link)
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Post by joker on May 3, 2007 14:30:02 GMT -5
Jeff Tweedy On Festivals, Uncle Tupelo Reunion, PCPAs mentioned when our favorite Martin offered his festival advice, SPIN's dedicated this issue to the big summer shows, taking time to speak with fest vets like Jeff Tweedy and Britt Daniel. But Jeff's quick Q&A is particularly interesting 'cause after years of being a wild card in interview, turns out he gives some great, no bullshit info when he's fine and sober. SPIN: Is there a particular festival that you wish you'd attended?
JEFF TWEEDY: I don't think I would have wanted to be at Woodstock without a helicopter, but that would have been pretty amazing. To be honest with you -- and this isn't going to be a very popular comment for a magazine doing a huge feature on festivals -- I generally wouldn't go to one of these unless someone was paying me. I don't mean that to sound crass. I'm just spoiled because, for the last 20 years of my life, I've been able to watch bands from the side of the stage.
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SPIN: You'll be playing Bonnaroo with the Police -- are all these band reunions tempting you to re-form Uncle Tupelo? JT: All I can say is, right now it feels like that would be kind of silly and wouldn't be very productive musically. And as a music fan, I don't know how many times it's happened where I said, "Wow, there's a lot of great artistic ground that just wasn't mined yet." But at the same time, I would never rule it out. And contrary to most people my age, I don't think I ever liked the Police.
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SPIN:What is the one drug you don't want to be on at an all-day festival? JT: I don't know -- maybe angel dust? It's what they embalm cadavers with. Don't do angel dust. That should be easy to remember.
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Post by busyboy on May 7, 2007 7:17:54 GMT -5
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Post by joker on May 8, 2007 10:10:44 GMT -5
Wilco to Rock "A Prairie Home Companion"Party people of Lake Wobegon! Whoot whoot! Throw your hands in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care, 'cause Wilco's coming to town. On May 12, Jeff Tweedy and his band of dirty, dangerous Chicago rock n rollers will invade Garrison Keillor's beloved down-home radio show "A Prairie Home Companion", blasting small-town eardrums from here to Fargo. The show airs from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm Central -- check your local listings for which station carries it, or listen on one of them newfangled computing machines. Thanks to reader Josh Dibley for the heads up. While Wilco will probably play a charming set of feel-good favorites and end with a "California Stars" sing-along, part of me really, really wants them to just get up there and play the noize part of "Less Than You Think" for a half hour. The show will be broadcast from the State Theater in big, bad Minneapolis, but rest assured, it will probably sound like a barn dance to all of you out there in radioland. Since this is not the movie version of "Prairie Home Companion", Lindsay Lohan will not be there. (Sorry, Dad.) Nor will Meryl Streep. (Sorry, Mom.) Wilco's new album, Sky Blue Sky, is out on Nonesuch on May 15, but you can hear it right now, streaming from the band's website or on Rhapsody. The band will appear on "Letterman" on May 15, and will spend most of the summer on the road. Wilco tour dates: 05-12 Minneapolis, MN - State Theater (Prairie Home Companion) 05-19 Somerset, England - Butlins Minehead (ATP) 05-20 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire 05-21 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire 05-23 Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall * 05-24 Berlin, Germany - Kesselhaus * 05-25 Hamburg, Germany - Grosse Freiheit 36 * 05-26 Dresden, Germany - Alter Schlachthof * 05-28 Stuttgart, Germany - Longhorn * 05-29 Paris, France - Le Bataclan * 05-30 Gent, Belgium - De Vooruit * 05-31 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso * 06-02 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Festival 06-13 Davenport, IA - Adler Theater # 06-14 Cincinnati, OH - Aronoff Center # 06-15 Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theater # 06-17 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo 06-19 Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheatre # 06-20 Charlotte, NC - Ovens Auditorium # 06-21 Washington, DC - Merriweather Post Pavilion # 06-22 Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theater # 06-24 Northampton, MA - The Pines # 06-25 New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom # 06-26 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw # 06-28 Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion # 06-29 Shelburne, VT - The Green at Shelburne Museum # 06-30 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall # 07-07 Kongsberg, Norway - Kongsberg Jazz Festival 07-08 Copenhagen, Denmark - Roskilde Festival 07-13 Suffolk, England - Latitude Festival 07-14 Glasgow, Scotland - Indian Summer Festival 07-15 Dour, Belgium - Dour Festival 07-17 Turin, Italy - Spaciale Festival 07-20 Benicassim, Spain - Festival Internacional de Benicassim * with Carla Bozulich # with Low
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Post by joker on May 9, 2007 13:09:10 GMT -5
Evolution rockJeff Tweedy takes Wilco to the next levelBy TED DROZDOWSKI May 8, 2007 6:40:59 PMFor the past 11 years, Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy has been trying to carve his band’s image into the Mount Rushmore of Great American Rock, right alongside Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Byrds, the Band, and the Allman Brothers. Now he can lay down his chisel. Wilco’s new Sky Blue Sky (Nonesuch), which comes out Tuesday, is an outright masterpiece — an album that, like the finest recordings of the aforementioned outfits, creates its own universe. Much as John Fogerty imagined a swamp-rock cosmos in Creedence’s Green River, Tweedy has carefully constructed the sounds and stories of Sky Blue Sky to conjure a place that doesn’t quite exist yet seems comfortably familiar. Its dozen songs are a trip through a concrete-and-glass Shangri-La with scattered dark clouds, where beauty and grace work vigilantly to keep loss and despair at bay. “My favorite albums have always had a sustained vibe, a kind of overall feeling that knit the songs together no matter what they were about lyrically,” Tweedy says. “That’s something we worked very hard to accomplish this time, although in a lot of ways this was the easiest studio experience I’ve ever had recording an album. We really wanted to make something beautiful and positive, and I hope we accomplished that.” Tweedy’s speaking by cellphone in his car, which is the lone vehicle parked on the uppermost deck of a garage in Chicago — the only place where he can get a signal. “The security guards keep circling me,” he says. “They’re wondering what I’m up to.” And basking in the glow of Wilco’s finest album probably isn’t on their list. What’s awkward about proclaiming Sky Blue Sky a treasure is that critics have heralded every Wilco album that’s followed the group’s 1995 debut A.M. (Reprise/WEA), which the singer/guitarist recorded with other refugees from the alt-country outfit Uncle Tupelo, as their best. And they’ve been correct. Tweedy has layered tastier meat onto Wilco’s Byrds-meets-Stones bones every time he’s entered the studio. But with 2002’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Nonesuch), Wilco’s fourth, his songwriting and arranging began to twist on a brand new axis. Elements of free jazz and yowling rock distortion crept into the provocative “Ashes of American Flags” and “Poor Places.” It was as if he were channeling confusion, anger, and a need to free his imprisoned soul into his guitar and his lyrics — which, it turns out, he was — and the rest of Wilco had caught and amplified the vibe. Or quit. Sure, plenty of the jangly pop-rock constructions that pleased Wilco fans earlier remained in Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but even Lou Reed might have cracked a smile on hearing the disc’s gnarled burrowings into the Velvet Underground. With Sky Blue Sky, Wilco have completed their 180-degree turn. The spin accelerated in 2004 when Tweedy recruited avant-garde guitar hero Nels Cline. They’d met when Cline played with LA alt-rockers the Geraldine Fibbers, who opened a tour for the Tweedy-and-pals side project Golden Smog. “I was knocked out by his playing and kept up with him over the years,” Tweedy recounts, “and when [guitarist and keyboardist] Jay [Bennett] left, I told Nels I’d really like him to be in the band.” At first Cline was skeptical, because Tweedy himself had recently evolved from a competent twanger into a raging, inventive guitar wrecker. “I gave him a copy of [Wilco’s 2004] A Ghost Is Born and Nels said, ‘What would I do? You’re already kicking ass.’ I told him not to worry about it.” As it turns out, what Cline does is complete a great American guitar partnership the likes of which hasn’t been heard for 30 years: since Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd chaired the board of musical directors of Television. The difference is that Tweedy is a visionary songwriter and arranger who came out of his period of anger, estrangement, and drug abuse — the stuff that fed his Foxtrot flames — with his abilities not just intact but improved. The on-the-fly magic of Cline and Tweedy made 2005’s live Kicking Television (Nonesuch) — is that title a coincidence? — a masterpiece of melodic poise balanced with sonic chaos. And they’re still making unforgettable sounds with their instruments on Sky Blue Sky. The disc has the classic-rock heft of the Band’s Music from Big Pink and Fleetwood Mac’s Then Play On. Its dozen songs are illuminated by an airy melodic architecture unprecedented in Wilco’s catalogue, even as it embraces compositional techniques like minimalism (“On and On and On”) and mood-altering dissonance (“Side with the Seeds”). There’s still some of the Byrds’ melodic phrasing, especially in Tweedy’s elaborately arranged vocal lines, which are tailored for maximum sweetness and gentility. But the group have put an even wider setting on their wayback machine, copping a wicked guitar quote from Peter Green in “You Are My Face” and digging into Dylan world with “What Light,” a tune that would fit the sequence of Highway 61 Revisited. “We spent a lot of time paying very close attention to making things melodically interesting,” Tweedy explains, “and we collectively were aspiring to make something lovely and beautiful. Nels played a big role. He’s not only a great musician but he’s a very supportive and generous person, and his presence has given everyone more confidence.” That shows in “Impossible Germany,” where Tweedy’s sweet, conversational singing and the twined, rippling guitar discourse flow over a breezy groove in a manner that’s both relaxed and intense. “In a way, this was the easiest album to make, because we all played together in the studio as an ensemble. We had to take responsibility for each other. When you’re all playing together like that, you can’t mess up, because there’s no going back and replacing your parts with an overdub, and you can’t play too loud and really have to pay attention to each other for the songs to come out right.” So maybe courtesy and new-found camaraderie feed Sky Blue Sky’s glowing energy as much as Tweedy’s victory over his demons and the group’s current guitar chemistry. When it’s all boiled down to a listening experience, however, Wilco have simply become a better band by letting their music do the talking. Tweedy elaborates: “The truth is, I started to mistrust the idea of lyrics saying everything around the time of A Ghost Is Born. I started to embrace the idea of the guitar saying a lot of things I was struggling to express at the time. I can read more into that now. The guitar gave me a way of letting the music deal with issues I was having in my life — like addiction and feeling distanced from the people I love — without having to put them into words, which I just couldn’t do. But it was also liberating to open up as a player and discover just what I could say on the guitar, and Nels has continued to encourage me to do that.” Wilco start a European tour later this week before returning to the States in June. But right after our talk, Tweedy was headed back to the studio. “I’m mixing a lot of songs that this version of the band — which is, I think, the line-up and sound I’ve always envisioned for Wilco, even if there were times when I didn’t realize it — has recorded. A lot of it’s improvised and it’s mostly instrumental. It’s also some of my favorite stuff Wilco’s done.”
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Post by joker on May 9, 2007 18:50:53 GMT -5
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Post by joker on May 11, 2007 13:45:40 GMT -5
Heavens Above! - WilcoBy: Rob Watson (Gigwise) 5/11/07To fully do justice to the tumultuous career of alt-country pioneers Wilco, you’d need to write a thesis. Whole rainforest have been cut down to feed the reams of news and magazine print that have tried to deconstruct this most beguiling and fascinating of bands, led by their preternaturally talented, and notoriously prickly frontman Jeff Tweedy. It would not be too far off the mark to suggest that the Chicago-based band have, in the past 13 years, produced some of the most important, surprising and continually excellent records to come out of the American rock scene. Formed from the ashes of country band Uncle Tupelo, Wilco released two critically acclaimed, but pretty straight down the line albums, before begin to interweave more and more experimental ideas - taking in elements of electronica, sonic soundscapes and even krautrock, to the horror of country purists and the delight of critics. However, internal problems have never been too far from bubbling to the surface. The band almost tore themselves apart during the recording of their masterpiece, 2002’s ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’, and touring of its follow-up, the Grammy-winning ‘A Ghost is Born’ in 2004, had to be aborted so Tweedy could go into rehab to beat an addiction to prescription painkillers. Wilco - Sky Blue SkyBut if the weight of past troubles hangs heavy over the band with the imminent release of their sixth album, ‘Sky Blue Sky’, it doesn’t appear to be bothering bassist and long-time Tweedy collaborator John Stirrant, whose laconic voice - just this side of surfer-dude - crackles from a Chicago recording studio on the eve of the band’s Australian tour. “You know, I really enjoyed the sessions we had on ‘Sky Blue Sky’,” he says. “This record was the easiest, and the most productive yet. It’s really the case now that none of us can wait to get out on the road and start playing the songs.” It’s an attitude that permeates the new album, their most relaxed and untroubled recording for some time. The first thing you notice about ‘Sky Blue Sky’ is the warmth, and dare we say it, happiness that permeates every track. Gone is the glacial production of ‘YHF’, and the lovelorn, roughshod beauty of ‘A Ghost Is Born’, replaced by the kind of wide-eyed beauty that only men who’d been through and hell and back and lived to tell the tale could produce. “Jeff is really the leader of the group, so I guess the album reflects what’s going on with him at the moment. It’s definitely much more of a roots record this time around. We’ve been listening to more traditional rock records, things like John Martin and Neil Young, and I think that’s been a big influence on us.” Yet Stirratt doesn’t feel that the record is a deliberate move away from the experimentation that infused both their lauded last two records to reconnect with their country roots. “It wasn’t something we really thought about. ‘Sky Blue Sky’ was a much more organic album than we’ve done for a while, there were a lot of one-take songs, where we’d just come in and play through. It really felt like a natural progression from where we were.” Tweedy has previously said that this incarnation of the group is the best yet, both live and in the studio, and Stirratt seems to concur: “The group at the moment is full of really talented, creative people. It’s been a joy to work with them.” (that was page 1... cont'd at link)
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Post by joker on May 11, 2007 13:48:00 GMT -5
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Post by joker on May 13, 2007 18:39:40 GMT -5
Wilco's latest takes a while to seep inREVIEW | Wilco, 'Sky Blue Sky' (Nonesuch) May 13, 2007 by: Jim DeRogatis There are moments of undeniable beauty on Wilco's sixth album, especially during the most lulling and introspective songs, including the opening "Either Way," "You Are My Face" and "What Light." The latter continues the defense of pausing to take stock while fearlessly forging your own path that Tweedy is talking about in interviews: " If you feel like singing a song / And you want other people to sing along / Then just sing what you feel / And don't let anyone say it's wrong." Noble as that sentiment is, "Sky Blue Sky" takes longer to click in than any of Wilco's earlier albums, including the allegedly difficult "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and "A Ghost Is Born." I only began to appreciate the gorgeous subtlety of the best tunes after a dozen listens, which may seem like a lot of work. But if any artist of his generation has earned the right to ask his fans' indulgence, it's Jeff Tweedy. Even if you make this effort, though, it can be hard to discern the emotions the songwriter says he's trying to convey, and the less successful songs offer little reason to sing along, sounding either repetitive and incomplete ("Impossible Germany"), sleepy and backward-looking ("Sky Blue Sky," "Please be Patient With Me") or just plain misguided (the Little Feat-like "Walken" or "Hate It Here," with its tedious domestic metaphors about learning to use the washing machine, do the dishes and fold the sheets). Granted, part of the problem was the anticipation that the group would continue to explore the boldly unconventional soundscapes of its last three albums or that, if it got back to basics, it would do so in the hard-rocking, guitar-heavy fashion of recent stage shows. But those aren't the only expectations plaguing the disc: Longing for a safe, secure and loving future is the major theme in many of the lyrics, and these are paired with sounds that are just as unthreatening and common as those universal desires. For my money, Wilco has done its greatest work when Tweedy has given voice to his darkest sentiments, as on "Summerteeth," or pondered the most frightening and unsettling aspects of these troubled times, as on the last two albums. And that's a voice we need much more than fresh sheets or clean dishes.
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Post by joker on May 13, 2007 18:40:44 GMT -5
Wilco mellows outBand takes a step back from experimentation on 'Sky Blue Sky'May 13, 2007 BY MARTIN BANDYKE FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITERDecidedly mellower in sound than Wilco's past two releases, "A Ghost Is Born" (2004) and "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" (2002), "Sky Blue Sky" will undoubtedly appeal to those who prefer the more accessible side of the Chicago-based band. But listeners who favor its more experimental side simply would be silly to dismiss this recording's immediacy, freshness and sheer beauty. "I will try to understand / Everything has its plan," sings front man Jeff Tweedy on the opener, "Either Way," and instantly you're in a calmer, more accepting Wilco world. Tweedy successfully battled an addiction to prescription pain medication and overcame issues with anxiety and depression. The tender lyrics reflect this in great measure. Of course, there is more to the group's sixth studio album than a shinier, happier Tweedy. The 12 songs also sparkle because of gigantic contributions made by the other band members. Wilco's best and most stable lineup to date still includes bassist John Stirratt, who along with Tweedy is a founding member, plus drummer Glenn Kotche, who joined just before "Foxtrot" was done. The newer recruits are keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen, guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone; all came aboard after the release of "Ghost." All told, they make for a remarkably cohesive unit and are in amazing form on this recording, captured entirely at their Windy City loft studio with few overdubs and no use of gadgetry such as Pro Tools or click tracks. After Tweedy reached his abstruse limit singing about American aquarium drinkers and spiders doing tax returns on his previous two albums, it's a refreshing change to hear him sound so direct and emotional on the title track, where he gratefully acknowledges: "Oh, I didn't die/ I should be satisfied I survived/ That's good enough for me." With Cline joining him with some Byrds-gone-country lap steel guitar, you've got something that may not be experimental, but is extraordinary. For those who still want some of that wild, mercurial Wilco sound, "Shake It Off" and "Walken" will fit the bill. Both are loaded with guitar pyrotechnics, explosive drum fills and unpredictable chord progressions reminiscent of late '60s, early '70s prog-rock with even a little, yep, ZZ Top thrown in for good measure. Book-ending "Either Way" is "on and on and on," one lulu of a poignant track that was written by Tweedy for his father after his mother passed on. As sublime a song as the band has ever recorded, it is a fitting and beautiful album closer.
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Post by joker on May 13, 2007 18:41:42 GMT -5
Sky could benefit from a few dark cloudsSky Blue Sky proves that Wilco can make a record without personal or personnel tumult. Wilco evolved beyond alt-country curiosity not by copacetic creativity but in part because of tumult. Wilco (by which I mostly mean frontman Jeff Tweedy) has been a lovably mean creature, wildly relatable to a certain modern-rock fan but seemingly coldblooded with its employees. Likewise it was rough-handed with songs, twisting the familiar and arcane into a scrap-metal bouquet over its second, third, fourth and fifth recordings. There were stems of rock, pop and some other, more daring fare. It was untraditionally pretty and almost always compelling. But these flowers weren't for sniffing. It's been that way from the first rumbling drums of Misunderstood a decade ago. There was a genuine vulnerability in the song's title. But there was also something darker. Its screamed outro — "I'd like to thank you all for nothing at all" — served as Wilco's "make it new" mantra. There was a pact between band and fan, for sure, and there was also an element of dare. Wilco wasn't going to wait for anybody, be it a member or a listener. It was the rare spot-the-influences band whose own melodies were strident enough to rise above spot-the-influence comparisons. Sky Blue Sky, in stores Tuesday, isn't like any of the band's other five studio recordings. But the weaving of known and unknown is for the first time faint. The default is set to funkier R&B and proggier '70s rock. It's the first Wilco record I haven't liked — even temporarily — more than its predecessor. Sky Blue Sky is not necessarily mellow or some of the other lazy adjectives that have been used to describe it. But it might be comfortable, which is frustrating. No matter how arty Wilco got, there was always some small trace of the bar band it never became at its heart. So, the songs ... Several are pretty and interesting, especially opener Either Way. It's a 180-degree turn from the band's previous starter: At Least That's What You Said (on 2004's A Ghost Is Born) was full of violent imagery and a wrenching guitar solo. Either Way is gentle and somber. "Maybe the sun will shine today / the clouds will blow away," Tweedy sings (sunnily). But it's not all sunshine. The song is ponderous and a little resigned. Like many songs on Sky, it seems concerned with love, or if not love, the ways we relate to one another. It, like At Least, also features an extended guitar passage, only this time it's a tasty, fluttering figure, birdlike and reminiscent of Jerry Garcia's playing. The clean interplay between Tweedy and guitarist Nels Cline returns for a very long and interesting song-closing coda on Impossible Germany (they're joined by multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone on a third guitar), the album's centerpiece. Side With the Seeds is the first track to go the R&B route, Tweedy's reedy voice high and gospel-inflected. It's an odd match rescued by a little guitar line that grows into something wilder that draws the song to a close. Shake It Off ventures further into the funk, and not for the better. It's an assured song with a bossy guitar riff, but the hook just isn't there. The vocal and the riff holler at each other in an otherwise empty forest. On previous records, Wilco's fusions took the fringe (say the Krautrock bleeping on Spiders, the glittery electronics on I Am Trying to Break Your Heart) and put them with the familiar (the crisp riff on Spiders, the croakily compelling refrain on I Am Trying). It was dynamic music: familiar yet new, comfortable yet thrilling. Too much of Sky Blue Sky (the album) is dotted with older-sounding funk/soul keyboard vamps that match the vocals. Walken is one such track. But there's a gospel commitment required of old soul; it's a "feel" music. And if Tweedy's lyrics are any clue, he's too intrigued with big questions to commit to any one gospel. A more succinct way to put it (suggested by more than one friend): If you dig Steely Dan, Sky Blue Sky will provide calculated thrills. If Steely Dan's delivery proved too clean, too scientific, you'll likely bang your head in some of the same places I did. Tweedy sounds as though he's in a comfortable place. For the first time ever, he's made two records with the same band (if you count a live one from last year). Lyrically he's less focused on commenting on a sorry state of unions (be it the country or his oft-evoling band) and pairing his hummable melodies with violent imagery. Instead there's a lovely vulnerability to some songs like Please Be Patient With Me. This somber tone doesn't signify the death of "evil Wilco" — as Tweedy once dubbed the band at a very loud New York show after he cussed a fan who made a volume suggestion. No more than it meant sweet Wilco was absent amid some of the torrent on A Ghost Is Born. Ghost (my favorite, I should admit) admittedly tipped a little close to Mr. Hyde for some. As is often the case with Wilco records, I might feel different on the 50th spin. But Sky is too gentle Jekyll for my taste. To Tweedy's credit, his curiosity feeds geeky issues, debates and conversations about recordings like those referenced above. They aren't that common anymore.
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Post by busyboy on May 14, 2007 5:27:28 GMT -5
Wilco Sky Blue Sky [Nonesuch; 2007] Rating: 5.2Jeff Tweedy's restlessness has always been one of his greatest strengths. Since Wilco's inception more than a decade ago, his willingness to explore an ever-widening spectrum of sounds and genres, and to keep the revolving door of the band's line-up well-oiled, has paid off in a discography that's as diverse as it is indispensable. Though his songwriting DNA was bound tight during the later days of Uncle Tupelo, Tweedy has nurtured it in different ways with each successive album, from the transitional sunset country-rock of the first two, through the keyboard-thick pop of Summerteeth, the fractured deconstructions of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and the languid abstractions of A Ghost Is Born. Following that last record, Wilco swelled to its largest and (according to Tweedy himself) best lineup ever, with the addition of guitar hero Nels Cline and utilityman Pat Sansone. Charged up and bursting with eccentric and experimental talent, Wilco Mk. 5 seemed poised to generate the band's finest-- or at least most interesting-- music yet. Instead, it produced Sky Blue Sky. An album of unapologetic straightforwardness, Sky Blue Sky nakedly exposes the dad-rock gene Wilco has always carried but courageously attempted to disguise. Never has the band sounded more passive, from the direct and domestic nature of Tweedy's lyrics, to the soft-rock-plus-solos format (already hinted at on Ghost's "At Least That's What You Said" and "Hell Is Chrome") that most of its songs adhere to. The lackluster spirit even pervades the song titles: "Shake It Off" is probably most accurate (not to mention the album's worst track), but "On and On and On" and "Please Be Patient With Me" are both strong alternatives. It's hard to contest Tweedy's headspace in the making of Sky Blue Sky-- the record's themes of exhaustion and hesitantly returning to normalcy are particularly resonant in the wake of his recent rehabilitation. Perhaps it's just a shame that the music fits the message so well; just as the chaos and space of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot fit with that record's message of communication breakdown, Sky Blue Sky's soothing classic rock elements feel like a desperate pursuit of comfort. Even the noisy guitar interludes (often led by Tweedy rather than Cline) play a dramatic role, absorbing the frustrations Tweedy must have accumulated during all the difficult moments documented in the record's lyrics. Among Sky Blue Sky's most distressing attributes is its misuse of the experimentalist weapons at Tweedy's command: drummer Glenn Kotche is given no room to stretch beyond routine time-keeping, and Cline is used for his capacity to rip and wail rather than his ear for texture and atmosphere. Case in point, the drowsy opener "Either Way" sleepwalks through a list of indecisive sentiments ("maybe you love me, maybe you don't") before breaking for a Cline solo that's straight-up Weather Channel Local on the 8s. Elsewhere the sextet lineup tends to overplay what should be a collection of fragile, lonesome material. Multiple songs ("Impossible Germany", "Walken") end up in multi-guitar Skynyrd jam sessions or White Album aspirations ("Hate It Here") that sound more homage than heartfelt. Meanwhile, quiet moments such as "Leave Me (Like You Found Me)" are marred from being delicate Being There throwbacks by excessive noodling and Tweedy's passive-aggressive self-pity. On the other hand, "Side With the Seeds" is the rare track where the new band demonstrates its chops without getting in the way of the song. With a soulful vocal, intertwined piano and organ, and guitar conversations that build to melodic peaks over a loosely swinging Kotche drumbeat, it's way jambandy, but epic and triumphant nonetheless. And speaking of the granola crowd, the acoustic simplicity and warm harmonies of "What Light" make it the American Beauty nod that Wilco's always been itching to play, even if the song title calls for an exclamation point (or at least a question mark) and is sung with an indifferent period. For a band who can credit a hefty part of their charm to always thinking they're weirder than they actually are, stripping away the disconnect between Wilco's earthy adult-alternative center and their more recent ambitious aspirations-- whether they're exploring Krautrock, breaking into a Sonic Youth freakout, or sabotaging a song's structure-- reveals a fairly traditional band that's emerged from their "weird" phase a markedly less interesting group than they were before they entered it. Perhaps after giving the band-member carousel another spin, Tweedy merely ended up with the wrong personnel to articulate his mood here. If that's the case-- as long as his restless habits hold-- we may only need to wait one more album for message and messenger to click back into alignment. -Rob Mitchum, May 14, 2007
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banet2001
2x Platinum Member
Joined: December 2004
Posts: 2,060
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Post by banet2001 on May 14, 2007 10:39:08 GMT -5
It is pretty predictable that Pitchfork gave Wilco's album mediocre reviews. Most of the rest of the reviews have been pretty good so far.
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Post by joker on May 14, 2007 12:47:56 GMT -5
A Modest Proposal - from Wilco HQ Greetings to you all from the east coast branch -- where we've been burning the midnight oil for months getting ready for May 15. And it is finally upon us.
By now, you know that next week is the official release date of Wilco's 7th album (or 9th depending on how you count). Hence the slightly serious tone of this note. Tuesday, to be precise, marks the US release of Sky Blue Sky on Nonesuch Records. If you haven't had a chance to listen to the on-demand stream, by all means click here and take it for a spin. We're pretty sure you'll enjoy the ride.
But once you've done that we hope you'll take a moment to reflect (see, I told you this was serious) on how this dynamic has worked over the years -- the dynamic between us and you. We (and this "we" means the band, first and foremost) expend a lot of time, energy and other resources trying to make this something you are not just a witness to, but a participant in and we genuinely hope you can feel that.
We've been asked many times if we'd consider changing the way we do things, usually by people who are convinced we'd be more successful if we did. And either out of stubbornness or something else, we keep refusing. Instead, we just do what we do and somehow it all works. We continue to make lots of music available free to all in the road case, continue to allow taping/photos at shows, and basically just try to keep the things we do charge for of a quality that make you feel like you got a bargain. You know, mutual respect and all that. We like the way it works... a lot. We really do believe in trying to keep as much of it as free and open as is humanly possible. That seems pretty obvious... but somehow it remains a slight novelty in the modern day music business. So much so that people continually mention it in their stories when they write or speak about the band or the somewhat sad state of the music business.
Anyway, what we're getting at here is that right now we need you to participate in a way that is part of what has made this nice little story work. We're actually asking you to please go out next week and do the right thing for Wilco. That is, vote with your feet and prove the band's faith well-placed and buy the record. It's available from Tuesday at all kinds of retailers everywhere. Ask for it by name. It's also available here, and for those of you who are more digitally inclined, here.
Okay, enough campaign speeches. You get the message. And we trust that you'll act on it as you always have.
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Post by joker on May 14, 2007 12:55:23 GMT -5
It is pretty predictable that Pitchfork gave Wilco's album mediocre reviews. Most of the rest of the reviews have been pretty good so far. Yep. Even including the Pitchfork review, the Metacritic score is still strong:
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Post by joker on May 14, 2007 14:46:45 GMT -5
New York Times reviewWILCO “Sky Blue Sky” (Nonesuch) By: Jon Pareles Where did all the weird noises go? On Wilco’s pensive new album, “Sky Blue Sky,” the band takes its latest tangent by going back — though only partway — toward its old Americana. As fans know, Jeff Tweedy upended Wilco’s career with “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” in 2002. He jettisoned old band members and embraced odd sounds and abstract lyrics, ultimately revitalizing the band. An even more daring studio album, “A Ghost Is Born,” followed in 2004, and then a lean but volatile live album, “Kicking Television,” in 2005. But “Sky Blue Sky” pretends that Wilco’s recent albums were just fever dreams. The dozen songs on “Sky Blue Sky” generally sound like a band — often the Band — playing together in a room, usually with Mr. Tweedy singing quietly. After pondering the state of the nation in surreal imagery on Wilco’s recent albums, he returns to the personal, contemplating relationships that can be precarious or persistent. In “Please Be Patient With Me,” which might be an addict’s apology, he sings, “There’s nothing I can do to make this easier for you.” That song, “Leave Me (Like You Found Me)” and a gorgeously hushed reflection on mortality, “On and On and On,” are plaintive and startlingly unguarded. But Mr. Tweedy catches himself before he turns into too much of a sad sack, letting the music buck him up in “Hate It Here” and “Walken.” The production is straightforward, but the song structures aren’t; that’s where Wilco’s idiosyncrasies still hide out. The tunes amble into instrumental interludes that stack riffs into steely patterns or let Wilco’s lead guitarist, Nels Cline, slice through the calm surfaces. Wilco’s new music is contemplative, stripping away past distractions, but it’s far from placid.
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Post by joker on May 14, 2007 19:38:50 GMT -5
They're performing tomorrow night (Tuesday) on Letterman.
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Post by busyboy on May 15, 2007 4:15:58 GMT -5
Out today in the US!
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