So I alluded to this a ways back and, if I had regular readers, I’m sure that one of them might have wondered if I’d ever get back to it… Wilco is coming to town. Almost. But I’ll happily drive 50 miles to see them in a terrific outdoor venue with every confidence that it will totally kick ass. How, you ask, can I be so certain?
Wilco has been around for a long time but this current configuration has been together (on the road and in the studio) since just after the recording of 2004’s A Ghost Is Born. I’ve said a lot about their lead guitar player, Nels Cline, so I won’t go down that road today. Instead, I’ll talk about Jeff Tweedy; founder, songwriter, and sometimes shy frontman for the group.
Jeff Tweedy was a founding member of Uncle Tupelo (often considered a progenitor of the alt-country movement from the late 80’s/early 90’s.) When Uncle Tupelo parted ways in 1994, Jeff struck out on his own with several Tupelo band-members and called the group, Wilco. With Wilco, his songwriting has blaoosmed into very personal and engaging style while the music, changing continually over the years, seems to reflect his attitude toward the words themselves.
Early on, the songs were more lively, less personal, and the attitude was clear on Wilco’s debut, AM. By Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, however, the openness seems to have been harder to bear and the poignant songs were buried under swaths samples and distorted soundscapes. Now, after a very public split with collaborator and band member Jay Bennet (revealed for all to see in the documentary, “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,”) another dense, personal, album (the aforementioned, A Ghost Is Born) and a stint in rehab; Wilco is touring behind one of the best albums of Tweedy’s career, Sky Blue Sky.
Sky Blue Sky contains its share of personal, perhaps confessional, lyrics but the music supports the words rather than obscure or draw attention away from them. The record is also a good ‘band’ record with several of the songs being road-tested with the same band that is now out on the road.
Here’s a couple samples from Wilco’s September 21, 2007 show in Columbia, MO:
Heavy Metal Drummer (sendspace, 5mb)
Outta Mind (Outta Sight) (sendspace, 4mb)
Get the whole show and others (for free!) here, at bt.etree.org.
Wilco, when I last saw them at Bonnaroo.
