Wilco
Sky Blue Sky
So this review is a little late. But I just stared this blog and this has been one of my favorite releases this year. Expect to see many more reviews of albums already released this year.
This is one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I got into Wilco in late 2004. I saw A Ghost Is Born sitting on the counter of my local music store. I read an interview with Jeff in Rolling Stone. I also heard some people talking about how much they liked them at a Sonic Youth show.
So one afternoon I’m sitting in class, thinking of what album I should go buy. So I started reading some reviews of A Ghost Is Born on Amazon. The review that sealed it for me was a bad one. The reviewer didn’t see anything special about them, and mentioned that one track had 11 of noise. That sealed it. I left class, drove to the record store, and picked it up. I knew I had stumbled upon something great once the guitars kicked in on At Least Thats What You Said.
So I worked my way backwards through their catalog. I will admit it has taken me a while to get into everything pre-YHF. With that being said I was a little worried that I would be disappointed with Sky Blue Sky.
I can divide the songs on Sky Blue Sky into three categories. You have the incredible, nearly perfect tunes that remind you why you love this band. Then you have the solid tunes that are by no means filler, but they don’t quite give you the same feeling as the others. Then you have the ones that have never really clicked with you. Maybe one day they will.
At precisely 1:28 into You Are My Face we hit one of my favorite spots of the record. Nels starts in with some thick grooves. This is easily one of the best songs on the record. Side With The Seeds is when were really see what these six guys are capable of. The verses are really nice. Jeff has a very soulful feel going on. This one goes great with Shake It Off, which may be the best song on the album. Hate It Here sounds like it should have been on the Beatles Anthology 3. And that’s a good thing. Walken took a while for me to come around too. It seems like a song that is more fun if you are playing it, rather than just listening to it. But they seem to be having such a good time, and in such a great spot, that eventually you can’t help but love it.
Leave Me (Like You Found Me) and On and On and On have never done anything for me. They are really the only two songs that I skip on this record. Who knows, one day I may hear them in a different light and change my mind.
Everything else is good, but seem to be missing just a little something. I know its been said many times, but Either Way sounds a little too much like elevator music. I think Impossible Germany could have been so much better if only Nels had really went wild. Its still a great song though. Patient With Me works much better in a live acoustic setting.
At the end of the day Sky Blue Sky is a great album. Currently I would rank it just above YHF and just below AGIB. Yes you read that right. I like it just a little more than YHF, although it really depends on my mood. Also, Is That The Thanks I Get should have made the cut. I think it fits in with all the songs really well, and could have replaced Leave Me. I also have to wonder what this album would have been like had Jim O’Rourke been around. Maybe for the next record. Speaking of that, I am very excited to see where this band goes over the next full years. Hopefully they can keep the current lineup in tact.
