Wilco – Wilco (the album)

There are two types of Wilco fans: Those who were fans before 2002’s groundbreaking Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and those who crashed the party late. I wish I could say I was not a part of the former group, but unfortunately, I was not. The first note I ever heard from this band was when “I am trying to break your heart” started in my car CD player when I was driving from Des Moines to Ames in May 2002. The reason I bring this up is that every fan after YHF will use that landmark album as a yardstick. And each new release will always come up short. I know that I was slightly disappointed with 2004’s A Ghost is Born and slightly more disappointed with 2007’s Sky Blue Sky. So I had mixed reactions when I heard that Jeff Tweedy and Co. were releasing Wilco (the album). I went into it expecting to be let down, but instead I was pleasantly surprised.

Wilco have always had their tongue in cheek moments. The (now that I think of it, not really funny) joke of losing your license due to getting a DUI on “Passenger Side” from AM, the “I’d like to thank you all for nothing” bit on “Misunderstood” from Being There, etc. However, the opening track on the new album tops every other joke from all their other albums. It is called “Wilco (the song)”. Although political and real life stories are all well and good in music, I usually prefer that the fourth wall remain unbroken and the song subject remain abstract. A good song transcends the band that sings it. What do all the songs written in 2000-2008 detracting George Bush sound like now? I don’t know, but surely obsolete. That being said, although “Wilco (the song)” about Wilco (the band) is a little silly, it is still endearing.

“Wilco (the song)” is probably my favorite self-titled song. Well, along with “The Good, the Bad and the Queen” by The Good, the Bad and the Queen off of the album The Good, the Bad and the Queen. Sorry Black Sabbath and Bad Company. Moving along, then. Here is “Wilco (the song)” immediately followed by the lyrics.

“Wilco (the song)”

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Are you under the impression,
This isn’t your life,
Do you dabble in depression,
Is someone twisting a knife in your back,
Are you being attacked,
Oh, this is a fact,
That you need to know,
Oh, oh, oh, oh Wilco,
Wilco,
Wilco will love you Baby,
Are times getting tough,
Are the roads you travel rough,
Have you had enough of the old,
Tired of being exposed to the cold,
The stare of your stereo,
Put on your headphones,
Before you’re exposed,
Oh, oh, oh oh, Wilco, Wilco,
Wilco will love you baby,
So many wars that just can’t be won,
Even before the battle’s begun,
This is a man with arms open wide,
A sonic shoulder for you to cry,
ay, ay, ay, on, Wilco,
Wilco will love you baby,
Someone twisting a knife in your back,
Are you being attacked,
Oh this is a fact,
That you need to know,
Oh, oh, oh, oh Wilco,
Wilco,
Wilco,
Wilco,
Wilco will love you Baby

The next few songs are very good, too. “Deeper Down” is not overly flashy but showcases Nels Cline’s proficient guitar work. That is one of the things I like about this album. Nels Cline is probably one of the world’s greatest guitarists, but just because you can play a face melting solo doesn’t mean you should on every song. He has great musical sensibilities and on this album the restraint he shows is more impressive than any solo he could have done. I was really expecting to hate the next song, “One Wing”. I still hate the title, but that is my own hang up. I do like the lyric, “I feel we can only wave goodbye.” After that is “Bull Black Nova”, another album standout. It starts out in the same style as AGIB’s “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”. Thankfully this one is shorter and more focused. Some great riffage in this song.

“Bull Black Nova”

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Like my annoyance of the fourth wall being broken, another thing I rarely like is guest stars or (featuring…) songs. I feel like it is cheating a little. A do your own work, keep your eyes on your own paper kind of thing. Well, Wilco brought in indie “it” girl Feist for a duet for Track 5, “You and I”. It’s a little cheesy and there is nothing especially risky or outstanding about it, but if I’m also being honest with myself, it is probably my favorite song on the album. Sometimes we need songs like that, songs that won’t change the world but it doesn’t matter because they get your toes tapping and put a smile on your face.

“You and I”

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“You Never Know” is sort of a rip-off of Sly & the Family Stone’s “Everyday People” and George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” which is a rip-off of The Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine” anyways so who cares. It is another solid song, though. It is just a little out of place on the album, but the last two Wilco albums were less about the way the tracks flow together than grouping decent songs. I doubt Wilco has many arguments over sequencing anymore.

“You Never Know”

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The first half of Wilco (the album) is definitely stronger than the second half, but that is not to say that tracks 7-11 don’t have their moments. “Country Disappeared” is a nice piano ballad in the same vein as “You and I”. “Solitaire” features finger picking guitar that would be right at home on an Uncle Tupelo record. This song also features a second voice harmonizing – I think it is just Jeff Tweedy double tracking his own voice, but it could be someone else entirely. Either way, Wilco’s songs rarely do this. John Stirratt can harmonize with the best of them, but his voice never seems to get brought to the foreground. “I’ll Fight” is another one of the better songs on the album. It features a bouncing melody backed by organ and steel guitar (or some heavy effects pedal electric guitar). The penultimate track, “Sonny Feeling” is all right, but if I was driving and four minutes from home I would skip it to hear the last track, “Everlasting Everything”.  That song – like the rest of the album – is just pleasant and pretty, nothing more.

Wilco (the album) is very good overall. The trick is to enjoy it for what it is, and not judge it on the band’s previous output. It is pretty clear that sometime even before I started listening to Wilco that they weren’t interested in making music that people thought they should be making or sounding how people thought they should sound. I don’t care anymore that they probably will not release another Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Heck, I have that album and can listen to it whenever I feel like. It is nice to know that even though Wilco doesn’t care what I or anybody think about them, they still love me, baby.

(Ugh, sorry about the track-by-track review. I hate those. My favorite songs are at the front of the album so I started writing about those and before I knew it, I had mentioned the first six songs in a row. At that point, I had no choice but to finish it.
I will try to do better in the future. I am still new at this, though. Take it easy on me!)

Rating: 4 and a 1/2 stars. (Wilco is one of my favorite bands, so they get a little standard deviation leniency type thing going for them. Truthfully, I really do like this album but if I was being completely honest with myself it should probably get a 3 and 1/2 or 4 star maximum rating.)