Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

Band Members
Jeff Tweedy
John Stirratt
Glenn Kotche
Nels Cline
Pat Sansone
Mikael Jorgensen

Wilcoworld.net
Myspace.com/Wilco



Tracklisting
1. Either Way
2. You Are My Face
3. Impossible Germany
4. Sky Blue Sky
5. Side With The Seeds
6. Shake It Off
7. Please Be Patient With Me
8. Hate It Here
9. Leave Me (Like You Found Me)
10. Walken
11. What Light
12. On And On And On

Wilco have delivered their new album ‘Sky Blue Sky’ with much disappointment. There really is no point beating around the bush when the album is so uninteresting and the band themselves don’t seem to have put all that much effort into creating something to be proud of. The track record behind Wilco is quite extraordinary and they have been through a lot together as a band but ‘Sky Blue Sky’ fails to impress on any level.

The opening track ‘Either Way’ sounds promising as it delivers a catchy melody and strong lyrics into a short three minutes. As an indicator for the quality of the rest of the album this track fails miserably but as a stand alone track, it is definitely worth checking out.

From track two to track twelve, ‘Sky Blue Sky’ presents itself as a collection of tracks the band was experimenting with but never quite completed. There are melodies and lyrics that feel half completed and the vocals are delivered with a minimal level of enthusiasm. Jeff Tweedy is well known for his mediocre singing efforts as the lyrics usually speak for themselves, but he really has reached a new low on this record.

The overall vocal delivery presents the idea the band didn’t want to record these tracks at all. Add to that the extended guitar and keyboard solos on nearly every track that are completely unnecessary and serve to merely bore the audience. I could easily sleep through this entire record.

Having a background in alt-country, it is quite possible Wilco are trying to break out of that stereotype with this album but by employing unnecessarily musicianship, it makes them appear like amateurs. Amateurs who treat their fans like crap.

On their recent Australian tour, Jeff made some later regretful comments about the Australian performances simply being their rehearsals before heading to Europe and the United States. Obviously their fans down under are not as valued as other fans worldwide. Or maybe they don’t really value their fans at all considering they have released such a second-rate album.

You can find it in the bargain bin.


Review by Emma Kovacs


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