Shining brightly: Wilco's Sky Blue Sky
30/05/07 15:53
By SAM LADACH-BARK
Laden with dreamy organ/piano, sharp guitars and hints of Southern charm comes Wilco's seventh studio album, Blue Sky Blue.
Sometimes change can come at a cost. It can be liberating or self-destructive. Wilco proves that it doesn't have to be either. Keeping in line with their tried-and-true sonic folk style, they have once again created a record of substance and poise. The much-anticipated followup to the acclaimed Ghost Is Born sold 87,000 copies in its first week and put Wilco on the Billboard charts for the first time since 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. More than anything their latest effort is a snuggly blanket for current fans without being inaccessible to new listeners.
On the album's opener, lead singer Tweedy's voice solemnly proclaims, "Maybe the sun will shine today." Immediately you know you're listening to a Wilco album.
Their harmonious blend of guitar and piano continues throughout, as it has in their preceding work. If anything has changed, or should I say, developed within Sky Blue Sky, it's the inclusion of the sonic solo. If you're fortunate enough to have seen these guys live, you know how easily they fall into a full-out jam session mode, sometimes doubling and tripling their song lengths.
For those of you yet to catch them onstage, a glorious example of this six-string synergy is found on "Impossible Germany." A grittier example is "You Are My Face," while "Leave Me" is its wonderfully softer side.
On the whole the album is excellent, but there are a few exceptions. "Shake It Off" opens with an awkward, jazz-influenced guitar that seems too abrasive against Tweedy's vocals. "Walken" has similar flaws. Both felt very thrown together and emotionless.
Before the album's release, drummer Glen Kotche said that a few songs were written and recorded on the spot as opposed to Tweedy fleshing out the song and bringing it to the rest of the band. It just begs the question as to whether these tracks were on that list of last-minute fillers.
It's hard to focus on these shortcomings, though, when just around the corner is "Hate It Here, with a great Phish-famous electric six-string solo.
Although most of this album plays very similar to previous releases, it still feels fresh somehow. It seems that Wilco is the band that doesn't really need to evolve. Fans look to it as a source of musical comfort food, and wouldn't have it prepared any other way. For a sampler and upcoming tour dates, go here.
Grade: A-minus
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