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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, but boring... but beautiful, March 16, 2007
Probably my favorite thing about Wilco is that each of their albums is completely different from one another... however, what makes their latest effort different from previous ones is that it's hard to categorize this record. It's not experimental like YHF, it's not alt-countryish like A.M., it's not raw like Ghost is Born... it's mostly just a bunch of simple, beautiful songs, half of them being ballad-like. I'll say right now that, outside of a couple blazing guitar solos from Nels Cline, I don't think that Jeff uses the instrumental talent of his bandmates (or himself) enough on this record. I thought "Ghost is Born" had some unbelievable percussion and guitar moments, and that is mostly lacking on "Sky Blue Sky". With that said, I've already found myself singing along to all 12 tracks on this record, and the best moment for me is the very opening acoustic guitar strumming on the first track, "Either Way", followed by a classic-sounding opening vocal from Jeff, which has already been hard to match in the live performances of the song.
You gotta respect a guy who plays before thousands of people at most shows and decides to make a quiet, little record to tour off of. Wilco is one of those bands that is not meant for the big arena, and this album, probably more than any of their others, will be unkind to the big venue. It'll be interesting to see how the band delivers these mostly quiet little songs to a large mass of fans.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't lose sight of yourself, March 27, 2007
It's probably a truism by now that the one thing you can expect from each new Wilco release is the unexpected. When you think you've got 'em pinned down, Tweedy and company zig where you're thinking they're gonna zag. That is as true with "Sky Blue Sky" as anywhere.
Tweedy gave us fans a little preview of where his head was at in his now-famous bit of concert dialogue at the Abbey Pub, in Chicago, on 1/25/2006, where he stated: "I'm really really sick and tired of all this intellectual hoity-toity poetry bull****...I think if we could possibly pull off making this record we're trying to make, this super-dirty-soul record...I think if we can't make this record then the terrorists have truly won." Of course when I heard this clip on the internet accompanied by "That's the Thanks I Get" (which curiously did not make it onto this record) I started expecting a sharp left turn into raw soul music, sort of a loud, brash Solomon Burke-style jam session. In no way does this album sound like what I was picturing. But in its own way this is a soul record, in the sense that it possesses the quality that you find in only the deepest of soul records: honesty.
Let me back up for a minute. I received my advance copy today by sheer luck, more than a month before the record's official release date. Although I usually don't listen to music at work (at this point those two spheres of my life are pretty separate), I gave the entire thing a spin in one sitting. I was both intrigued and disappointed. The friend who gave it to me warned me that it was "mellow," which is a term I have seen floating around the internet to describe the album, and he was right! Far from Solomon Burke, I was hearing Steely Dan circa "Pretzel Logic." Not that this is a bad thing - Pretzel is one of my favorite records of all time in fact - it's just not what I thought I was going to hear. Only "Hate it Here" really grabbed me. For the first time in a decade or more I actually found myself let down by a Wilco record.
But sometimes it takes time for things to happen. Like any relationship worthy of sticking with, you give things a chance. The second half of the record got a second spin at the desk, and the first half in the car on the way home. I even took the long route just to let it sink in. By that point I was beginning to come around. The moment it hit me though was several hours later, when I was washing the dishes after dinner. I started with "Hate it Here" and played it to the end. By the time the final track rolled around I knew I had found a keeper.
The key to understanding this disc is in the lyrics to "What Light," where Tweedy seems to be addressing the attention which his songwriting has garnered. "Just sing what you feel," he croons in his best husky Dylan-esque, "don't let anyone say it's wrong." Later in the song he makes reference to what is "yours" being "everyone's from now on," a fact that is neither "right or wrong." It's this kind of honesty and soul that defines this record, and meshes beautifully with the new, more grounded sound. Tweedy here and throughout the record seems to be doing what soul artists from days past (Otis Redding, for example, or Solomon Burke) have done: that is to sit down, look around, and try to make sense of life. Throughout there is a feeling of recovery, of healing from past wounds and sorting out relationships gone awry. Tweedy asks the hard questions on "Side With the Seeds" and shows a quiet sense of humor and resignation on "Hate it Here." If "A Ghost is Born" was the bad trip, filled with devils, migraines and ten-minute drone-sessions, this is the quiet morning after when you wake up and try to put your life back together.
As for the record's sound, there are all kinds of comparisons you could make. I already pointed out similarities with Steely Dan, but there is also a Josh Rouse-ish feel, and a kind of prog-rockish guitar thing in some songs courtesy of Nels Cline that is often unexpected and sometimes unbelievably spectacular. Tweedy seems to be in full singer-songwriter mode, and suitably the acoustic guitar makes a frequent appearance. If the record has one flaw, it seems to be the fear of making too much noise. At times Tweedy and company seem to be afraid they just might wake the neighbors.
However, this is a small price to pay for a record that contains so much wisdom, that feels so grounded and sane. Tweedy has shed what he considers to be his "hoity-toity poetry" (which actually did lead, in all fairness, to several of the best records in the history of popular music) and has gone back to basics with this set of spare, minimalistic tunes. If there is any controversy swirling around this one, it can only be that he has turned his back on the critics the way he supposedly turned his back on alt-country fans after "Being There." I do expect a possible critical backlash and I'm sure Tweedy will be laughing it up as he readies himself for a tour. Hey crits, there's always Loose Fur to drool over!
In summation of this long, rambly, largely stream-of-consciousness review, this is a record to be ENJOYED. Listen but don't overanalyze. It's that kind of a record.
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29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A return/step forward to the simpler sound of Wilco, May 26, 2007
In the first half of this decade, Wilco released 2 groundbreaking studio albums, 2002's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and 2004's "a ghost is born", which both sounded miles away from the early alt-country roots of Wilco. Jeff Tweedy put a finishing touch on that chapter of the band with the release of the excellent live album "Kicking Television" in late 2005, which neatly summarizes that era, indicating that a different chapter was about to unfold. Now finally comes the much anticipated new album of Wilco.
"Sky Blue Sky" (12 tracks, 51 min.) is a striking departure from the previous albums. You only have to listen to the opening notes of the lead-off track "Either Way" to realize this. Even the opening lines "Maybe the sun will shine today/The clouds will break away" provide a brighter and more optimistic perspective than we're generally used to from Jeff Tweedy. "Impossible Germany" is the best track on the album, with a long instrumental outro of 2 duelling guitars. The track somehow reminds me of the title track of Steve Miller's "Circle of Love" album. The title track "Sky Blue Sky" is as beautiful and pensive as Tweedy has ever been. Other highlights include the Dylanesque "What Light", with great lytics like "And if you're trying to paint a picture/But you're not sure which colors belong/Just paint what you see/Don't let anyone say you're wrong"; the harder charging "Shake It Off", and the closer "On and On and On", which perfectly sums up the overall feeling of this album.
Jeff Tweedy continues to surprise us, and I couldn't be more thrilled about it. Very different from "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot", perhaps not as ground-breaking in its sound, yet just as satisfy to listen to. I can't wait to see how it all translation in concert, when I see Wilco live next month. Highly recommended!
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