To you Wilco fans, I think I am in an enviable position: exploring the band totally fresh in 2022. I managed to miss all of their stuff until now, though I had known the name. It didn’t seem like a band I would particularly like, but I listened and…
Dayum. Like dayum for real. This band is fucking great! Great lyrics, great melodies, and–best of all–genuinely deep and emotional songs without being pretentious (at least not most of the time). I also really like Tweedy’s voice and the guitar work.
So far, I’ve listened to A.M. (much better than its reputation), WTF (dayum!), A Ghost is Born (lots of stuff I like, including Less Than You Think), and most of Summerteenth (lots of good stuff). I’m basically going to listen to all of their albums in my car as I commute, etc.
But you are the fans. Tell me what to listen to, including live versions and cuts not on their regular albums. Give me the Wilco hacks–stuff to notice, listen to, think about. Whatever you think I should know.
Jeff Tweedy recently jammed with Phil Lesh in what is a far better representtion of Grateful Dead music than whatever John Mayer and Bobby Weir are doing. It was dubbed “Philco”:
I saw an up andcoming Illinois politician take the stage once at Farm Aid to introduce Wilco.
Is “WTF” supposed to be “YHF” (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)? They have a lot of good albums but in my opinion never topped that one.
“Sky Blue Sky” and “Star Wars” are two more I would suggest. I haven’t really enjoyed a lot of their more recent albums… they all kind of sound the same to me. (And yet I keep buying them!)
Definitely check out the two “Mermaid Avenue” albums they did with Billy Bragg.
And look for the movies “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” and “Ashes of American Flags”. The first one is a documentary about the making of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”, where it looks like the band is almost on the brink of coming apart. “Ashes of American Flags” is a concert film, filmed in four different cities a few years later, and IMHO showcases the band at the top of their game.
What might people bring up to refute your proclamation?
Yeah, the album was a revelation. It seems out of time to me. 2002, 2022–what’s the difference? Has any album in the interim achieved a similar reputation?
YHF is their masterpiece, but I’m partial to Being There. It’s the one I fell in love with first.
I’m not sure there’s a better live band out there right now. Kicking Television, their 2005 live album, has the current lineup and gives you a pretty good taste,except that they’ve only gotten better in the last 17 years.
I also love YHF; that is a desert island pick for me.
The rest of Wilco’s stuff I’ve really tried to get into but just can’t. With the notable exception of the Mermaid Avenue recordings: a joint project with Wilco and Billy Bragg who put to music 3 albums worth of song lyrics that Woody Guthrie wrote but never recorded. Albums 1 and 2 are absolutely fantastic. By album 3 there start to be some diminishing returns, but still worth a listen.
I love Wilco, bought every album since “A.M.” til i stopped buying CDs and began streaming. Also saw them live two times. The last four albums were disappointing, but everything before was gold. If you want to dig in even deeper, listen to their outtake and rarities 4 CD collection “Alpha Mike Foxtrott”. It’s worth checking out. Here’s a beautiful cover of Steely Dan’s “Any Major Dude” from it:
ETA: and seconded or thirded the recommendation for “Mermaid Avenue”. The first two albums belong to the best folk rock albums ever recorded.
Addendum: when you’re done checking out Wilco, continue with the alt-country supergroup Golden Smog, consisting of members from the Jayhawks, Soul Asylum, Jeff Tweedy and others. All their stuff is great, and they have a knack for picking the greatest cover songs.
And THEN check out the Jayhawks! If you like Wilco, you’ll love the Jayhakws.
