heres a great review of the album if anyones interested..
i wholeheartedly agree with prettymuch everything this cat says..
also,i acquired the live studio tracks from the dvd and 3 or 4 tunes that didnt make the album.lemme know if anyones down..
Wilco -- Sky Blue Sky
Picasso\'s "Guernica," a work of great socio-political import and intense emotional impact, shocking for its time (1937), was rendered using only dark greens, black, white, brown and grey. Likewise, Sky Blue Sky finds Jeff T****y and Wilco setting aside the dissonance and feedback they\'ve employed on their last few efforts, opting this time out for a stripped-down, easy-going approach. They succeed in crafting an album of sparse instrumentation, but unpredictable arrangements and stark beauty.
The album-opening "Either Way" features an angular and jazzy Nels Cline guitar solo that requires only a few measures to firmly establish Cline\'s installation as the best thing to happen to Wilco since the addition of their insanely gifted percussionist Glenn Kotche. By the album\'s third song, Cline is sneaking the brasher colors back into Wilco\'s palette. During "Impossible Germany" the band ventures into previously uncharted territory, unfurling dual-guitar parts strangely reminiscent of Steely Dan and Thin Lizzy.
Simple only on the surface, T****y\'s lyrics careen far into the abstract but still resonate with tearful truths: "I am looking forward towards the shadows chasing bones/Our faces stitched in sewing, our houses hemmed into homes/Trying to be thankful how stories fit into phones/How voices lift so easily, a gift given accidentally/But we\'re not sure we\'re not alone."
I won\'t compare this to their debut (1994\'s AltCountry cornerstone A.M. ), but T****y & Co. do come full circle here. With more than one tune on Sky Blue Sky that would be right at home on their first couple records, Wilco\'s uncanny impulsiveness ironically manifests itself in unexpectedly unadorned, homespun form. Still, this band continually finds new ways to spin seemingly simple chord progressions.
Turning the beat around here; all leaning earnestly on one note there; or layering a song\'s different segments over top of one another for the sheer silly thrill of sonic experimentation. Even in their New Mellow Mood, Wilco\'s is an exciting and illuminating sound to behold, the sound of a band clearly enjoying the meticulous deconstruction/reconstruction of new tunes as the songs are still taking shape.
Though I refuse to join the legion of Jeff T****y fans that fuss and fret with aching concern about his personal life as they perceive its reflection in his lyrics, I do feel "What Light" reveals a great deal about his current state of mind. He sings, "If the whole world\'s singing your songs, and all your paintings have been hung/Just remember: what was yours is everyone\'s from now on/And that\'s not wrong or right/You can struggle with it all you like/But you\'ll only get uptight," only to segue into a chorus that both questions and confirms all that has come before, repeating "There\'s a light. What light?" It is a brilliant portrait of the duality of man, the conflict between confidence and self-doubt, once again illustrating Jeff T****y\'s humble grasp of the human condition, delivered with a modest, unpretentious, yet poignant punch.
Listening to Wilco, the blood runs hotter; the heart swells with emotions both sweet and bitter. If their last couple records didn\'t hit you on a gut level from the first listen like some of their earlier stuff, remember -- still waters run deep. (Ric Hickey) Grade: A
here it is...
http://www.sendspace.com/file/45apj4
