The Smiley Smile Message Board

Alright folks, the new Wilco album "Sky Blue Sky" was released yesterday and I am looking for everyone's reactions.  I think it is a terrific record.  Once again Tweedy and the guys have reinvented their sound.  Jeff Tweedy's lyrics are much more direct and less cryptic this go round than his normal style.  I don't really know how to describe the sound to you.  These guys never cease to amaze me in their ability to try on new styles and sounds yet still sound like Wilco and be succesful at them all.  While I loved their last record "A Ghost Is Born", I think this one trumps it.  Still not as good as "Summerteath" or "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot".  The MVP of this record is most definately the semi-new guitarist Nels Cline.  This guy is unbelievable.  He plays some pretty mind blowing guitar leads on this record but never crosses the thin line from classy to overkill.  He plays very tastefully yet still plays things that are high in technique. 

Anyone else have any thoughts?

As of now, it's probably my least favorite, but I've only listened straight through once and partially through (skipping around) once more. And the album it is in contention with worst album (for me) is the last one, Ghost is Born. So I am worried they're diverging from me when it comes to taste these days. But I appreciate Tweedy's songwriting ability and will keep on it for a while. (As with the last album, I could do without so much soloing. I rarely am interested.)

I heard WILCO on last weekends broadcast of Prairie Home Companion and I really enjoyed everything I heard.

I was on the fence for a long time about Ghost is Born.  I was dissapointed in it for sure.  Then, I saw them play the majority of the album live and it made me a believer.  Increadible!  I then went back and listened again and couldn'y put it away!  I enjoy the soloing personally and I'm usually not to into that kind of thing but they, and especially Nels Cline, keep it interesting enough for me.

I really dig the new one but I must agree that it and Ghost is Born are my least favorite of theirs.  It doesn't get much better than Summerteath and YHF.

The post-"Ghost Is Born" line-up is phenomenal. The addition of Nels Cline and Pat Sansone greatly improved the chemistry of the band and the subsequent live versions of "Ghost" material blow the studio versions away. I haven't heard all of "Sky Blue Sky" yet, but I like that the record is a more stripped-down affair. After two esoteric releases, it's a nice change of pace although I wouldn't want the band to completely give up on their more ambitious, experimental leanings.

Alright, I've now listened to all of "Sky Blue Sky" a couple of times. I'll stand by my statement that I think it was a good idea to do a more stripped-down album. What could have helped was a little more variety in tempo. Almost all of the new tracks sound the same and not in a good way. Take any two and mix them in with more upbeat material and you'd love almost any of these songs. But sequenced one after the other makes for a rather dull listen. "Either Way", "Side With The Seeds" and "Be Patient With Me" are highlights for me. "Walken" should be a great rave-up (and was in concert), but here it sounds sleepy and hardly worth getting excited about. After rehab and all, I imagined  the next album would sound more spritely; instead it all sounds a bit snoozy for my tastes.