Music Review-'Wilco (The Album)'

Wilco's tongue in cheek titled new release 'Wilco (The Album)' sounds exactly like a Wilco album. This is a very good thing. Those of us that were there for the transition from the sparse and simple days of 'AM' and 'Being There' through "Summerteeth" to 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' remember what a quantum leap that was for this band. Jeff Tweedy thrives on abrupt pitching strategy changes-'Foxtrot' was a change up. Then it was one curve ball after another...'A Ghost is Born' was artsy and heavy...then 'Sky Blue Sky' was so restrained it almost sounded like a tribute to Steely Dan. After a decade of determined running away from himself, Jeff Tweedy is back...the way we remember him. Its almost as though 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' was never released and Wilco is picking up on the heels of 'Being There' and finally releasing that continuation we were waiting on.

The album starts with a slice of silliness entitled 'Wilco (The Song)' where Tweedy actually self assuredly boasts that this group is good for what ails you and Wilco will love you. It is a perfectly tongue in cheek moment that aptly illustrates the shift away from the seriousness of the last album. The retro moments are everywhere: the light and sunny "You Never Know" is reminiscent of George Harrison. The country rock of "Sonny Feeling" could have been an outtake track from 'AM.' The garage rock staccato of "Bull Black Nova" reminds us that Tweedy was originally a punk fan. This is in sharp contrast with "You and I," the duet with Feist with its sensual shimmer and "I'll Fight," which is a minimalist straight up rocker.

This is the album Wilco fans have waited for- a solid piece of rock that draws from Tweedy's original influences without being clouded by some loftier artistic ideal. The emotions here are close to the surface, raw and most of all real.

Wilco (The Album) 4 stars out of 5. Buy this one today!