2009: The Round Up

#3. Wilco - Wilco (the album)
(Nonesuch, 2009)


Wilco always ends up in the top of my round up's. I remember Sky Blue Sky also ending in the top 5 back in 2007. And now, with a new album they continue their run in Heartworn Highways top 5 albums of the year lists. This summer I even had the pleasure to see them live for the first time. Another classic moment for the history books there.

Well, so how about this album then. I absolutely loved the last album, Sky Blue Sky. I think I would even rank that as my favourite Wilco album. But this one doesn't come far behind. I really think that this version of the band, the line up they have now is the best line up this band has ever had. Some say that they are playing "dad-rock", but hey, who cares. I for one love "dad-rock". Both Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (the album) is the sound of a band who really have come in to their own. This is the music that fits the band the best and the songs are really really strong. At first they may sound a bit easy and simple, but listen again and you will find magic. Nels Cline's guitar melodies are everywhere. Take the song "One Wing", one of the best songs I've heard all year.

Wilco (the album) is what I would call a grower, and I think it will continue to grow in the coming years. I can see myself finding this album in the shelf and putting it on ten years from now, even twenty to thirty. It's a classic rock album, the same way that a lot of my favourite albums now are from the sixties and seventies.

I, for one, like the slower songs best on the album but songs like "Bull Black Nova" really shines when they are played live. The album opener "Wilco (the song)" shows that the band also has a lot of humour these days. Which is good to see, the band has often been seen as a bunch of miserable men. Other favourites of mine on the album are "You Never Know" with its George Harrison-ish guitar hook, "I'll Fight" and "Everlasting Everything" which leaves you longing for more.

So spin the record again and discover new things. This is a classic in the making.



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