Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (CD/DVD)

"Sky Blue Sky" has hints of early-seventies Southern California folk-rock sweetness in the harmonies. The album is filled with brash guitar solos that take songs like "You Are My Face" and "Shake It Off" in unexpected directions. The Deluxe Edition includes a bonus DVD, which contains more than 45 minutes of footage of the band performing songs from Sky Blue Sky. The DVD also contains interview segments with all six band members. The film was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the Jeff Tweedy solo concert film, Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, as well as the acclaimed documentary series, Burn to Shine. Album Description

SOUNDS FOR SORE EARS - BEST MUSIC IN A WHILE

I saw Wilco in a bar in Pittsburgh just after their first album came out.
Took my teenage kids, might've been their first rock show. We
high-fived the guys after the show as they were going downstairs to the dressing room. They've come a long, long, way.
The tunes have really expanded - sometimes I don;t know what Mr. Tweedy is trying to say, but the way he writes tickles me like no one has in the last twenty years or so.
The new lead guitarist is THE INCARNATION OF JOHN CIPOLLINA (RIP - from Quicksilver MEssenger Service of long ago). Nels, you are the MAN! The guitar work and melodies on this album defy description. The bass playing is PERSIAN RUG! The drummer is CONCRETE SOLID. The keys add PECAN PIE & WHIPPED CREAM. I know you fellas won;t make another like this, but WILCO, you're in a great groove here. Folks, buy the recording with the DVD, it's a great look inside the band as they run through some tunes in their practice pad. WOWSA! March 14, 2008

Sweet & Soulful

Sky Blue Sky is an album that is at one sweet and soulful. The melodies are Southern California-ish with a blues twist. An album of love and love lost, this is one of the cleanest and most emotive works I've listened to in a long time.

The acoustics are sweet and the electric counterpoint somewhat disharmonious but engaging and stand in optimum counterpoint to both the acoustics and the vocals.

Particularly engaging are the opening track, Either Way, which is an unusually wistful tune, the bluesy Hate it Here, a song of love lost, the title track which is easy listening at its best and the closer, Walken, the most morose yet engaging true love song I may have ever heard.

I have to admit that Wilco is a band that mostly has passed me by. My son gave this to me as a gift and I have listened to it for a bit every day for 3 months. It's an album that gets under your skin and that begs for another spin. What more can you ask for?

The DVD portion is fine--but the bottom line is that this is an ageless album both musically and lyrically. For those who crave intelligent, tuneful rock, this is an A1 pick!
November 4, 2007

Excellent

This is another stellar album from Jeff Tweedy and the gang. It has easily become one of my new favorites. October 10, 2007

Simply lyrical and melodic

Wilco's Sky Blue Sky has a 1970s feel to it. Music aficionados may hear a little Steely Dan, John Lennon, and Neil Young, and other various musical influences within each track. However, the sound hearkens back to the band's previous albums, A.M. and Being There as well as a little folk-like renderings that are reminiscent of the the band's collaboration with Billy Bragg on the Mermaid Avenue recordings, and the songs are more melodic and less experimental than what was heard on A Ghost Is Born and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot; in essence, the sound is raw and stripped down, and less of a big production.

Sky Blue Sky has a mix of musical styles. From the folk-like "What Light" and the title track, "Sky Blue Sky" to the impeccable guitar-work on "Impossible Germany," listeners will get a good sample of how Wilco' musical style has matured. And worth noting, "Please Be Patient With Me" is one of the beautiful sounding tracks on the record, musically and lyrically. Indeed, this album shows how the band's sound has developed.

In addition, the special deluxe edition of the CD contains an interesting DVD, which shows a live performance by the band at their Loft Studio, interviews of the band members, and background information about the production of Sky Blue Sky. The live performance is impressive, and a few of the live versions sound better than the studio recordings, "Impossible Germany," "Walken," and "Hate it Here."

All of the songs on Sky Blue Sky has a listen while you drive feel. Therefore, this edition of the CD is recommended for listening. However, the DVD should not be viewed while driving.

September 4, 2007

sterile sound mix ruins album

Sounds like Wilco is trying to merge their alt-country roots with the newer sounds they explored in "A ghost is born" and "Yankee hotel foxtrot". Unfortunately it doesn't work and the album is disappointing and uncompelling even though some of the songs are very good. To me the biggest problem with this record is the overall sound: For a supposed return to alt-country the sound on this album is remarkably cold, sterile and unsatisfying. The music has no warmth and this is largely due to the sterile sound mix. This could have been a stellar album because some of the songs are really great: "Shake it off", "Walken", "On and On" and my favorite song on the album "What light", but the album is ruined by the disappointing sound mix. August 26, 2007

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