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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
Mixed by studio experimentalist Jim O'Rourke and produced by the band, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot harkens back to a time when the words "pop" and "sonic adventurism" weren't mutually exclusive. The Beatles and Kurt Cobain knew this, and clearly so do Jeff Tweedy and company. --Keith Moerer
Review
Blame the critical success of previous album Summerteeth but raising commercial expectations in a major record label was always going to cause problems. So much so in fact that YHF was rejected by Reprise as too left-field and in the ensuing tensions Tweedy and Co. lost guitarist Jay Bennett and their record deal. Following a small tour, a $50,000 price tag to buy back the master tapes and a new deal with Nonesuch (distributed by Warners, go figure...) one would expect the 18 month-old opus to have lost a little of its newness; but no. This sounds like the sound of next year built out of the wreckage of the past, and built to last.
While the first track "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" follows Tweedy's lo-fi acoustic template, it's immediately obvious that two things are different. One is the more finely-tuned craft behind the song structures. Make no mistake (as Reprise obviously did), this is a great POP album as much as anything else. Songs like "War On War" with its jangly chorus and "Heavy Metal Drummer" which wryly details a true middle-American love affair with Kiss, burst with great hooks and sumptuous arrangements. The second great new thing is Jim O'Rourke's job on the mixing desk. An album of such contrasts as the dour lament "Ashes Of American Flags" and the Beck-like silliness of "I'm The Man That Loves You" (top Neil Young circa-"Loner" guitar here!) deserves an attention to production detail that will allow it to rise above, say, the next Wallflowers release. What seems slapdash on first listen is, in fact, irresistably assured and locked into place by a sonic palette which veers between charmingly ambient ("Heavy Metal Drummer") and disarmingly jarring ("Ashes&" and "Poor Places").
What Wilco realise is that this is all acceptable currency to the global audience and, while retaining a sense of melodic stability is as key to their formula as anything else, they need never aplogise for their increasingly eclectic approach. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot will outlast any tags you dare to put on it, and then some... --Chris Jones
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Customer Reviews
However, it's certainly on the more measured, downbeat songs that they come up trumps time and again. The opening bars of Ashes of American Flags send a shiver down one's spine, the song achingly melancholic until descending into a cacophony of feedback and white noise. And if that's not enough, the final two tracks Poor Places and Reservations are equally impressive, the latter possessing possibly the most gorgeous Tweedy melody yet.
I must admit that after Summerteeth, I thought the only way was down for Wilco, particularly given all the trouble with record labels and line-up changes. They have of course quite categorically proven me wrong; the CD not having left my stereo for the past three months bearing witness to the fact that this is one truly exceptional album. How nice it is to be wrong sometimes.
As one reviewer pointed out, it is the other sprawling, punctuated with static, tracks that are worth even more repeated listens. '...Break Your Heart', 'Poor Places' and 'Ashes of American Flags' are heartfelt, interesting and always hold something back so you discover it on the next listen.
The musical performances are, as always, excellent, although it will be interesting to see how they cope now that the multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett has left. Jeff tweedy's vocals are close to crumbling on occasion, adding weight to lines like 'I shake like a tootache when I hear myself sing'. However, go see Wilco live and Tweedy's voice is as strong and vibrant as you hoped it could be. The album is terrific, but go see them live and you'll love the album that bit more.
You must buy this album now, now. I could waffle on for 1000 words about the experimental sound, beautiful melodies and astounding craftsmanship/songsmithery, particularly on songs like, well all of them, but I will not insult your intelligence.
If you are reading these reviews then you are already most of the way towards buying it, I am merely here to insist that you do, my only problem with you is that you don't already have it. Get it, you will find that this decision will change your life for the better, everyone will enjoy this gem, even my mum and she likes bad bad music.
Wilco's fourth album is massive among indie circles. Read more
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