{"id":622,"date":"2009-05-14T20:48:42","date_gmt":"2009-05-15T04:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/?p=622"},"modified":"2009-05-14T20:48:42","modified_gmt":"2009-05-15T04:48:42","slug":"first-impressions-on-wilco-the-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/first-impressions-on-wilco-the-album\/","title":{"rendered":"First Impressions on Wilco (The Album)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new Wilco record is streaming for free at the band’s official site (www.wilcoworld.net<\/a>), so I thought I’d blog my early impressions.\u00c2\u00a0 To be fair, “first” impressions in the title is a slight exaggeration; this is technically my third listen that I’m writing about.<\/p>\n

(And in the interest of full disclosure: I’m notorious for disliking albums when I first hear them before later changing my mind and loving them, so this might be a fun post to revisit down the road.)<\/p>\n

Track by track:<\/p>\n

“Wilco (the song)”<\/strong>
\nI actually saw a video clip<\/a> of them performing this on the Colbert Report a few weeks ago.\u00c2\u00a0 Loved it then and love it now.\u00c2\u00a0 Tongue in cheek love letter to fans, but a tune that’s cool, clever, and very singable.\u00c2\u00a0 Has a Summerteeth <\/em>vibe to it, which makes it the perfect track to open Wilco (the album)<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 Plus you gotta love the parenthetical.<\/p>\n

“Deeper Down”<\/strong>
\nOne of those majestic numbers that I shrug off initially but know will enter “epic” status once I hear it live.\u00c2\u00a0 Judgment reserved, but I suspect I’ll learn to love this song.<\/p>\n

“One Wing”<\/strong>
\nThis one I dug right away (“One wing, will never ever fly…”), plus I know it’s gonna rule in concert based on the guitar parts.<\/p>\n

“Bull Black Nova”<\/strong>
\nWith a title like that it’s the song that tempts you to cheat and skip ahead to it after reading it on the sleeve (er, Quicktime playlist…).\u00c2\u00a0 Experimental, but very Wilco — which is what makes it cool.\u00c2\u00a0 Might be a touch too long though.<\/p>\n

“You And I”<\/strong>
\nThe rumors of a Wilco\/Feist duet proved true, though it’s more Feist on backing vocals than a true collaboration per se.\u00c2\u00a0 Initially I was disappointed she wasn’t featured more heavily, but I’m already thinking the cameo was a better idea.\u00c2\u00a0 And now I’m curious as to how often their touring schedules will intersect enough for them to do this live.<\/p>\n

“You Never Know”<\/strong>
\nEh.\u00c2\u00a0 Nothing wrong with this song, but it just isn’t doing it for me.\u00c2\u00a0 Though I totally would have used the “C’mon kids, you’re acting like children” line in Timely Persuasion<\/em> when the mom interrupts the cribbage game had it existed at the time.\u00c2\u00a0 (At least the slide guitar & piano part during the choruses sort of save it…)<\/p>\n

“Country Disappeared”<\/strong>
\nBefore hearing this I wonder if the title was a nod to Wilco’s early A.M.<\/em> era sound.\u00c2\u00a0 Perhaps it’s a double entendre.\u00c2\u00a0 Song is okay albeit a little boring, though I do like the Tweedy falsetto bits in a guilty pleasure sort of way.<\/p>\n

“Solitaire”
\n<\/strong>Lyrics that might suddenly strike me as deep one day when I’m not expecting it, but this is probably my least favorite song on the record capping off a disappointingly weak trifecta.<\/p>\n

“I’ll Fight”<\/strong>
\nAnd we’re back!\u00c2\u00a0 My early pick for favorite track.\u00c2\u00a0 The repetitive pattern of the first verse hooked me right away, and the passion felt throughout helps carry it through.\u00c2\u00a0 This one will go down as a Wilco classic.<\/p>\n

“Sonny Feeling”<\/strong>
\nAnother fun one, with a “Hate It Here”\/”Late Greats” style of loose vibe.\u00c2\u00a0 And you gotta love using the “Sonny” spelling in the title vs. “Sunny.”<\/p>\n

“Everlasting Everything”<\/strong>
\nThe final track is where you’re allowed\/expected to go out on a different sort of note.\u00c2\u00a0 This tune is hard to classify, but I think it delivers the goods while taking the album closer torch from “On and On and On.”<\/p>\n

Final verdict:\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t go wrong with new Wilco.\u00c2\u00a0 That said, I put it somewhere between Sky Blue Sky<\/em> and A Ghost is Born<\/em> in the rankings, but reserve the right to change my mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new Wilco record is streaming for free at the band’s official site (www.wilcoworld.net), so I thought I’d blog my early impressions.\u00c2\u00a0 To be fair, “first” impressions in the title is a slight exaggeration; this is technically my third listen that I’m writing about. (And in the interest of full disclosure: I’m notorious for disliking…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[34],"class_list":["post-622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","tag-wilco"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3pfx3-a2","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2853,"url":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/of-the-year-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":622,"position":0},"title":"Of The Year: 2022","author":"LBDG","date":"December 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"It's the most wonderful time of the year -- actually posted on the last day of the year! ALBUMS: River Fools & Mountain Saints -- Ian NoeAlbum of the year in the biggest landslide victory since I've been doing this, plus only the second artist to claim my top slot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1218,"url":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/of-the-year-2011\/","url_meta":{"origin":622,"position":1},"title":"Of The Year – 2011","author":"LBDG","date":"January 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"After a so so year for albums in 2010, this time around I actually have enough candidates for a proper top 10. 1. Pink Strat -- Bahamas This record came out in Canada in 2009, but just came out in the US in 2011. (Yay, time travel!) 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Despite the name, we like all kinds of music around here\u2014not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/DFRA-Award-2024-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1783,"url":"https:\/\/blog.timelypersuasion.com\/blog\/of-the-year-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":622,"position":5},"title":"Of the Year – 2017","author":"LBDG","date":"January 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Commentary coming sooner or later... 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