Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

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• Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Brazil Import

Free Music Notes for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Free Music Review: One of the best albums in ten years
Hit: 5 Stars

Furthering the drama of all of this was the addition of a new drummer (Glenn Kotche), the first non-band member (Jim O'Rourke) being allowed to co-produce/mix it, and most surprising, the multi-instrumental Jay Bennett leaving at the completion of the album to what most say wasn't as amicable as both he and Tweedy would have you believe. Did I mention the documentary being filmed for the entire process of writing, recording, and the above mentioned drama? All of this while the September 25th 2001 date for release came and went. Yes it would seem all Tweedy and co. needed was for Yoko to lurk in the studio for all of this.

But unlike those["Let It Be"] now famous sessions for the Fab Four, Wilco (basically Tweedy) merely shrugged it off, streamed the album from their site; something that caused many in this digital age to scratch their heads over, did some touring, and shopped for a new label all while continuing to let Sam Jones film it all.

After a short bidding war (which did include Reprise actually making a bid!), Wilco decided on Nonesuch Records, an eclectic label that houses artist types like Phillip Glass, The Magnetic Fields and now of course Wilco. The true irony comes though, when one realizes that Nonesuch is part of Warner Brothers. You have to wonder if this was all some sort of elaborate insider contract renegotiation. At any rate, some minor mixing changes were made (supposedly), some neat extra CD-ROM junk thrown in, and finally, after all the pain and suffering, an April 23rd date was set for the album's release.

You have to wonder a few things though. First, is the fact that most if not ALL the die hard Wilco fans having the album already on mp3 will affect the sales- something that will surely have marketing executives all over the world watching in the next month or so. And secondly, if all the buzz, hype and intrigue will push Wilco out of cult status into the mainstream and/or generate their first potential platinum album domestically. It's a toss up, between the "mp3 situation", and of course- something many have forgotten in all of this drama, the music. Judging by the music, great things could and should be in store for Wilco.

The first thing one will notice upon pressing play is the noisy intro with acoustic guitar strumming and a marching drum beat into the album's first track "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart". Subsequently, this is also the film's title. Then begins Jeff's scratchy crooning of: "I am an American aquarium drinker, I assassin down the avenue"...and one is grabbed and quite frankly not released until the album's final track "Reservations". The thing that might strike the listener is that the album really isn't that experimental, or unapproachable. To the contrary, the Jim O'Rourke influenced sounds that have become somewhat notorious, barely stick out, and are mostly used in the intros and endings of a good many of the songs and quite frankly, blend quite well. You have to really wonder- if this is in fact the same tapes they turned into Reprise, what the hell were they complaining about. One thing perhaps that bothered them- which really started on their last album "Summerteeth", is their all but abandonment of any alt-country sound whatsoever. The only song that remotely even sounds alt-country is perhaps "Jesus, etc." a song that uses a very Dave Matthews-esque fiddle sound throughout it. But really, with Glenn Kotche's drumming on that song- something that really sticks out through the rest of this album as well, there is no country sound at all! As a matter of fact, after listening to this album's eleven tracks, one is left wondering if Wilco twang are through for good. That might possibly have been Reprise's thinking, but who knows? Most Wilco fans will tell you though, that they saw this coming with each release. Also, looking at Tweedy's influences, which range from Bob Dylan and Gram Parsons, to the Beatles and the Replacements, you have to probably think; after looking at Tweedy's work thus far, that this shift was inevitable. And quite frankly, Wilco as at their collective best with it. With songs like "Kamera" and "I'm The Man Who Loves You" "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" grooves an awful lot for an album deemed commercially unviable. Although songs like "Radio Cure", the opening track and "Reservations"- which show Tweedy's oh so lovable, melancholy, brooding manner, just might make a case to the contrary. But who wants an album of all happy songs?

The only track that really may seem "out there" or experimental just may by far be the album's best song as well. On "Poor Places", abstract lyrical metaphors mixed with a cacophony of buzzes and sounds while piano and acoustic guitars swirl to a climax of a computerized voice repeating over and over the album title's code words (which are actually part of the short hand radio's phonetic alphabet). This amazing sonic construction transports the listener to the seaside port the song metaphorically references. This song reminisces of days of old where experimenting was a good thing, and just may perhaps solidify Wilco's tiptoeing into becoming one of the world's best bands- something most of the die-hard fans will tell you happened two albums ago on "Being There", their 1996 double CD release.

It seems Jeff Tweedy has certainly carved his place out as a genius of sorts with "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot", which quite frankly is truly one of the best albums of the last ten years, easily. One just wonders if in this manufactured pop climate that it will even get the just attention and credit it deserves. Judging by the treatment of the labels, one must just sit, wait and more importantly hope. Jeff sums it up best on the song "Heavy Metal Drummer". "I miss the innocence I've known, playing Kiss covers, beautiful and stoned" Yes Jeff, where have those days gone...

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