Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
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Free Music Notes for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Free Music Review: Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Hit: 5 Stars
Some albums instantly reveal that they just might be something special or even classic upon a mere first listen or two. However, in many cases albums that have earned classic status have demanded additional attention and multiple listens before their greatness was fully realized and ultimately acknowledged. In the case of Wilco's 2002 release, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, a combination of both of these scenarios are at work. Several years removed from their alt-country past, Wilco delivered a record that is more readily accessible than say Radiohead's 1997 masterwork, OK Computer (the other record that Foxtrot is often compared to) and one that never crumbles under its weighty material moving strength to strength behind the band's noise inflected, sometimes languid but always intriguing songs. The recurring bleak tone that at times dominates the album is exemplified in what is quite possibly the album's most effective track, Radio Cure: cheer up, honey I hope you can/there is something wrong with me...picking apples for the kings and queens of things I've never seen/distance has no way of making love understandable, sings vocalist Jeff Tweedy in a voice that sounds both detached and weary. In fact, sans some of the production techniques, Radio Cure would not sound at all out of place on Big Star's legendary album, Sister Lovers. Though the lethargic pace of some of the material may put off some listeners at first, it's the album's strong pop base and the continued discovery of unique, idiosyncratic sonic sounds and overall production "effects" liberally dispersed throughout the record that makes Foxtrot such a successful and compelling listen. This is not to say that the album is never uptempo or uplifting (Kamera, Jesus, Etc.) or that it doesn't have its straight pop moments (like the somewhat trite Heavy Metal Drummer) it's just that in many cases those moments are usually accompanied by and immersed in the crackling atmospheric production din of the album (Poor Places, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart). However, that's a positive for an album that doesn't really "rock" in the traditional sense but more than compensates with its unique sound collages that are never delivered heavy-handedly but injected discriminately whether it's via the Can-like flowing aural landscape in War On War, the fleshed-out horns employed toward the end of I'm The Man Who Loves You or the lonely, desolate guitar riff that is the centerpiece of Ashes Of American Flags. All of these things contribute to making Foxtrot the stellar album that it is. To quote one of the many outstanding songs on this album, every song is a comeback, indeed and with this release Wilco have produced one of the more extraordinary albums in recent memory making Foxtrot a measuring stick for many modern alternative rock albums hoping to claim the tag of "landmark album."
Free Music Review: Schizophrenia in recorded form
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm sorry, I just can't see how anyone can backlash over such a beautiful piece of art as this. Nothing about this demands or begs for flash-in-the-pan success, critical acclaim, or fawning over at its beauty and wonder. What happened with being dropped by Reprise had nothing to do with some "conspiracy" to gain a stronger consumer interest (It didn't do all that well compared to other major pop releases anyway). There's nothing forced or fake to be found on this record. When something hits, over and over again, such resounding chords, there must be something special and unique. When the instrumetal breakdown 4 minutes into "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" comes cascading down, as if the song was just given birth to and became fully fleshed out, and it just sends tingles down my spine. When the quiet hisses and static blur the gentle vocals and strumming on "Radio Cure" and I just become eveloped in another universe. When "Ashes of American Flags" seems to stop mid-song and leaves nothing but feedback like a howling desert wind at night, and I realize that I've found something truly wonderful. When I've listened to the album some 100 times or so and I realize that it's quickly becoming part of the soundtrack to my life.
Things are borrowed on this album, oh yes, but isnt everything in popular music? And the way Tweedy & Co. twist and distort traditional song structures, or even lay down something so deceptively simple that it sounds completely new ("Kamera," "War on War," "Heavy Metal Drummer") belies their true mastery of the artform. Whatever country, rock, electronic, classical, or pop influenced this record, it becomes so swallowed and assimilated that it's impossible to tell it's anything but the band's own baby.
The most compelling part of this music is how many moods are conveyed at once. Even on the gloriously upbeat pop of "I'm the Man Who Loves You" and "Pot Kettle Black" (the best song REM should've done but never did), there are the dark undercurrents that remind you just how bleak the themes are. And even on the album's darkest track, the aforementioned "Radio Cure," there seems to be the slight glimmer of home as the song reaches its climax and Tweedy cries in that gentle unearthly wail "Distance has no way of making love understandable." There are just so many surprises and hidden beauties to this record that they cannot all be mentioned, for fear that this review would take days to write. Whoever dismisses this as the mere jockeying of record labels for more of our cash doesn't deserve to delve deep into this record and find these treasures underneath. Whomever thinks it's too simple or sad or dark or poppy really needs to take another look, for their own sake. Never has such a disjointed record sounded so whole.
Free Music Review: This is not a joke
Hit: 5 Stars
Listening to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is akin to getting drunk on a bottle a bottle of cheap red wine, waking up just before or on dawn, barely able to raise your head and wondering just how the heck you ended up here in this place, with your life. There is a kind of freedom to be found in the early stages of a hangover - your senses, physical and mental are still numb. You're coming down off a high. But then reality sets in and depending on which circumstances you got drunk, in celebration or in an effort to escape (or both) very much determines how well you'll recover from it.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is both elating and depressing. Either way, you won't come out unscathed.
The circumstances under which the band made this album are well documented - they were more or less told this was a career-ending move by Reprise. Jeff and Jay, perhaps the greatest songwriters of alternative-rock/country in the mid-late 1990's were drifting apart from each other, both as friends and musicians. The documentary "I am trying to break your heart" shows the emotional and physical depths to which their relationship had sunk.
Little wonder then, that the album, which sat on the shelf for close to a year before release due to record label cold feet, is so full of turmoil. Each song is an episode of modern day isolation, both from the world at large and from the narrator's friends, family, lovers, and to an extent even himself. From the woozy, rambling drunken blur that is the opening track, to the hollow promises of "Jesus Etc.", to the crumbling fantasy world of "Poor Place's". Musically, the album is a brooding mix of alt.country and blues, laced with shots of radio static, slide guitar, scatter-shot drum fills, distorted electric guitar freakouts, strings and psychedelic-era Pink Floyd keyboards. But do not think this is some Spector-style bombast. Far from it. The sound often as harrowing as the lyrics, with each the effects being used sparsely, often only with a single acoustic holding the structure of the song in one piece. The production is one that is both somewhat harsh, and yet warm, acoustic guitars dominating, with a delicate balance of sound effects and electric leads. Most songs seem to vary wildly between the two - "Ashes Of American Flags" being a prime example.
This album is a credit to its creator's vision, and in all honesty, head and shoulders above anything else Wilco has done. And given the high quality of Wilco's past and current output, that is saying something. It's a slice of pre-dawn hangover that you don't have to get drunk on anything but the music.
"You were so right when you said that I've been drinking"
Free Music Review: Not Quite As Described, But A Sweet Album
Hit: 5 Stars
So maybe I was kind of disappointed that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot doesn't have as much country influence. This band is grouped as Alt Country, and I always thought the genre label sounded good. Well, so much for that (hey I hate classifying genres and lumping bands into a single genre, but most people who listen to it actually believe they sort of fit into the category. From what I have heard (as of sound samples and such), their double album Being There, sounds a lot more country but retains the Wilco sound I seem to be attracted to on this album.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a freaking great album. Even though there was a lack of country sometimes, it's there, and it's more than just that. Electronic, folk, well, you can't lump just one genre on it. Wilco's lyrics, by Jeff Tweedy are melancholy, yet hopeful. His voice is a bit rough at times, but I am perfectly fine with that, because his voice still is emotional and sounds great.
The music is one of the stars of this album. If you ask me, the music, while not background, will establish a mood, in ways that is pretty excellent, actually. Jesus Etc, with it's strings, fits an image of a stranded man trapped in the office of the World Trade Center, lamenting to his wife on the phone. Kamera feels light and breezy, and the song even matches when I walk. Radio Cure's somber mood makes everything a whole lot better. People who like varied music that you can't pigenhole into one genre will love the music, and the pop sensibility helps the album a _______load.
There isn't a bad song on this record. Yes, some songs are better than others, but that's going to happen. But that's not really saying much, since none of these songs are merely average. Heavy Metal Drummer is kind of a lone duck, but it's the first Wilco song I heard. This one catchy scattered with with electronic music. I am Trying To Break Your Heart, the first hit, is loaded with melancholy lush instrumentation. War On War is loaded with so much mood and irrestibility it's pretty hard not to love it. Highlights pretty much abound on this album.
So what's exactly wrong with the score? Well, I still don't exactly think this is Grade A material, but dang, that still won't change the fact that it still owns. SOme of the experimentation isn't as interseting. The guitar line that opens up the otherwise excellent I'm The Man Who Loves You, for example. Yes, Tweedy has a couple of blah signing parts, but that's a minor quirk.
Believe the hype. Don't worry about shallow alt country losers like Ryan Adams, Wilco owns. Also check out Son Volt and Uncle Tupelo while your at it.
9.0/10
Free Music Review: into the very blue yonder
Hit: 5 Stars
I found this album to be a return to form on the part of Wilco. It doesn't sound anything like A.M., but it resembles that album in that it includes all original music. Being There to some extent, but especially Summerteeth, sounded like montages of 60s and 70s songs. I didn't dislike those albums, but I found them to be a bit on the clever side. With Yankee Hotel Foxtrot one finds Tweedy and company going back to making their own music without wearing their cultural preferences on their sonic sleeves.YHF is a dense album. I saw the movie I Am Trying to Break Your Heart and that gave me an idea of how much time the band spent in the studio making this album. From the point of view of the punk ideals that they started out with back in the Uncle Tupelo days, the band spent way, way too much time in the studio. A lot of other reviewers here have been quite irate about Wilco's refusal to remain an alt-country band. Well, sorry, but there were probably a lot of people who started to lose interest in the Beatles after Rubber Soul, so go figure.
The songs here are beautiful, especially "I Am Trying to Break Your Hear", "Kamera", "Jesus Etc." and "Heavy Metal Drummer". If the band simply played these songs straight, as I suppose they must in concert, unless they resort to MIDI gimmicks or something, then this would simply have been another good Wilco album. And, I aver, sound a lot like A.M. But instead they labored over, fussed with and generally obsessed about these songs, tore them apart and put them back together again with a lot of noise in between and on all sides of the music. They went from being just songs to sonic landscapes. If you don't like that sort of thing, then forget about this album.
It seems to be difficult for some fans to grow up along with their favorite band. Guys like Jeff Tweedy are constantly trying to grow as songwriters, arrangers and musicians. They can't keep doing the same old thing or they will go nuts. By putting out challenging music like that on YHF, Wilco is showing a certain amount of faith in their fans. They are assuming that you want to grow up with them.
If, on the other hand, you would prefer that Wilco keep on remaking the soundtrack to your footloose-and-fancy days of high school and/or college, so that you can continue to pretend you're having fun in spite of being trapped in a cubicle and worrying about your mortgage and car payments, then ... Well, I think you've got two choices. (1) Really listen to what Tweedy et al. are saying and doing on this album or (2) keeping listening to Uncle Tupelo and A.M. and don't worry, be happy.