DiamondClaw

I'm in for the Thursday show as of now. Going to try for Saturday as well. Wife has a family spring break trip planned for us starting on Sunday, so unless I find a way to magically rearrange that, I'll be happy with two shows!

I think my list is done, or at least as done as it's going to get! 2022 was a really good year I'd say. I can go 30 deep with good albums, but here's a top 20: 1. Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa 2. Dawes - Misadventures of Doomscroller 3. Kurt Vile - Watch My Moves 4. Kevin Morby - This is a Photograph 5. Josh Rouse - Going Places 6. Nilufer Yanya - Painless 7. Wilco - Cruel Country 8. Phoenix - Alpha Zulu 9. Weyes Blood - And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow 10. Death Cab For Cutie - Asphalt Meadows 11. Wet Leg - Wet Leg 12. Drugdea

I tried! When I saw how this was all going to line up, I concocted a trip to New Orleans for the wife and me. My wife is not a music fan (Wilco or Spoon anyway) but does love New Orleans, so I actually go her on board. Oysters, Cafe Du Monde, she was even willing to go to the Spoon shows... until we found out she had an important work event she couldn't miss. Soo close!

Agree these songs are just made for this format! Sounds super crisp and perfect.

Ah! Well this sounds incredibly cool, but there is just no way I could make it to Carol's in time for what is sure to already be a long line.

Well, day of and still no word. @Chez, heads your house, tails mine? 😆

You are literally living my dream.

If neither your deck nor the Hideout work out, I just redid my patio with a 10'x12' gazebo and am happy to make that available for an intimate Wilco stage. Fire pit reserved for White Sox grumblings and laments!

Still no more info on this, ay? I guess we don't know this is actually a show. It could be some kind of promotion or Cruel Country physical release party/kick off event or an announcement. But with the last show of the year tomorrow, it would be strange for Chicago to get no concerts on the CC tour.

Very intrigued to see what this is! The Riv and the Vic appear to be available that night...

I'm wondering the same thing, but for the Amazon super deluxe CD version.

Ah, that makes sense. (I couldn't picture John calling in to complain about the White Sox refusal to fire Tony La Russa or something! ) I know Spiegs is a big Wilco fan — I actually met him at a Wilco concert at the Riv years ago and talked to him about it.

Ha, really? You’re going to have to explain the context for that one!

I agree with all this. Jeff doesn't need or want any artistic or songwriting direction. Jeff's going to come in with the songs and a general direction, period. But the sound could be developed a bit. Dave Fridmann is a name that intrigues me because he's worked with Spoon, including on They Want My Soul, and I love the sound he gets. As for The Whole Love, it does feel taken for granted in a way. They certainly haven't returned to the meticulousness of that album ever since.

You're right, Tom Schick is not responsible for the artistic direction like a producer or Jeff/Wilco themselves are, so he shouldn't be saddled with criticism really. It's not his task. I would definitely be interested in a bit more of a baroque direction, compared to the barebones approach they've taken recently. I can't see them bringing in a "name" outside producer like Lanois or T-Bone Burnett though. Just handing some of those duties and details back to Pat would be nice. He did such a great job on The Whole Love.

I've been thinking about this lately. On the one hand, Wilco has never really had a true outside producer. O'Rourke would be the closest thing to that. And they don't need direction or anything. On the other hand, I do think Jeff needs someone to challenge him on some of his ideas or at least play devil's advocate with him, to objectively tell him to reconsider some of his first-blush choices (lyrics, vocals, arrangements). Tom Schick is a talented guy, but Jeff would benefit from a shaking things up sound-wise a bit, even if that means a more labor-intensive project.

I wonder if part of the reasoning for releasing Cruel Country so quickly was to allow for another new album relatively soon. Something else this year seems unlikely, but maybe something spring 2023? Even though we don't really know much about this other album aside from Jeff saying it's a "sculpted art pop" with "alien song forms," I'm really looking forward to it.

Update: Just saw footage of "Forget the Flowers." Some extremely kind soul posted a bulk of the show on Youtube. Wow, don't want to sound like sacrilege, but I think Pat plays it better than Nels. Have to get him out from behind the piano on that one from now on!

I watched those videos this morning too. Is it weird that it felt a little exhilarating? I mean, like you said, no one is longing to remove Nels' virtuosity from this band, but there was something novel yet nostalgic about seeing this more "fragile" stripped back lineup.

Just curious, given your style preferences and expectations, why you rank the new one ahead of Star Wars in the post-Whole Love era. That one certainly has more energy and spunk.

*And by deconstructed I don't just mean "noise" or "weird." I mean a song where a more complex or dynamic arrangement, where Jeff's acoustic strumming doesn't take up quite as much room. I like the bulk of Cruel Country, but I understand the "same-y" complaint from some people, because most of these songs don't sound vastly advanced from Jeff sitting on the couch with his acoustic, except there is some beautiful but soft ambient accompaniment.

I agree the collective process is still there, and the collaboration makes this significantly different than a Jeff Tweedy solo album, even with the more subtle approach. I like both straightforward and deconstructed Jeff Tweedy songs — the straightforward ones are beautiful. I just feel like we've been getting a lot less of the deconstructed ones now, and those are the bold and adventurous sonic statements and deviations that would balance the ledger a little.

It's definitely an arrangement and a mix thing. In addition to the songs' dependency on the vocals, as you mentioned, I notice how all these songs are built so tightly around Jeff's acoustic rhythm guitar (arrangement). Jeff's acoustic strumming is also much more prominent relative to the rest of the band's playing (mix). Their playing is there, very tasteful, but it's subtle and less up front. Jeff's rhythm guitar has always been there in the past, of course. It's just that it wasn't as ever-present as it is these days.

I've read a handful of reviews, and the one that captures the album the best to me, context and all, is this one from Stereogum: https://www.stereogum.com/2187467/wilco-cruel-country/reviews/premature-evaluation/

Wow, I just played that track based on your comments. Beautiful! It really shows how talented Pat is. Hopefully he gets a chance to shine like this somewhere on Cruel Country.