(P)review of "Sky Blue Sky"

[Bhickman]

preview of Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky" by me, Brett Hickman

 

Well, I love the band, I love the album and I hope y'all can tolerate my work here. Thanks for noticing me...

 

I have more Wilco related projects due in the very near future.

 

Sincerely,

 

Brett Hickman

[isadorah]

very nice.

[mountain bed]

Well done. I thoroughly enjoyed the article.

[winter party person]

i especially like the part where you talk about how every wilco album has gotten crap from fans for a different reason

[jakobnicholas]

Good review.

 

I especially like what you say about "Either Way". I got to see it performed live in KC last year, and it was so beautiful and mesmerizing....I agree that it's the heart of the album.

[Sir Stewart]

And that's simple not as in lacking complexity, but rather as in lacking complications.

[ponch1028]

very nice

 

[Clouds of Fluff]

Great reading. Thanks a lot for posting this.

[WilcoFan]

The only thing that confuses me is the part about the 2 minute mark:

 

"You Are My Face" in particular becomes a stronger song around the two-minute mark when Cline lets it rip and the band all chime in strongly before fading down a minute later, echoing the crest and fall of Television's "Marquee Moon," a Tweedy favorite.

 

 

Do you mean the 3 minute mark, or the really cool guitar solo around 1:30 - which I'm pretty convinced is Tweedy.

[socbret]

Yeah, I would bet my first child (if I had one) that the solo belongs to JT.

[awatt]

Thanks for the nice review but especially for the youtube link on SBS (brings back memories of that show), fast becoming my favorite cut.

[Atticus]

There have been few artists to both challenge and soothe their listeners in the ways that Tweedy has over Wilco's twelve years and there is no doubt that he will continue to do so for many more.

 

That is a fantastic description. Thanks for putting that feeling to words.

 

[You Can Be The Stone]

The only thing that confuses me is the part about the 2 minute mark:

 

"You Are My Face" in particular becomes a stronger song around the two-minute mark when Cline lets it rip and the band all chime in strongly before fading down a minute later, echoing the crest and fall of Television's "Marquee Moon," a Tweedy favorite.

Do you mean the 3 minute mark, or the really cool guitar solo around 1:30 - which I'm pretty convinced is Tweedy.

 

And if a Marquee Moon reference is going to be tossed around, it should probably be used towards Jeff and Pat's guitar line in the I.G. breakout

[WaronWar]

Great job. Finally, a reviewer that knows what they are talking about (though the guitar solo "You Are My Face" I believe is Tweedy). Moreover, amazing job at backing at your arguments: most critics are just too plain.

[Bhickman]

I keep wanting to phrase this so I'm not insulting anyone, so please no one take offense to this because I don't mean any, but how does anyone know for sure who is playing what specifically re: guitar parts?

 

And if a Marquee Moon reference is going to be tossed around, it should probably be used towards Jeff and Pat's guitar line in the I.G. breakout

 

 

I was specifically referring to the crescendo and twinkling piano/guitar bit of it. Marquee Moon falls out in a similar fashion. The guitar "duel" in that song you mention is close to that as well, I would agree with you.

 

Do you mean the 3 minute mark, or the really cool guitar solo around 1:30 - which I'm pretty convinced is Tweedy.

 

 

Yes. around 1:30 is accurate...I noticed I was wrong on this part today while listening to the album again...I'll be amending that.

 

and for all of the nice comments and positive feedback (all of the postings would fall under these two categories), I really want to say thank you. Thanks also just for reading it.

[Atticus]

how does anyone know for sure who is playing what specifically re: guitar parts?

 

for me it's a combination of having playing acoustic and electric guitars (and pedals) for many, many years, and having seen and listened to many, many shows. There is a wealth of folks around here that are much better than I at such things, I only offer that as one person's point of view. Jeff and Nels' tones seem readily distinguishable to me. And Pat puts some great notes in there at times as well. Jeff has a very distinctive style of playing, (as does Nels, to be fair) which is one of the many things that springs my admiration for him.

[WilcoFan]

for me it's a combination of having playing acoustic and electric guitars (and pedals) for many, many years, and having seen and listened to many, many shows. There is a wealth of folks around here that are much better than I at such things, I only offer that as one person's point of view. Jeff and Nels' tones seem readily distinguishable to me. And Pat puts some great notes in there at times as well. Jeff has a very distinctive style of playing, (as does Nels, to be fair) which is one of the many things that springs my admiration for him.

 

 

Same here. But if it make anybody feel any better I have no idea what Pat's contributions to this album are. But it's pretty obvious to me what Tweedy and Nels are doing. Probably because they have such distinct guitar styles. I have been (to borrow John's phrase) "over the moon" about Tweedy's guitar playing since AGIB.

[lost highway]

And if a Marquee Moon reference is going to be tossed around

 

Thou shalt not take the lords name in vein.

[Bhickman]

My ear for such things isn't nearly as developed as some people's here, I'm afraid. I know that there are specific parts that can't be anyone but Nels, but the intermingling of he and Jeff is harder to distinguish for me. Thank you all for the input.

[Bhickman]

Now that the album's coming out, I figured I'd bump this thread so that those who haven't seen it before can now. A full review with a star rating will be appearing this week.