Wilco (The Album) or Sky Blue Sky?

[Jesusetc84]

Simple enough question; which do you prefer? SBS or W(TA)?

[DAngerer09]

W(TA) by a looooong shot.

[cryptique]

SBS

[Jesusetc84]

I picked Wilco (The Album). Neither is Summerteeth to me, but I felt let down by SBS. Still enjoying W(TA) though.

[chanman1128]

W(TA) by a looooong shot.

[GtrPlyr]

I've only heard W(TA) 3 times, so it's a bit too soon for me to weigh in.

[uncool2pillow]

I am an SBS defender. I think it's a solid album. I've only listened to W(TA) a handful of times, but I think there's more stylistic diversity than SBS, so I voted W(TA). I'd like to revisit this poll in 3 or 4 months.

[willywoody]

I've only done one listen of WTA but after the first 3 songs it goes downhill to boredom for me, so SBS I guess, the lesser of two evils in my book.

[bleedorange]

I've only done one listen of WTA but after the first 3 songs it goes downhill to boredom for me, so SBS I guess, the lesser of two evils in my book.

 

weird.

[mpolak21]

Unnecessary snide comment: Is Being There, Summerteeth, Yankee and Ghost a suitable answer? Actual answer: WTA, Sky Blue Sky is a little better than I usually give it credit for, but I still have never fully grown into it. My expectations were probably too low for WTA, as they were too high for SBS, and so WTA really blew me away after the leak because it was so much better than I expected. However since that couple week long honeymoon, it's held up less and less for me. The first four songs are pretty dynamite, and Solitaire is my favorite song on the record, still working on staying engaged with that back half though.

 

--Mike

[cuneyt81]

WTA.

 

SBS is too lite for my tastes. This is a bit more fun.

[os83]

I loved all the SBS songs live but it was recorded so blandly that WTA blows it away.

[pillowy star]

At the moment still SBS by 10000... miles - but I am starting to get into W(TA). Slowly but surely. Nevertheless, I am listening to it on constant repeat, so you can imagine how hard it is for me to get into it. But we're getting there.

[Sunken mountain]

SBS

[J_Lefty]

SBS for me... I find SBS to be more sophisticated lyrically and musically. WTA has a good quality but it's not nearly as deep. Most of the songs on WTA are kind of strum-happy ditties. I'm also a big Nels Cline fan and it really seems that he was heavily reigned in for WTA. Sunny Feeling never grew on me, and I find myself more irritated with Feist every time I listen to You and I.

[jlb1705]

Give me W(TA).

 

SBS has its share of great songs, but it also has a couple songs that I listened to once or twice and that was enough to last me the rest of my life (to put it diplomatically).

 

While there are a couple songs on W(TA) that I'm not totally into (I'll Fight, Sonny Feeling) there are none that I will go out of my way to skip on my iPod like there are on SBS.

[Rusty Shackleford]

I like the overall sound and feel of SBS better, but it has a few duds on it, whereas W(TA) doesn't have any songs I feel like skipping (at least not yet). I vote W(TA) by a nose.

[bennyb]

Wilco (The Album)! I defend SBS alot because I think it is a great album to me the standouts on that album are Impossible Germany, Walken, What Light, On and On and On, but I do find myself skipping a few tracks here and there. On this one it flows very well together, I don't find a need to skip any tracks, it just feels like a complete, solid album. The easy standout and my new live favorite is Bull Black Nova, others include Deeper Down, Country Disappeared, Solitaire, and Wilco (The Song). I would place this 4th best overall thou - 1. Summerteeth 2. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 3. Being There 4. Wilco (The Album) 5. A Ghost is Born 6. Mermaid Avenue 1 7. Sky Blue Sky 8. Mermaid Avenue 2 9. A.M.

[intodeep]

I prefer SBS

 

but i don't dislike W(TA) it has it's moments. I just loved the feel of SBS and the way it flowed together so well in my mind. It was the perfect sunday morning album. I thought very highly of SBS.

 

W(TA) is good.

[willywoody]

Unnecessary snide comment: Is Being There, Summerteeth, Yankee and Ghost a suitable answer? Actual answer: WTA, Sky Blue Sky is a little better than I usually give it credit for, but I still have never fully grown into it. My expectations were probably too low for WTA, as they were too high for SBS, and so WTA really blew me away after the leak because it was so much better than I expected. However since that couple week long honeymoon, it's held up less and less for me. The first four songs are pretty dynamite, and Solitaire is my favorite song on the record, still working on staying engaged with that back half though.

 

--Mike

 

 

it's like voting for the best nba player without Lebron or Kobe being an option is all I'm saying. I do see you have similar thoughts as mine on WTA, though. I love, or at least like, the first four songs but after that it gets real mellow unless I missed something on the npr stream. I really don't like You and I. Just my preferences, though. Tweedy is a great songwriter and I'm sure other songs speak to other listeners in ways that don't resonate with me.

[So Long]

Wilco (The Album) is the album Sky Blue Sky wishes it was.

[newbornghost]

It's too early to tell, would be my initial response, because I'm amazed at how much SBS grew on me with time.

 

I think it's interesting how W(TA) goes back to the methodology of a talented band arranging around Tweedy's excellent songwriting, whereas SBS stands alone as the one example of Wilco collaborative songwriting. When I first heard SBS, I was like, where's the Jeff Tweedy I used to know, and as I read more about it, I understood that Jeff was less involved in the structure and melody of each song than ever before. W(TA) has the melodies and structure that I've always counted on Tweedy for, but it also forfeits the progressive rock riffs, twists and turns that really grew on me from SBS.

[choo-choo-charlie]

SBS for me... I find SBS to be more sophisticated lyrically and musically. WTA has a good quality but it's not nearly as deep. Most of the songs on WTA are kind of strum-happy ditties. I'm also a big Nels Cline fan and it really seems that he was heavily reigned in for WTA. Sunny Feeling never grew on me, and I find myself more irritated with Feist every time I listen to You and I.

 

 

Stoermer, the following is not directed at you personally, but towards the population in general [fans, critics, etc]: I'm confused as to what people deem as Nels being "reigned in." Some said that he was too quiet on SBS, others have said that his presence is far stronger on SBS than W(TA), some say that W(TA) is heavier on Nels' playing, and some say that he has yet to be "unleashed" on a Wilco recording at all [exclusing KT]. Where did this notion come from that he's just a shredder? What exactly is it that people want from Nels on the recordings?

 

He's got an incredible ear for texture, atmospheric guitar parts and as we all know, otherworldly sounds. For a guy who can burn up the fretboard, Nels also knows that less is more. Regardless, W(TA) has plenty of good moments where Nels really rips. Listen to this with headphones on. There's so much more beneath the surface.

[newbornghost]

Stoermer, the following is not directed at you personally, but towards the population in general [fans, critics, etc]: I'm confused as to what people deem as Nels being "reigned in." Some said that he was too quiet on SBS, others have said that his presence is far stronger on SBS than W(TA), some say that W(TA) is heavier on Nels' playing, and some say that he has yet to be "unleashed" on a Wilco recording at all [exclusing KT]. Where did this notion come from that he's just a shredder? What exactly is it that people want from Nels on the recordings?

 

He's got an incredible ear for texture, atmospheric guitar parts and as we all know, otherworldly sounds. For a guy who can burn up the fretboard, Nels also knows that less is more. Regardless, W(TA) has plenty of good moments where Nels really rips. Listen to this with headphones on. There's so much more beneath the surface.

 

Interesting. I definitely feel that Nels is more himself on W(TA) than SBS. I actually had trouble with Nels when he first joined Wilco, because the first impression he made on me was that of a 'shredder.' Since then, Nels has done much to win me over, and I love what he does to add that extra dimension at several moments in W(TA). It is interesting, though, that he had much more of a typical studio musician's role on this album, recording virtually everything on his own as overdubs (he wasn't in New Zealand for most of the live recording of the base tracks). That said, to my ears, it doesn't effect the weight of his performance on W(TA) at all.

[J_Lefty]

Stoermer, the following is not directed at you personally, but towards the population in general [fans, critics, etc]: I'm confused as to what people deem as Nels being "reigned in." Some said that he was too quiet on SBS, others have said that his presence is far stronger on SBS than W(TA), some say that W(TA) is heavier on Nels' playing, and some say that he has yet to be "unleashed" on a Wilco recording at all [exclusing KT]. Where did this notion come from that he's just a shredder? What exactly is it that people want from Nels on the recordings?

 

He's got an incredible ear for texture, atmospheric guitar parts and as we all know, otherworldly sounds. For a guy who can burn up the fretboard, Nels also knows that less is more. Regardless, W(TA) has plenty of good moments where Nels really rips. Listen to this with headphones on. There's so much more beneath the surface.

 

I was mostly talking about how little they utilized him. There were lots of places he could have been featured, but I think One Wing is where I noticed it most. Early versions had more of his guitar work and when I saw them play live a couple weeks back, it seemed he was free insert more solo work, etc. I just sometimes wonder if so many of the old-school fans complained about Nels to the point where they wanted to back off a little and have him blend more with the band.

 

Don't get me wrong, I've developed more of a taste for WTA than I thought I ever would, but I'm just not as impressed. I am totally not someone who wants to just see Nels wailing on a guitar, either. When I say he's being "reigned in" I don't mean I want him to do the hair band bit (powering through the fretboard until his fingers bleed), I just would love to see more of his work and that's it. In all fairness he was pretty heavily featured, and the parts of the album I like were parts to which he really did contribute.