The Omnibus

Wilco Discography Review Introduction & Pt. 1

Jeff Tweedy is a trooper. First a member of the band The Primitives, then the member of Uncle Tupelo after lead singer of The Primitives split, and currently a member of Wilco when Jay Farrar of Uncle Tupelo and Tweedy’s relationship soured; Tweedy must think he’s pretty special, or he really does love music enough to stick around for this long. Coincidentally, I must think Wilco, the band he fronts, is pretty special to be writing an entire discography review/retrospective. Truth is I do think that Wilco are pretty special, if not solely for the fact that their 2002 effort Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was such an outstanding and distinctive album. But though Yankee Hotel was their undeniable pinnacle, their diverse discography and interesting collaborations make them more than just that band that released one of the most triumphant albums of this. Starting where they started, this retrospective will focus first on Wilco’s studio albums and then their live albums and collaborations. American aquarium drinkers please sit back and relax.

Pt. 1: A.M (Reprise; 1995)
Wilco had not yet shaken off Uncle Tupelo’s alternative country sound when they released A.M in 1995, shortly after the previous band’s break-up. Not much of a break-up, however, for most of the band members of Uncle Tupelo stuck around to create Wilco. Regardless, this is their transition record. As a Wilco album, it is a stepping-stone and hardly the shape of things to come for the band musically, yet lyrically it is very similar to everything else Tweedy will write. Someone once noted in Wilco’s last.fm shout box that A.M is their Pablo Honey (Radiohead), and they couldn’t be more right. They will soon sound more refined and ambitious on Being There, but more on that later. A.M is arguably their most accessible album, starting pop rocky and catchy with “I Must Be High” and following strong with “Casino Queen.” Soon after that the listener will notice a pattern. Each song is its own contained entity, none really contributing to a sensible flow. Thematically the songs don’t really change, making each succeeding song sound like old ground, although things get slightly mixed up with “That’s Not The Issue,” a banjo driven song. Although A.M is by no means a bad album, when compared to everything else that comes later it is a relatively unimpressive one.