Wilco

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Wierd, different, utterly brilliant and beautiful

Review Score:

(10/10)
the one thing i can say that sums up the album best, and most accurate is: WOW. wow because it is the farthest cry possible from the days Jeff Tweedy played bass and wrote a minority of the songs for the alt. country outfit with a punk attitude Uncle Tupelo. wow also because this was simply the most stunning album of 2002, and one of the most stunning albums ever. i bought it off of a casual whim. i read the rolling stone magazine's review of the album and it sounded interesting at the time and i thought i might look into it. i had never heard of wilco before, they sounded pretty cool. at the record store a few weeks later i come across the title, and with nothing better to do with my money at the time, bought it. this turned out to be the best "impulse buy" of my whole life. at first i thought that album was pretty good. slowly but surely though, the more i listened to it, the more i realized: "this is probably one of the better albums ive ever heard this year". the unique production is at first confusing and "cluttered" feeling, but then you realize after repeated listens, that it makes the album come alive. the beautiful details are like burried treasure at times such as the lovely chord progression of "radio cures" that is so subtle it sounds like at any second it might blow away. other times, the beauty of the music is layed out bare bones for all to see, such as the albums consummate moment(for me that is): the short guitar and piano break after the final verse in "poor places". absolutely chill-inducing. the lyrics are also incredible in their own right, poetry for the let down soul. each line of each song further cements my opinion that jeff tweedy is the best songwriter today(the one artist i thought gave him a run for his money was elliott smith, may his soul rest in peace.) here is a sample lyric from "im the man who loves you": "all i see is black and white, and white and pink with blades of blue that lay between, the words i think on a page, i was meaning to send to you, i couldnt tell if it would bring my heart, the way i wanted, when i started, writing this letter to you"...amazing stuff. the first time i ever truly realized just how good this album was, is when i sat down with the lyrics, and listened and read along with no interruptions, afterwards i told myself, "this is one of the best albums ive heard...ever." i could not recommend an album more highly than i do this one. if you appreciate great music that defies being put into any genre other than "great music", you will not regret buying this album. a timeless album that easily captured my pick for the best album of 2002.

*just a correction to the review "nine inch wilco"; its not the albums closer "reservations" that has the female voice reciting the title, it is the second to last track "poor places".

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