Wilco - Summerteeth (Rocktober)

on 2xLP 140g Opaque Electric Blue Vinyl Wilco evolved at remarkable speed after forming in 1994, almost immediately after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo. Their debut album, 1995's A.M., was an upbeat set of alt-country that bore few, if any surprises, but 1996's Being There was a major creative departure that moved far beyond the boundaries of roots music. 1999's Summerteeth was initially controversial among fans because it marked the spot where Wilco almost entirely abandoned the country influences that had once been the core of Jeff Tweedy's music. Instead, Tweedy and Jay Bennett, who had gone from being the group's guitarist to manning a massive bank of keyboards and becoming Tweedy's primary collaborator in the studio, concocted a stunning set of off-kilter pop, suggesting a Midwestern fusion of peak-era Brian Wilson and Big Star's 3rd. ("Pieholden Suite" in particular is a lovely homage to the Beach Boys' Smile, then still circulating only in bootleg form.) At the same time, this bri