Wilco Sky Blue Sky (2 Lp's) - (M) (ONLINE ONLY!!)

Wilco: Pat Sansone (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Jeff Tweedy (vocals, guitar); John Stirratt (vocals, bass guitar); Nels Cline (guitar); Mike Jorgensen (keyboards); Glenn Kotche (drums). While Wilco's fifth studio album, A GHOST IS BORN, didn't come equipped with quite the same artsy, experimental flourishes as the album's infamous predecessor, YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT, it made officially clear that the band's days in the world of alt-country had long since passed. SKY BLUE SKY (2007) finds the band not so much in a holding pattern, but rather a state of artistic contentment. The album moves one step further away from Jim O'Rourke's atmospheric production style, and finds a pleasant mid-tempo groove that reminds one of PRETZEL LOGIC-era Steely Dan, mid-period Dylan, and even certain elements of John Lennon's solo work. Of course this is still Jeff Tweedy's band, which means SKY BLUE SKY never strays too far from what has emerged as a basic Wilco template. The constantly shifting Chicago e