Sky Blue Sky

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Sky Blue Sky
Sky Blue Sky cover
Studio album by Wilco
Released May 15, 2007
Recorded November 2006 – January 2007 at The Wilco Loft, Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois
Genre Alternative rock
Length 50:56
Label Nonesuch
Producer Wilco
Professional reviews
Wilco chronology
A Ghost Is Born
(2004)		 Sky Blue Sky
(2007)

Sky Blue Sky is the sixth studio album by Chicago rock band Wilco, released on May 15, 2007 by Nonesuch Records. Originally announced on January 17, 2007 at a show in Nashville, Tennessee, it was the band's first studio album with guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone. Before its release, the band streamed the entire album on its official website and offered a free download of "What Light".

Sky Blue Sky was Wilco's highest debuting album on the Billboard 200 at number four. The self-produced album received mostly favorable reviews by critics. Publications such as PopMatters and Rolling Stone praised its maturity, while PlayLouder and Pitchfork Media criticized its "dad-rock" sound. While some critics praised the direct lyrical approach, others criticised it when compared to previous Wilco albums. The band licensed six songs from the Sky Blue Sky sessions to a Volkswagen advertisement campaign, a move that generated criticism from fans and the media.

Contents

[edit] Production

In April 2006, Wilco was still touring in support of their most recent studio album, A Ghost Is Born which was released in 2004. The band performed a few new songs during this leg of the tour, including "Walken", "Either Way", and "On and On and On". The following month, drummer Glenn Kotche mentioned to Pitchfork Media that those new songs were going to be recorded as demos for a new album release.[1] During a January 17, 2007 solo concert, frontman Jeff Tweedy announced that the band would release their sixth studio album on May 15, 2007 through Nonesuch Records.[2][3] The album was named Sky Blue Sky, a reference to a childhood memory of Tweedy's, of a Memorial Day parade in Belleville, Illinois. He had come home from St. Louis with his family, but could not reach his house because the parade blocked the main street. This led Tweedy to reflect upon his future in the town: he knew that he would have to leave when he grew up because it was too small.[4]

The album was recorded by TJ Doherty at The Loft in Irving Park, Chicago, where Tweedy had recorded Loose Fur's Born Again in the USA and most of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. In an interview with Billboard, the band revealed that the album would be less experimental than the two previous albums and more influenced by The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Rolling Stones. Also, unlike the previous albums, Jim O'Rourke was only minimally involved with the album, which was produced with very few overdubs.[5]

[edit] Composition

 Music samples:

"What Light"

Sample of "What Light", the eleventh track from Sky Blue Sky which was offered as a free download from the official Wilco website. The song exemplifies the straightforward melody, contrasting Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born.
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

The band sought to be more direct with this record than the previous two, resulting in a more mellow album. Tweedy attributes the lyrical directness to his listening to material by The Byrds and Fairport Convention while recording the album.[6] He disliked the reliance on studio effects on previous albums:[7]

I got nervous about the technology on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. If you need a certain amp or pedal to make a song what it is, it isn't a song.

Many of the album's songs were recorded in a single day, with the band reaching a consensus on how each song should sound.[7] Eighteen songs were recorded for the album and twelve were selected for the album's tracklisting.[8] The outtake "Let's Not Get Carried Away" was included with iTunes digital downloads, and a full-band version of "The Thanks I Get" was released on the band's Myspace page. Some albums that were shipped to independent record stores included an EP featuring the outtake "One True Vine" and a live version of "Theologians" recorded at The Vic Theater in Chicago.[5] A deluxe edition of Sky Blue Sky was also released, which included a DVD with eight live performances from the Wilco Loft.[9]

Unlike previous Wilco albums, Sky Blue Sky features more songwriting collaboration between Tweedy and the other members of the band. As a result, a variety of lyrical themes appear on Sky Blue Sky (Tweedy was the only designer of the songs on A Ghost Is Born, using Pro Tools, before presenting them to the band).[10][11] The titular track references the worries Tweedy had as a child in a small town while "On and On and On" is an ode to Tweedy's father's experience after the death of Tweedy's mother.[4][10] Not every song on the album is as serious—"Hate It Here" somewhat humorously describes a man who tries to fill his free time with chores after breaking up with his lover.[12]

Sky Blue Sky was the band's first studio record to feature the expanded lineup that premiered on Kicking Television: Live in Chicago. Guitarist Jeff Tweedy provided the lead vocals for the album and John Stirratt, the only other original member of the band, played bass guitar and added background vocals. Glenn Kotche played drums and Mikael Jorgensen performed on a variety of keyboards. New to the band since the previous studio album were lead guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone. Additional instrumentation was provided by violist Karen Waltuch and multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke. The album was mixed by Jim Scott at PLYRZ Studios in Santa Clara, California.[9]

[edit] Artwork

The cover artwork of Sky Blue Sky is a photograph by Manuel Presti titled "Sky Chase."[9] The photograph was taken in Rome, Italy, and helped Presti win the 2005 BBC Wildlife Photographer of Year Competition.[13] The same photograph is featured in the July, 2007 issue of National Geographic. Nathaniel Murphy provided several illustrations for the liner booklet, which include a tree on a hill, a hand, and a flock of birds. The booklet also contains photographs of the band members by Frank Ockenfels. Graphic design was provided by Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Azerrad.[9]

[edit] Marketing and promotion

On March 3, 2007, Wilco's official website hosted a Sky Blue Sky "listening party", which streamed the new album in its entirety.[14][15] Two days later, the track "What Light" was made available for download on the band's website and was streamed on its MySpace page.[16] On March 11, 2007, the official website streamed the album in its entirety again. "The Thanks I Get", a song recorded during the Sky Blue Sky sessions but not included on the album, was made available as a free download to purchasers of the album.[17] During the European segment of the promotional tour, Wilco included a five-song extended play with purchase of the album. The EP contained the songs "The Thanks I Get", "One True Vine", "Let's Not Get Carried Away", and live versions of "Impossible Germany" and "Hate It Here". Wilco made the EP available online for free to previous purchasers of Sky Blue Sky.[18]

Wilco performing in support of Sky Blue Sky at Festival Internacional de Benicàssim on July 20, 2007.
Wilco performing in support of Sky Blue Sky at Festival Internacional de Benicàssim on July 20, 2007.

Frustrated by the lack of radio airplay received by previous Wilco albums, the band decided to branch out into television advertising. Wilco had previously licensed songs for Telefónica Moviles, and Jeff Tweedy appeared in a series of advertisements for Apple Computer.[19] In May 2007, Volkswagen began running a pair of commercials with "You Are My Face" and bonus track "The Thanks I Get" playing in the background. The band commented on their website that "we feel okay about VWs. Several of us even drive them."[20] The band licensed six songs for the campaign, which was created by advertising agency Crispin Porter and Bogusky.[21] The move was met with criticism from both fans and popular media.[22][23]

A promotional tour followed the release of the album. The band performed "Sky Blue Sky" and "You Are My Face" on Later... with Jools Holland on May 25, 2007 and was interviewed on The Dermot O'Leary Show the next day.[20][24] Beginning June 13, 2007, Wilco played fourteen shows in North America with Low as its opening act. Following this, the band made plans to tour Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, and Spain before playing a few more North American shows, including a performance on The Tonight Show.[25]

[edit] Release and reception

Nonesuch released the album on May 15, 2007; the following week became Wilco's best-ever sales week. The album debuted at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 87,000 copies domestically in its first week.[26] Sky Blue Sky was also an international success, peaking at number 7 in Norway, number 21 in Belgium, number 23 in Australia and Ireland, number 26 in Sweden, number 32 in New Zealand, number 36 in Germany, and number 39 in the United Kingdom.[27]

The album received varied critical reception upon its release.[28] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone pondered in his review whether Wilco had ever made a song as good as "Impossible Germany," praising how the song builds into a "twin guitar epic" in the mold of Television and Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac.[7] Michael Metivier of PopMatters commented that while the album took a while to understand, it was full of "exquisitely beautiful melodies and performances".[29] All Music Guide writer Mark Deming called the album "Wilco's strongest album as an ensemble to date," and found the return to roots rock music a fresh new method for the band.[30] The album received a nomination at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album.[31] It placed 12th in the 2008 Pazz and Jop Poll.[32]This album was #42 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007, and the song "Impossible Germany" was #71 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[33][34] WXPN named "Impossible Germany" as the #1 song of 2007 and named the album as a whole the #1 album of 2007.[citation needed] Sky Blue Sky was named one of the ten best albums of the year by Billboard, Paste Magazine, Uncut Magazine, Delusions of Adequacy, and The Onion A.V. Club.[35]

However, not all publications praised the new style of Sky Blue Sky. Stylus Magazine editor Ian Cohen disliked how the album did not break the fourth wall, and expressed concern about its dissimilarities to Kicking Television: Live in Chicago.[36] Ted Grant of PlayLouder called the album the "blandest and most creatively uninspired record of their career", finding that the album was leading to tame "dad-rock."[37] Pitchfork writer Rob Mitchum also used the "dad-rock" colloquialism, dismissing its straightforwardness and arguing "Tweedy merely ended up with the wrong personnel to articulate his mood here."[38]

The lyrical content was considered by critics to be somewhat experimental, but more straightforward than previous Wilco albums.[29][39] Michael Metevier of PopMatters found the lyrics to be "some of the most affecting and least clumsy" of the band's career, though he worried that they might strike some Wilco fans as dull.[29] Rob Sheffield said that while he was unimpressed with the lyrics of other Wilco albums, he liked the songwriting on Sky Blue Sky.[7] However, Brandon Kreitler of Dusted Magazine felt that the lyrics seem like an insular Tweedy confessional, and Doug Freeman of The Austin Chronicle described the collaborative songwriting as yielding "fatalistic ambivalence".[40][41]

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Jeff Tweedy except as indicated.

  1. "Either Way" – 3:05
  2. "You Are My Face" (Tweedy, Cline) – 4:38
  3. "Impossible Germany" (Tweedy, Wilco) – 5:57
  4. "Sky Blue Sky" – 3:23
  5. "Side with the Seeds" (Tweedy, Jorgensen) – 4:15
  6. "Shake It Off" – 5:40
  7. "Please Be Patient with Me" – 3:17
  8. "Hate It Here" (Tweedy, Wilco) – 4:31
  9. "Leave Me (Like You Found Me)" – 4:09
  10. "Walken" (Tweedy, Wilco) – 4:26
  11. "What Light" – 3:35
  12. "On and On and On" (Tweedy, Wilco) – 4:00

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Llewellyn, Kati (May 8, 2006). Glenn Kotche Talks New Wilco Record. Pitchfork Media. Last accessed June 9, 2007.
  2. ^ Llewellyn, Kati (January 18, 2007). Tweedy Reveals Wilco LP Title, Release Date. Pitchfork Media. Last accessed June 9, 2007.
  3. ^ Cohen, Jonathan. "Wilco Soars into 'Blue Sky' in May", Billboard, January 18, 2007.  Last accessed June 9, 2007.
  4. ^ a b A Parade of Inspiration on Wilco's Sky Blue Sky, NPR, Washington D.C., May 26, 2007. Last accessed June 10, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Cohen, Jonathan. "Wilco: In the Comfort Zone", Billboard, April 13, 2007.  Last accessed June 9, 2007.
  6. ^ Kandell, Steve. "The Main Attractions: Jeff Tweedy", Spin, May 2, 2007.  Last accessed June 10, 2007.
  7. ^ a b c d Fricke, David. "Spring Music Preview: Fifty Must-Hear Albums", Rolling Stone, April 5, 2007. 
  8. ^ Mills, Fred. "New Wilco Album Sky Blue Sky Drops May 15", Harp, January 20, 2007.  Last accessed June 10, 2007.
  9. ^ a b c d Sky Blue Sky album notes, May 15, 2007. Nonesuch Records, 131388.
  10. ^ a b Kot, Greg. "Wilco Pares Down for Simpler, More Intimate Work", Chicago Tribune, May 13, 2007. 
  11. ^ Kot 2004. p. 240–1
  12. ^ Collis, Clark. "The Trouble With Tweedy", Entertainment Weekly.  Last accessed June 16, 2007.
  13. ^ Presti, Manuel. Sky Chase – B156. wildlifephoto-presti.com. Last accessed July 5, 2007.
  14. ^ Wilco Official Website. wilcoworld.net. Last accessed March 3, 2007.
  15. ^ Crock, Jason (May 7, 2007). Interview: Wilco. Pitchfork Media. Last accessed June 10, 2007.
  16. ^ Suarez, Jessica. "New Music: Wilco: "What Light" (MP3)", Pitchfork Media, March 5, 2007.  Last accessed June 10, 2007.
  17. ^ Wilco Official Website. wilcoworld.net. Last accessed June 10, 2007.
  18. ^ Wilco: Sky Blue Sky. wilcoworld.net. Last accessed November 14, 2007.
  19. ^ Volkswagen erroneously stated in its press release that it was the first licensing deal for the band.
  20. ^ a b Wilco – News. wilcoworld.net. Last accessed June 10, 2007.
  21. ^ Welte, Jim (June 4, 2007). VW Taps Wilco's Sky Blue Sky for Ads. Last accessed June 10, 2007.
  22. ^ Cohen, Jonathan. "Wilco Takes a Spin with Volkswagen for TV Ads", MP3.com, June 05, 2007.  Last accessed June 10, 2007.
  23. ^ Caro, Mark. "Does VW Deal Make Wilco a Sellout?", Chicago Tribune.  Last accessed June 10, 2007.
  24. ^ Show 4: 11.35pm, BBC2, Friday 25th May 2007. BBC. Last accessed June 16, 2007.
  25. ^ Sky Blue Sky Tour 2007. wilcoworld.net. Last accessed June 10, 2007.
  26. ^ Hasty, Katie. "Linkin Park Scores Year's Best Debut with 'Midnight'", Billboard, May 23, 2007.  Last accessed June 9, 2007.
  27. ^ Wilco – Sky Blue Sky – Music Charts. acharts.com. Last accessed June 9, 2007.
  28. ^ Wilco: Sky Blue Sky (2007). Metacritic. Last accessed June 10, 2007.
  29. ^ a b c Metivier, Michael (May 14, 2007). Sky Blue-Eyed Soul. PopMatters. Last accessed June 9, 2007.
  30. ^ Deming, Mark. Sky Blue Sky > Review. All Music Guide. Last accessed June 9, 2007.
  31. ^ 50th Annual Grammy Awards Nomination List. Grammy.com. Last accessed [[{December 6]], 2007.
  32. ^ village voice > pazzandjop07
  33. ^ Robert Christgau, David Fricke, Christian Hoard, Rob Sheffield (December 17, 2007). "The Top 50 Albums of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-20
  34. ^ No byline (December 11, 2007). "The 100 Best Songs of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-21
  35. ^ Metacritic: Best Albums of 2007. Metacritic. Last accessed December 29, 2007.
  36. ^ Cohen, Ian. "Wilco – Sky Blue Sky – Review", Stylus Magazine, May 14, 2007.  Last accessed June 9, 2007.
  37. ^ Grant, Ted (June 6, 2007). Sky Blue Sky (2007) Review. PlayLouder. Last accessed June 9, 2007.
  38. ^ Mitchum, Rob (May 14, 2007). Wilco: Sky Blue Sky (review). Last accessed June 9, 2007.
  39. ^ Murray, Noel. "Wilco – Sky Blue Sky (Review)", The A.V. Club, May 17, 2007.  Last accessed June 16, 2007.
  40. ^ Kreitler, Brandon (June 14, 2007). Dusted Reviews – Wilco – Sky Blue Sky. Dusted Magazine. Last accessed June 16, 2007.
  41. ^ Freeman, Doug. "Phases & Stages", The Austin Chronicle, May 18, 2007.  Last accesesd June 16, 2007.

[edit] References

v • d • e
Wilco
Nels Cline · Mikael Jorgensen · Glenn Kotche · Pat Sansone · John Stirratt · Jeff Tweedy
Jay Bennett · Leroy Bach · Ken Coomer · Bob Egan · Brian Henneman · Max Johnston · Jim O'Rourke
Albums and EPs
Singles
DVDs
Related articles