Yes, well done and well said. I'd meant to talk about the very "vinyl" sound of much of the recording. Speaking of which, there is a vinyl version of this record (see Tom's Overlooked Alternatives story). There is also a version that comes with a DVD, some of which details the making of the record.

I read that in making this record they all sat in a circle and played live together a lot (something that is apparently captured on the DVD). I think the recording process was very organic (no outside producer) and they captured that essence and feeling beautifully.

A friend of mine was telling me about a chat he had with one of his friends. This other guy was not really complaining about music but was voicing some frustrations. This guy relaxes to Danzig and The Misfits. My friend suggested that a steady diet of nothing but the visceral, aggressive, hard music had dulled his sense of nuance and subtlety. The other guy thought this over for a moment and agreed that might be possible. I use that as an illustration for people who are using "mellow" as a dismissive term for this album. I wonder if large segments of the population are having trouble processing and experiencing subtlety. SBS is a supremely excellent record. I hate that some people are missing out on that.

Well done, Mark.

Damn, Josh, that's a great point - I've seen a lot of Wilco hardcores ripping holes in this one and I can't for the life of me understand why. Maybe it is because they've been so focused on the "noisy" Wilco for so long that they literally can't hear this.

Listening to this, I feel like Wilco has been working for the past decade to get to this moment. They've got just about the most perfect band for this. So perfect, in fact, that I really worry about how I'll react to them losing someone - especially Nels, who I fear won't stay with the band that long due to his status as a jazz musician and just wanting to do his own thing when he wants to. His guitar parts add so much to the music that Wilco feels like a new entity with him in the mix. He feels essential to me already.

I just can't get into it. I've been a Wilco fan for God knows how long. I miss the pop elements that are pretty much non-existent here, am I wrong? This album is just too mature for my liking. It could be I just haven't spent enough time with it but there are so many other great "mature" releases out this year like The National's Boxer for instance. Or Grinderman.

So far everything I've heard about this record has really whetted my appetite for it. Words like "mellow", "organic", and even the dreaded "adult" just really make me sport wood when it comes to music. On my way to go get this now. Thanx guys!

-Glen

i'm probably going to do a proper review of this soon glen, but i'd be willing to bet, being that you're a Neil Young fan and all, that you'll really like it.

My initial impressions, coming from someone who hadn't heard any Wilco before: I'd agree with the mellow 70's vibe description, although it's not terribly mellow (I sometimes wonder that anything that's not "in your face" gets dismissed as "mellow" out of hand nowadays). Songwriting is above average quality, and I like Tweedy's slightly affected, slightly twangy vocals.

But it's still Cline's guitar that does it for me; he adapts his style well to the rock format without losing any individuality and especially shines on "Impossible Germany" and "Side With The Seeds."And he even adds a little lap steel guitar here and there, much as Skunk Baxter used to do for Steely Dan and the Doobies.

Vintage Neil Young is probably the closest artist Wilco comes to on this CD, although they're no carbon copy. This sounds like they are doing their own thing.

As usual, great article, Mark. I also enjoyed Josh's insight in his comment.