Tuesday , March 19 2024
New Elliott Smith and Wilco records will make May a very expensive month for me...

Tracklisting Announced for Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky, Due in May

Wilco has announced the tracklisting for their new album, Sky Blue Sky, due in stores May 15.

It is going to be an expensive May for me.

Yesterday, it was announced a 2-disc collection of Elliott Smith rarities, New Moon, will be released May 8.

The follow-up to Wilco's brilliantly-titled A Ghost is Born (think about it… when is a ghost 'born?') will feature 12 tracks, some of which have already been premiered in concert both by the full band and also on a string of solo dates by frontman Jeff Tweedy.  Since Ghost, the band has released a 2-disc live album, Kicking Television.

Wilco has evolved from the alt-country band of their debut, A.M., to the less conventional band of their past two albums, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Ghost, both have been filled with unusual sounds and song structures.  In between those records were the fantastic '90s releases Being There and Summerteeth.  The four albums following A.M. rank among the best of the last decade.

I know it would be seen by some as a step backwards, but I would like to see the band return to the more song-oriented approach of Being There and Summerteeth.  I love the experimental sounds from the past two records, but every time I listen to their predecessors I find myself missing that band.  I doubt this will happen, and maybe it shouldn't.  Most bands will tell you they do their best work when they continue to push ahead, and they're probably right. 

It would be impossible for me to pick one album as my favorite, but something seems to make me queue up Summerteeth more often than the others.  I won't call it their best or my favorite but if you don't have it or just haven't listened to it in awhile, you could probably find worse ways to spend an afternoon.

U.S. tour dates have not yet been announced, but the band has confirmed their appearance at Bonnaroo.

Sky Blue Sky tracklisting:

  1. Either Way
  2. You Are My Face
  3. Impossible Germany
  4. Sky Blue Sky
  5. Side with the Seeds
  6. Shake it Off
  7. Please Be Patient With Me
  8. Hate it Here
  9. Leave Me (Like You Found Me)
  10. Walken
  11. What Light
  12. On and On and On

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