Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco
Score:98
Reviewer: Justin Pearsall
Label: Nonesuch (USA), Warner (Australia)
Reviewed: Jan 24th '07, Released:2002
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot saw Wilco complete an important evolution. Growing from the alt-country origins of A.M., and progressing to the more studio involved Summerteeth, the band were at an artistic praecipe, caught somewhere between their reputation as a live group and Jeff Tweedy’s visions of a more studio focused, deconstructed sound.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the stunningly beautiful result of these two approaches united. Tweedy and Jim O’Rourke, the album’s producer, twist simple songs into sonic adventures. This fruits of this approach are immediately evident. ‘I Am Trying to Break Your Heart’ takes three chords and layers them with all manners of instrumentation, the ballad growing from small beginnings to epic status. It’s a brilliant example of a song growing outside of its chord and melody creation and is a fittingly grand statement to open YHF.
This re-imagining of Tweedy’s songs (what he describes as ‘deconstruction’ on the excellent and highly recommended Sam Jones documentary: I Am Trying To Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco) gives the album a great longevity. Coming back to it over time melodies reveal themselves and the sounds remain fresh.
The other side of YHF, is the more natural sound of Wilco simply playing together. Thankfully, both the band and O’Rourke are mature enough to leave the great sounding songs relatively untouched. ‘Jesus, Etc.’ and ‘Heavy Metal Drummer’ are two perfect examples. The light production serves both well and allows the band’s uncomplicated and melodic playing to shine through. While latter Wilco has tended to become more instrumentally complicated, with some high-quality results and more than their share of bombast, the YHF-era band sound is effective and simple. It is also memorable.
To list individual highlights is pointless. Like all classic albums, YHF works best as a complete piece. While Wilco has continued to evolve with each preceding album, it is likely that they will never again match the vividness and consistency of YHF. It’s an album that houses a range of emotions, from longing, to sadness to moments of joy. YHF manages to do all this and more comfortably. It is nigh-on a perfect album.
