Quick reaction to Wilco (the album)

The first few songs don't flow together that well; "Bull Black Nova" is (as EW pointed out) the only real showcase for Nels Cline on guitar though Cline does add wonderful curlicues on a number of tracks. There are far more keyboards and acoustic guitars than I expected and after an agreeable middle section which includes Feist's contributions on "You And I" the album hits high gear with "I'll Fight," the most pointedly political song Wilco has ever recorded outside the Mermaid Avenue discs.

For you to live, I took your place/A deal was made and I was paid/And in gold as I was told/With a place where my body could be laid

I didn't like Sky Blue Sky at first but it grew on me; I can see why a songwriter would put "Hate It Here," "What Light," and "You Are My Face" on the same album. It's possible that I'll feel the same way about W(TA) in time but for now it feels a bit all over the map and much more song oriented than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. (By "song oriented" I mean focused on verse-chorus-verse as opposed to studio gadgets) Wilco (the album) is the sound of a top flight band putting in a day.