Reviewed by: Ian Cohen
Reviewed on: 2007-05-14

Posted 05/14/2007 - 07:24:36 AM by florenz6:
	B+
Posted 05/14/2007 - 07:31:29 AM by KlausFraktal:
	C
Posted 05/14/2007 - 08:17:49 AM by fleezer:
	D
Posted 05/14/2007 - 09:15:53 AM by Marcopolo:
	Z
Posted 05/14/2007 - 10:54:25 AM by diego.olivas:
	D-rating "indie"-Doobie Brothers-like album. nothing hip about that youngins
Posted 05/14/2007 - 10:54:49 AM by timtheavenger:
	I love the album; it's grown on me in a way few albums this year have. The problem I keep finding with the reviews of it is some sort of expectation (here known as "Wilco Mk. II"). Sure, it is probably impossible to separate thoughts of what a band was from what a band is or is becoming, but if "Kicking Television" wasn't at the forefront of the mind while listening, I think some could find a bit more in "Sky Blue Sky." Regardless, you were spot on with "these will sound great once you’ve dropped thirty on Ticketmaster." Luckily I only had to drop ten to see them here at Northwestern last friday, and the concert was amazing. For all those saying the collective They have reigned in Kline and Kotche, both are doin a lot more than it appears at first.
Posted 05/14/2007 - 12:36:29 PM by florenz6:
	When a band stops the process of radical deconstructions and is releasing a cristalline, surely echo-laden, but concise album, that doesn´t necessarily mean that they want to play an easy game or win back old listeners. In fact, this way of thinking is a typical cliche of "independant philosophy". "Sky Blue Sky" is such a fine album. And I found that wild beast called "A Ghost Is Born" absolutely amazing. I was not shouting at the band to make it all rootsy again:) I´m quoting a review that says it all: "...at first SBS sounds rather reluctant to step into the spotlight. The closer you listen to the jazzy guitars, Beatles touches and easy, shuffling rhythms, however, the more it transpires that Tweedy is simply allowing the songs sufficient room to speak up for themselves. With successive listens, "Sky Blue Sky" (is) the perfect title for this fresh, wide open record (...) Somehow, it all works. Wilco have got all the sharpest angles covered, and these 12 essays in excellence are up there with their very best."
Posted 05/14/2007 - 01:47:41 PM by Utica5:
	mind-numbingly repetitive (sorry, "experimental") folk songs won't be interesting no matter how many nels clines you add to the roster. if this is america's answer to radiohead, then we're really starting to circle the drain.
Posted 05/14/2007 - 02:33:10 PM by florenz6:
	Re: This is not America´s answer to Radiohead, this is a very touching campfaire affair! Similarly convincing like the last album from The Jayhawks.
Posted 05/14/2007 - 03:03:50 PM by diemythtruth:
	diego.olivas: your description sounds a lot like the last comets on fire album.
Posted 05/14/2007 - 04:54:41 PM by J_R_K_:
	as a longtime wilco fan i think they have stopped appealing to me after YHF, but they are a fun live band and i don't doubt they could get back on track in the future.
Posted 05/14/2007 - 05:36:04 PM by timtheavenger:
	as a quick poll, has anyone read a review of this album so far that has not taken the track names as a meta-narrative? are all of the reviewers given standard lines for this album?
Posted 05/16/2007 - 04:49:48 AM by florenz6:
	Re.timetheavenger: you´re right. And look at the title: you don´t see any hint of blue. It´s one of these records that has a lot of space beneath its nice surfaces.
Posted 05/16/2007 - 08:28:38 AM by StylusComments:
	Have you watched the Sky Blue Sky DVD yet? Kind of an anti-advertisement for the album. Makes you wanna like it less. Jeff protests that it's ok to make an album that's "just a band really comfortable with the idea of singing some songs" and it makes you think a) what does that mean he thinks his earlier songs are and b) why does he feel he needs to make this weird apology for this album? Seems like he's admitting defeat. If he believes in the album there's no need! I felt strongly moved by the poetic puzzles of AGIB/YHF and feel like I'm being scolded for emotionally responding to them now by present day Tweedy. Besides, what does he feel Impossible Germany and You Are My Face are doing lyrically? I am a big fan of the album but am used to to supplementary material enhancing the main work and not detracting from it. I don't even care if it's soft rock, or dad rock, or whatever you'd like to label it. If you respond to it and like it then it's good! That goes for both listener and artist!
Posted 05/21/2007 - 11:53:26 AM by florenz6:
	Great comment from Styluscomments! Mr. Anonymous from the staff?
Posted 05/21/2007 - 01:49:57 PM by cwperry:
	Wow; I just can't get over how bland and boring and forgettable this album is. I can't remember a single melody from it. At the moment I think this is their worst album, including A.M.. And cripes, I shelled out for the deluxe version . . .
Posted 05/22/2007 - 04:03:25 AM by florenz6:
	Oh, I just can´t get over how fascinating and retro this album is at the same time! Some melodies enter my mind again and again. I think it is their third best album after "A Ghost is Born" and "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot".
Posted 05/22/2007 - 12:44:17 PM by cwperry:
	florenz6: Wow, better than Being There, even !?!? I've heard it said that this album is the quintessential "grower." I'm gonna give it one more spin, but I really don't wanna . . .
Posted 05/23/2007 - 11:55:30 AM by florenz6:
	re:cw perry: Yes, Being There might be an alternative for No.3:) - I have been listening to SKY BLUE SKY at the sea, right time, right place... And one other thing: Tweedy is developing nearly a new voice for every song. His singing, his phrasing is astonishing.
Posted 05/23/2007 - 12:23:34 PM by cwperry:
	florenz6: sounds like you definitely are in the right place and time for this album. It's nice when that works out!
Posted 05/24/2007 - 11:45:04 AM by florenz6:
	re. cw perry. Yeah, it was holiday time! In German magazines, like the "Rolling Stone" (yes, the German one) the new albums from Wilco and Rufus Wainwright are highly praised with the maximum of available stars. That is over the top, in my view. And the reviews reveal a very conservative spirit. Here the so-called real thing, the classical rock songs, there the opera-influenced monumental music with its fine pop-appeal. I don´t like this kind of euphoria. Wilco works fine on rainy and sunny days, it has thoughtful lyrics, but it´s not intended to touch new grounds. It can be a good companion in meditative or quiet times; and if music works that way, fine! Now, back from the sea, I´m quite often listening to two albums (in the evening): "Cendre" from Fennesz & Sakamoto and the the marvellous "Jinx" from the "Kammerflimmer Kollektief" (Staubgold Records). Wow, that is wonderful stuff, let´s see what the Stylus girls and boys are doing with it:)
Posted 07/14/2007 - 09:31:08 PM by redstars1:
	hey ian. you and rob mitchum from pitchfork will be sorry you rated this album so poorly a month from now when it grows on you. thats clearly the type of record this is. i didnt realize that stylus magazine is to review music on the for the 18 year old hot chip set. can i ask you: what is wrong with a more straightforward really well written rock record? are critics still in search of the YHF followup? why do albums these days have to have lots of electronic sounds to be considered groundbreaking? let it play a month and then revisit this initial ranking. jason
Posted 07/16/2007 - 11:12:39 AM by EK5432:
	Okay, so I took people's advice and listened to it for three weeks after the inital listen left a sour taste in my mouth. You know what? I like it even less now. To me, it sounds like Tweedy became lazy all of a sudden. It's a pleasant collection of songs, yes, but you can't help but think that he could do so much better than this.