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Rating: 8.9/10As a keeper of a meticulously sorted iTunes catalog, I attempt to rate each song on a scale of one to five stars. Granted, this is a continuously evolving process that does have its merits when it comes to compiling playlists, making recommendations, etc. In a collection of over 12,000 songs, however, roughly 300 or so have received the elusive five-star rating.
These are the tunes that have blown my music-hungry mind at one point or another. These are the songs that I will listen to throughout my entire life. Not just reserved for obvious choices such as “God Only Knows,” “The Boxer,”and “A Day in the Life,” the five-star tag has also been placed on more recent and relatively obscure anthems like “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” “Passing Afternoon,” “Fake Plastic Trees,” etc. Two of the most recent inductions into this personal hall of fame serve as the bookends on Wilco’s impressive new album, The Whole Love.
“Art of Almost” lures you in with its slightly off-kilter droning before blasting you into rock and roll oblivion with some of the best shredding to ever come screaming off a Wilco record. I found myself drumming on the steering wheel so hard that I bruised the palms of my hands. Well, almost. That’s how you earn five stars.
The hauntingly beautiful closer, “One Sunday Morning,” achieves instant classic status for completely different reasons. Don’t be put off by its length, as this song simply surrounds you and drifts by in the fastest, most care-free twelve minutes you’ll ever experience. The vocal performance is subdued yet astounding, and the sparkling and distant piano lines here are otherworldly. The repeating eight note riff that is so aptly strummed, plucked, chimed and played will follow you around throughout the day.
But let’s not forget the wonderfulness that falls between these two numbers. Here, you’ll find some outstanding vintage Wilco pop rock (“Dawned On Me,” “Born Alone,” “Whole Love”) mixed in with experimentally tinged bits of acoustic glory (“Sunloathe,” “Black Moon”). Leaning closer towards the latter, one of my favorite interior tracks is the absolutely stunning “Rising Red Lung.”
Found a fix for the fits,
Come listen to this.
It’s buried under the hiss,
And it glows.
If I could give four and half stars, it would be appropriate here. Another standout, “Capitol City” takes the listener down a bouncy lane towards the fabulous pop music of the past. Something tells me I’ll still love this one when I’m 64.
As a whole, this album shines unlike anything we’ve heard out of Wilco in quite some time. It’s consistently brilliant and measures up track for track with anything they’ve done since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Undoubtedly, this is the best new music I’ve heard in 2011.
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