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Steve: It could be the way they mix his vocal or it could be that his voice has gotten healthier as he's gotten healthier. Or maybe he's gone from shouting to singing. I'm not sure, that's why I asked you.

Noah: We'll get to this more later this week, but for me Being There is one of their three absolute classics. I may actually prefer the rougher edge to Tweedy's voice. I think you're right -- it has changed, but for me what's different isn't necessarily his voice as his singing style. There seems to be a little more focus on the nuance you've so accurately described. With that may come a little less urgency and harshness.

Steve: What's your favorite song not named "Art of Almost" on The Whole Love?

Noah: Probably "Born Alone". I love that guitar lick. It's nicely underscored by the organ / keyboard a little later in the song. And I really like the line "Sadness is my luxury".

Steve: You mentioned Stirratt's bass earlier. I think the bass and the keyboard work are the MVPs on The Whole Love. When I wrote up "I Might" as a song of the day a while back I couldn't get over the organ/keyboards, something not really featured as prominently in the archive of what we know Wilco to sound like.

Noah: They really are impressive. Glenn Kotche's percussion work is always great, as is both Tweedy and Cline's guitar work, but it's nice to see the increased prominence of Stirratt's base (in particular), which has always been a hidden hero of their albums. In concert, Stirratt is this prominent and it's nice to have it on album.

Speaking of live, I have tickets to see Wilco in early December (ninth row!) and can't wait to see how these songs translate to their live show. Give me a song you love not named Art of Almost.

Steve: Well, I was just re-listening to "Born Alone" after you mentioned it - Jesus, that song kicks ass. I've been really digging "Capitol City". It's got this nice vaudevillian feel to it on the surface, with all these Wilco-esque flourishes going on behind the scenes. It also features some of Tweedy's more amusing, carefree lyrics. "I can’t call with a subway token // anyway, the phones are all broken”. I like it when Tweedy let's his sense of humor come through.

Noah: Tweedy's a funny guy -- anybody who's seen his solo acoustic shows will tell you he's great at crowd work. I think there's some clear differences in our love of Wilco, but again that proves your "do everything well" point. I like Capitol City just fine but it's not one of my favorite songs on the album.

So where do you put The Whole Love on our patented (note: not actually patented) Great - Really Good - Good – So So - Poor scale?

Steve: It's Great.

Noah: Agreed. The Whole Love is Great.

I savor Wilco albums like a fine wine, so I really look forward to spending time with it, hopefully on headphones, and then seeing them in concert in a few months.

Steve: Yeah, the only other thing I want to say is thank you to Wilco for making such consistently fine music, on their own terms, as often as possible.

Noah: I second that, it's really rewarding to have a band that you love that clearly loves their work, considers it a challenge, and rewards their fans with such great music.

For the original version of this post, including music, click here.

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