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A sucker for concept albums, what I like best about Sky Blue Sky is its cohesion. It's a single narrative told over the course of 12 songs. Whether strictly autobiographical or simply Tweedy acting as protagonist, the album tells the story of a man who has lost his relationships and himself. Recovering both will require steadfast resilience. Recovery is about doing the hard work that's required to see yourself and your world in a new context. As a vehicle to tell that story, Sky Blue Sky is an unmitigated success. Yes, the songs are quieter and more straightforward, but that approach fits the concept exceptionally well. It's tremendously courageous of Tweedy to put something so personal and emotionally raw out there for everyone to view. As a collection of songs, "Either Way", "Impossible Germany", "Sky Blue Sky", "Shake It Off", "Leave Me (Like You Found Me)", "Walken", and "What Light" stand up (in their own quiet way) with the best of Wilco's musical output. Even the lesser songs mid-album - "Please Be Patient With Me" and "Hate It Here" serve the purpose of showing our narrator at his absolute lowest point, so catharsis can begin. Tweedy candidly reveals this devastating exchange on "Hate It Here":

I'll check the phone again and I call your mom
She says you're not there and I should take care

"Hate It Here" is, despite its more superficial lyrics, the central thesis of Sky Blue Sky. When Tweedy sings about housecleaning it can be taken as an amusing bit of fluff, but he's actually singing about something deeper - his rehab and his relationship. It makes this line the crux of the entire album:

But keeping things clean doesn't change anything

Tweedy chooses to cover Underground Lovers' song "On and On" to complete the narrative. How did things work out in the end?

You and I will try to stay together, yeah
On and on and on. We'll be together, yeah

5 - A Ghost is Born (Noah) - Having just gone on and on about the importance of Jay Bennett to Wilco's sound, I'll now sing the praises of their first post-Bennett album. A Ghost is Born is an incredibly challenging album - it's basically the soundtrack of Tweedy's struggles with painkillers, which he was taking to deal with his long term problem with migraines. The album sounds like someone struggling. It is fuzzy and full of feedback. It's also a great sign of transition between the Wilco of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and the Wilco of Sky Blue Sky (not just because it is the album between the two).

I was a little surprised that Steve took Sky Blue Sky at number four in our draft, I would rank it seventh on my list of favorite Wilco albums. Had he taken A Ghost is Born, I would have likely taken The Whole Love in this spot. I made my opinion on The Whole Love pretty clear the other day, but suffice to say it is climbing up my list of Wilco albums from first listen.

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