Sky Blue Sky feels more to me like a sort of companion piece to Being There, which is my personal favorite album from Wilco. The songwriting of Sky Blue Sky is a little more straight-forward, and utilizes less of the loose experimentation of Being There tracks such as Kingpin or Red-Eyed and Blue.
Also, I never got into Sky Blue Sky's lyrics until recently. (Actually, Bon Iver was instrumental in helping me to understand Wilco's lyrics, when I read something about Bon Iver's lyrics only being used for their sound and not their meaning. For instance, the lack of using the sound "d" or "t" to make the sound more appealing) Wilco probably uses this technique, for instance on Please Be Patient With Me, which seems fairly devoid of meaning, but very pleasing to the ear.
"I should warn you
When I'm not well
I can't tell
Oh, there's nothing I can do
To make this easier for you"
Again, that's just my own guess; it could be anything. At any rate, that's how I got into the more bizarre lyrics of Wilco.
So, as for Sky Blue Sky as a whole, I don't at all think it's their worst album, but certainly not their best. The music does drag a bit toward the latter half. I'm kind of luke-warm on SBS.
|