| When
pioneering alt-country band Uncle Tupelo split in the mid-1990s,
they broke off into two camps. Jay Farrar started the rootsy,
twangy (if lyrically elliptical) Son Volt. Singer/songwriter/guitarist
Jeff Tweedy, who co-led the band with
Farrar, established himself anew with Wilco. Though Wilco
initially offered country-influenced rock not unlike that of
Tweedy's former outfit, they quickly progressed through the
Stones-meet-Big Star shambling two-disc epic BEING THERE, the
Beach Boys/Beatles-influenced pop of SUMMER TEETH, and the screwy,
art-damaged, Jim O'Rourke-produced YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT, whose
release was notoriously delayed due to label apathy, though the
album was eventually hailed as the group's masterpiece. |
