Wilco – Being There (Reprise)
Wow! Jeff Tweedy and the boys have made a very special, very ambitious album - a huge advance on their not-too-shoddy “A.M.” debut from two years ago. Without losing their country rock sensibilities they’ve produced a record comparable in parts to “Exile on Main Street” or “After the Goldrush”

“Being There” has so many great songs it’s difficult to know where to start, but the following must get a mention: “Misunderstood” seeps pain and longing before collapsing into the kind of sound-storm others base a complete career around, “Monday” has horns to die for, “I Got You (At the end of the Century)” rocks like it has no idea how to stop and “The Lonely 1” would grace any of the Big Star albums.

So what have we got? Maybe the best American release of the year so far, and a benchmark release for the rest of the genre. I can’t wait to see them again.

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