Jeff Tweedy : Twilight Override

Jeff Tweedy has established himself as one of the great songwriters of our time. He wouldn’t say that as he’s way too humble of a guy, but I can say it for him. He started out in Uncle Tupelo, not even 20-years old. In that band’s short 7-year stretch, Tweedy along with Jay Farrar set the stage for the alt-country wave to begin. They led the way with bands like The Jayhawks, Whiskeytown, The Bottlerockets and Old 97s.

But when you have two singers and two songwriters in one band clamoring for song dominance things usually end. So was the case with Uncle Tupelo. Farrar started Son Volt, while Tweedy started Wilco. While Farrar made a promising career out of his band, it was Jeff Tweedy that found something long lasting with Wilco. A.M. followed the alt-country rule book, but its follow-up Being There showed an artist ready to set fire to expectations, regardless of the outcome. Tweedy and Wilco made an album for themselves, and no one else. And for the next decade with every album they set out to re-define what a Wilco album could be.

The last two years Jeff Tweedy has been writing a mountain of songs in The Loft studio and recording with his sons Spencer and Sammy, as well as rounding out the band with some of Chicago’s finest including Macie Stewart, Sima Cunningham, and James Elkington. The result is the sprawling Twilight Override, a triple album consisting of 30 songs built around Tweedy’s vocals and guitar. Some folks-y, some poppy, and some noisy.

Jeff Tweedy’s usual vibe on his solo work is quiet acoustic songs ornamented with keys, piano, bass and drums. They land more in the low key bracket of Wilco vibes. Twilight Override has plenty of those tracks, but it veers closer to Jeff’s album as Tweedy titled Sukierae. That album was more open to noisy guitar sprawls and pop-oriented melodies. Twilight Override has it all, and nearly two hours worth.

“One Tiny Flower” is the perfect opener. Twangy strings(guitar and violin) lead the song with minor key changes and a mood closer to the experimentalism you’d hear from Chicago’s International Anthem label. “Caught Up In The Past” has a driving rhythm to it as Tweedy laments about roof top parties and people in love.

Songs like “Love Is For Love”, “Over My Head(Everything Goes)”, and “Cry Baby Cry” are the breezy, minor key songs that would have sat comfortably on albums like Warm and Love Is The King, while noisier fare like “Mirror”, “Better Song”, and the fantastic “Lou Reed Was My Babysitter” will thrill all of those fans of “Kicking Television” or his Loose Fur output. “Feel Free” is a seven minute meditation on the world at large. Do what you feel. Feel free.

At first glance a lot of these songs sound similar. Similar tempos, acoustic guitars, and Tweedy’s conversational vocal delivery. But repeated listens will reveal inventive production, sounds, and a sense of unencumbered creativity. Twilight Override is a masterclass in songwriting and an epic mission statement.