Nobody's been very excited about this release and I can see why. Let me hand you my philosophy:

See, because Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy served as the collective minds of one of the most influential country-rock bands of the 1990s (Uncle Tupelo, you know), they will always be lumped together. And despite a whole lot of hype, Wilco debut release, A.M., was one of the biggest pieces of crap ever to hit the retail shelves of Wal-Mart. Around the same time, Jay Farrar's Son Volt released their debut, Trace which knocked the pants off fans and critics across the nation. But this time around, Wilco had the upper hand when they released Being There, a two-disc compilation of songs that provided the band with a refreshing new sound. It was hailed as a breakthrough recording by media giants. And when set next to their rival band's release, Son Volt's Straightaways is a pretty sad thing.

Not that the record is awful. There are a bunch of great songs here. The disc's opener, "Caryatid Easy," could be a crossover radio hit and VH-1 staple if given the right publicity, and the bleak sadness of "Cemetary Savior" is sharply written and well executed. Of course, Farrar could stand to take a lesson from his rival and update his worn-out sound.

-Ryan Schreiber