Exactly 20 years ago on 17 November 1994, Wilco played their first ever show (under the pseudonym Black Shampoo) at Ciceros Basement Bar in St. Louis.
Today, they share the track ‘Blasting Fonda’ from the anticipated collection Alpha Mike Foxtrot, a 4-CD/4-LP/DIGITAL-box-set of rare studio and live recordings collected from the band’s extensive audio archives ahead of its release on 1 December via Rhino / Nonesuch Records. Along with What’s Your 20?, a 2-CD/DIGITAL compilation of essential tracks culled from the Wilcos previously released studio recordings, the two collections form part of the legendary Chicago band’s 20th anniversary celebrations.
Both collections are produced by Grammy-nominated producer Cheryl Pawelski, co-founder of Omnivore Recordings, whose credits include Big Star’s Keep an Eye on the Sky, The Band’s A Musical History and Townes Van Zandt’s Sunshine Boy: The Unheard Studio Sessions and Demos 1971’1972.
Written by Wilcos Jeff Tweedy in 1996 for the soundtrack to the movie Feeling Minnesota, the song, as Tweedy recalls in the liner notes, ‘was probably the first time it was just [mulit-instrumentalist] Jay [Bennett] and me in the studio ‘ which ended up happening a lot ‘ just basically kind of seeing if we could make some sort of song happen with just the two of us.’
Alpha Mike Foxtrot features 64 pages of liner notes that include track-by-track recollections from Tweedy, notes by band members Nels Cline and John Stirratt and reflections from members of Wilcos extended professional family. The booklet also showcases dozens of archival and never-before-seen photos from a wide array of photographers chronicling all phases of the band’s career.
What’s Your 20? gathers songs from Wilcos eight studio albums plus two songs from Mermaid Avenue, the collection of Woody Guthrie-penned tunes set to music by Wilco and Billy Bragg.
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