Wilco celebrate the anniversary of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” with a mega reissue

In the 20th anniversary year, Wilco created their own monument to their most important album “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” with several deluxe reissues that give a deep insight into the eventful genesis of the masterpiece.

A total of seven editions of the record will be released on September 16, including a super deluxe version consisting of eleven vinyls and one CD. Included are demos, fragments and instrumentals documenting the making of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, as well as a live recording of a 2002 concert, a radio performance and an interview from September 2001.

Wilco and her masterpiece Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

82 previously unreleased songs plus a new book with an interview with singer Jeff Tweedy, drummer Glenn Kotche and Jim O’Rourke (who was also instrumental in mixing the record in a different way than originally intended), an essay by the Author Bob Mehr and previously unreleased photos of the band recording the album at their Chicago studio The Loft are included in the super deluxe version.

A live version of “Reservations” from 2002 can already be heard as a first taste.

Wilco’s record company turned down Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

The production history of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” had a decisive influence on Wilco as a formation. After the “Mermaid Avenue” recordings with Billy Bragg, drummer Ken Coomer left the band (he was replaced by the brilliant Glenn Kotche), shortly after Jay Bennett was more or less thrown out by Jeff Tweedy. When the singer finally presented the new album to the record company with a smaller cast, they were not very enthusiastic. Tweedy bought the tapes from Warner/Reprise for $50,000, the band posted it online and eventually switched to Nonesuch, where “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” was a hit immediately after release. Of course, a rock music story that couldn’t be better invented.

In his review, ROLLING STONE editor Maik Brüggemeyer once wrote about the complex sound of the LP: “The songs are so strong that they simply have to face the relatively moderately used sound effects. They peel themselves out of the electronic environment and keep developing new ramifications, which thanks to Glen Kotehe’s percussion work sometimes scrapes dangerously close to jazz, without losing the sense of the melody.”

Meanwhile, Wilco are working on a new studio album, the follow-up to “Ode To Joy” (2019).

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