Formed from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo in 1994, it took Wilco eight years and a lot of heartache to convert widespread critical acclaim into mainstream success, finally breaking through with alt-rock masterpiece Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Contending with being dropped by their record label midway through recording, and the acrimonious dismissal of key songwriting partner Jay Bennett, it’s a small miracle it ever got released. But thank God it did. Opener ‘I Am Trying To Break Your Heart’ is a cacophonous clatter of xylophones, discordant pianos, guitar feedback and what sounds like a kettle being struck, all melded into one magnificent opus by Tweedy’s weather-beaten voice. It proves to be a good barometer for the offbeat alt-country to come. From the slow burning ‘Radio Cure’, through the nostalgic exuberance of ‘Heavy Metal Drummer’, to the string-laden beauty of ‘Jesus etc.’, sonic experimentation is combined with a keen melodic nous, to create a truly varied, and always surprising, collection of absolute classics.