Album of the Day

Following a highly publicized parting of the ways from Reprise Records after YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT, Wilco landed on Nonesuch for A GHOST IS BORN, released 15 years ago this weekend. The 2004 collection features some of the dissonance and anguished vocals of its predecessor while still reflecting an eagerness to break new ground - the one constant in the band's history. With the departure of Jay Bennett, frontman Jeff Tweedy takes over lead guitar duties and strikes a Neil Young-like balance between raging electricity and haunting intimacy, aided and abetted by Sonic Youth collaborator Jim O'Rourke. “Handshake Drugs,” “Company in My Back” and “The Late Greats” are among the many highlights here, and A GHOST IS BORN was a Top 10 hit that earned Wilco its first Grammy (for Best Alternative Music Album).