My $.02, for what it's worth. I remain huge fans of both, but there is no longer any real meaningful comparison. They are just so different. Jay won the sprint with Trace, but Jeff won the marathon with Wilco's body of work.

Son Volt, as it exists now, is really just Jay. The original lineup was a legit band, with the Boquist brothers making significant contributions. But, after Jay broke that band up, Son Volt is now just Jay with an ever evolving backing band. Trace is a masterpiece, but nothing he has done since has even come close to measuring up.

Wilco is so much more relevant now, both commercially and artistically, and it has always seemed more like a real band to me. Although it exists to play Jeff's songs, Wilco has always been about Jeff's need for collaboration, first with Bennett, then with O'Rourke and Kotche, then with Cline.

Live there is NO comparison. Wilco has evolved into one of the finest live shows I have ever seen. The Bennett shows were a loose, loud mess. That's long gone now.

Oh and edited to add: They're both dicks.

This post was edited on 11/30/18 at 3:50 pm

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Posted by Jonas

Northshore

Member since Nov 2010

601 posts

Posted on 12/1/18 at 8:20 am to MobileJosh

My answer is C — Nels Cline

Between the 2, I lean to Wilco. Tweedy’s interviews, opinions, etc aren’t my thing, but musically it’s hard to argue against the Wilco discography.

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Posted by wilceaux

Austin, TX

Member since Apr 2004

13077 posts

Posted on 12/1/18 at 2:13 pm to LJBurton

quote:
The Bennett shows were a loose, loud mess. That's long gone now.

Good post, but this is the only thing I would disagree with a bit. The band during the late 90s and early 00s was awesome. But I enjoy loose and loud.

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Posted by TFTC

Chicago, Il

Member since May 2010

23673 posts

Posted on 12/1/18 at 3:07 pm to LJBurton

quote:
My $.02, for what it's worth. I remain huge fans of both, but there is no longer any real meaningful comparison. They are just so different. Jay won the sprint with Trace, but Jeff won the marathon with Wilco's body of work.

Son Volt, as it exists now, is really just Jay. The original lineup was a legit band, with the Boquist brothers making significant contributions. But, after Jay broke that band up, Son Volt is now just Jay with an ever evolving backing band. Trace is a masterpiece, but nothing he has done since has even come close to measuring up.

Wilco is so much more relevant now, both commercially and artistically, and it has always seemed more like a real band to me. Although it exists to play Jeff's songs, Wilco has always been about Jeff's need for collaboration, first with Bennett, then with O'Rourke and Kotche, then with Cline.

Live there is NO comparison. Wilco has evolved into one of the finest live shows I have ever seen. The Bennett shows were a loose, loud mess. That's long gone now.

I pretty much agree with the all of this... and I was firmly in the Jay Farrar camp as the superior of the two, during the Tupelo years... Son Volt, out of the gate, kept that belief for me...

However, I have totally changed my view and Jeff has evolved way beyond my original belief...

While I don't get excited for either band's new releases in the past decade or so.. Wilco is still an incredible live band and always creates a setlist that spans their catalog... Ive probably passed on the last 25 + opportunities to see Farrar/Son Volt..

Jeff's recent memoir was excellent.. very open and pretty funny, as well.. If ti stops raining, I plan on walking over to Reckless to pick up his new record..

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Posted by Cdawg