Ignored             Obscured              Restored

Jeff Tweedy, of Wilco, is a remarkably prolific songwriter.  Since 1995, he has released 14 studio albums with the band, along with four solo records — one each year from 2017 through 2020.  He’s also penned material for the three albums he produced with Mavis Staples and contributed songs for Sukierae (2014), his collaboration with his son Spencer.

Even by those standards, Tweedy has outdone himself with the September release of his latest solo project, Twilight Override — asprawling triple album featuring 30 new songs.

One highlight, “Forever Never Ends,” revisits his high school prom night — though the tale may be at least partly fictional — and ends with him puking Peppermint Schnapps and calling his father for an embarrassing rescue.

On the side of the road
In a tuxedo
Three below zero
In a red cummerbund

I had to call my Dad
I knew he’d be mad
I’d never seen him not mad
Vomit in the frozen grass

Peppermint Schnapps
Well, here come the cops
They don’t even stop
Oh, there they go

Musically, it’s a simple, catchy alt-country/Americana number — very much in the vein of Neil Young’s more country-leaning moments.  But when the chorus arrives, the volume swells, and a jagged guitar solo cuts through the mix, giving the tune an unexpected edge.

As triple albums go, it’s too early to know whether Twilight Override will take its place alongside the giants — All Things Must Pass by George Harrison, the Grateful Dead’s Europe ’72, or the Clash’s Sandinista! — but it’s a bold statement that demands attention.

Enjoy… until next week.