A.M. is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band Wilco, released on March 28, 1995, by Sire Records and Reprise Records. The album was released only months after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, an alternative country band that was the predecessor of Wilco. Prior to its release, there was debate about whether the album would be better than the debut album of Son Volt, the new band of former Uncle Tupelo lead singer Jay Farrar.
Although A.M. was released before Son Volt's Trace, critical reviews were modest and initial sales were low. The album was later regarded as a "failure" by band members, as Trace was a greater success. It was the band's last album to be recorded in a purely alternative country style, as following the record the band began to expand their sound across multiple genres. It is also the only Wilco album to feature Brian Henneman of The Bottle Rockets as a lead guitarist.
Background and recording
Uncle Tupelo's final album, Anodyne, featured a new lineup for the band—a five-piece outfit with drummer Ken Coomer, bassist John Stirratt, and multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston. Tensions mounted between singers Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, and Uncle Tupelo played its last concert on May 1, 1994, at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, Missouri.
Only days after the breakup, Tweedy decided to form a new group. He was able to retain the lineup of Uncle Tupelo sans Farrar, and rechristened the band Wilco. In mid-May, the band began to rehearse songs in the office of band manager Tony Margherita, and hired producer Brian Paulson, who produced Anodyne. Wilco first recorded demo tracks for the album at Easley studio in Memphis, Tennessee, in June. Stirratt recommended the studio based on previous experience as a member of The Hilltops, and Tweedy had heard of the studio through a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion recording. Reprise Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros,, signed Jeff Tweedy after hearing the tapes, and recording for the album continued through August.
Tweedy was preoccupied with trying to establish Wilco as a viable band on the Reprise label, and decided to add another guitarist to the band. Brian Henneman, the lead singer for The Bottle Rockets, was brought into the recording sessions as a lead guitarist. Steel guitarist Lloyd Maines and bassist Daniel Corrigan also contributed to the album. Corrigan also photographed the band for the liner booklet. Howie Weinberg mastered the album, while Barbara Longo provided graphic design. Henneman had to leave the band shortly after recording the album, and was replaced by former Titanic Love Affair guitarist Jay Bennett. Tweedy also attempted to create a more collaborative environment than Uncle Tupelo, requesting songwriting contributions from other members. Stirratt submitted three songs, hoping to become a secondary songwriter for Wilco. However, although the songs were recorded as demos, only one ("It's Just That Simple") was selected to appear on the album, and was the only Stirratt song, and the only song by Wilco not to have lyrics written by Tweedy, to appear on any Wilco album.
The album's title is intended to reference Top 40 radio stations, and the tracks reflect a straightforward country-rock sound. The band members felt that they needed to establish themselves outside of the Uncle Tupelo fanbase. However, Tweedy later stated that in actuality, they were "trying to tread some water with a perceived audience." Tweedy wrote a song about the Uncle Tupelo breakup, but decided that he didn't want any material on that subject to appear on the album. (It can be argued, however, that first single "Box Full of Letters", as well as "Too Far Apart" allude to the dissolution of Farrar and Tweedy's friendship and working relationship.) Critic and author Greg Kot wrote in Wilco: Learning How to Die that "Tweedy's voice and personality are as modest as the arrangements; there's little sense of drama, and virtually no hint of risk." Tweedy attributes some of the straightforwardness of the album to his abuse of marijuana at the time. Shortly after the album, Tweedy stopped smoking pot, to which he credits the introspectiveness of further albums.