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Alpha Mike Foxtrot: Rare Tracks 1994-2014 Image
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 16 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

  • Summary: The four-disc, 77-song compilation collects b-sides, demos, rare and live recordings from the band's 20-year career.
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  • Record Label: Nonesuch
  • Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Experimental Rock, Alternative Country-Rock
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Top Track

You and I
You and I, we might be strangers However close we get sometimes, it's like we've never met But you and I, I think we can take it All the good with... See the rest of the song lyrics
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Nov 18, 2014
    100
    What could have been a random collection of odds and ends--or worse, a nostalgia grab--isn't so much a look at Wilco's alternate-history past as it is a glimpse at ground the band still has to cover.
  2. Nov 18, 2014
    90
    Taken together, it's a comprehensive document of a great band with endless secrets to reveal, even now.
  3. 85
    A reflection on the band's past achievements and the clearing of the rarities cupboards: cut out a handful of one-laugh oddities tossed aside with punky abandon, and Alpha Mike Foxtrot beats most bands official catalogue.
  4. Nov 18, 2014
    80
    Even if Wilco is in danger of running out of interesting new places to take their sound, it's only because, as Alpha Mike Foxtrot is a convincing testament to, they've spent the last 20 years taking it to so many places already.
  5. Uncut
    Dec 4, 2014
    80
    It's a culture manifest in Alpha Mike Foxtrot: encyclopaedic. loving, droll, emotionally candid, often adventurous, but never really as alienating or difficult as the legends might suggest. [Jan 2015, p.90]
  6. Dec 8, 2014
    70
    All together, Alpha Mike Foxtrotis a lot to take in at once--over five hours of material, and Wilco enthusiasts will have heard much of the contents already.
  7. Dec 5, 2014
    60
    It’s disjointed--clumsy, even--with only glimmers of consistency, but the hardcore will appreciate that this is the way the band works: nothing comes easy and rewards are hard-won. Those listening out for singalongs, heartbreak and any solidity are better directed to the best of.

See all 16 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Nov 25, 2014
    9
    This is an essential collection for any discerning Wilco fan. It is a wonderful companion piece to the band's 8 studio albums and the standardThis is an essential collection for any discerning Wilco fan. It is a wonderful companion piece to the band's 8 studio albums and the standard is high throughout the 77 tracks. It is endlessly interesting to follow the band over its journey of self exploration as well as the chronological sonic development. A must buy, an early Christmas present, and a sign that this band still exists and its next move could be just as fascinating to witness. Long live Wilco! Expand