Wilco have dodged logic for the 15 years since Jeff Tweedy left alt-country pioneers Uncle Tupelo to try brainy rock. When that went too well, Wilco smashed their seemingly ideal melding of vivid musical chops and an encyclopaedic knowledge of 20th century popular music. For the past decade they've thrived on the almost mean impulse to pull apart a well-crafted, traditional song just to see what survives.

One of the band members who argued for more straightforward rock, Jay Bennett, died in May, eight years after he was fired by Tweedy. Then, of course, Wilco release an album with the kind of sound Bennett always wanted. Cue the Brian Jones references.

A simpler Wilco is hugely confusing for fans. But Wilco is the perfect way in for anyone who has struggled to get a handle on this often enigmatic band. It covers the Tweedy oeuvre - from the rattling murder ballad Bull Black Nova to the airy One Wing. And they're still the benchmark for musicianship.