Jay Bennett was, by all accounts, one of the key architects of the eclectic and gloriously shambolic sound of
Wilco's formative albums
Being There,
Summerteeth, and
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and a listen to
Bennett's second proper solo album,
The Beloved Enemy, shows he still knows how to conjure up the same ambience in the studio. However,
The Beloved Enemy also makes it pretty clear just how much
Jeff Tweedy brings to the picture in
Wilco -- songs, structures, focus, clarity, and a firm sense of direction, among other things.
Bennett's melodies and the spare but deep-focused arrangements on
The Beloved Enemy testify to the man's considerable gifts in the studio, but most of these tunes have a hard time resolving themselves musically, and as a lyricist his work often doesn't hit the mark (with "I Want You Back" and "It Might Have Looked Like We Were Dancing" as notable exceptions). And
Bennett's shaky, nicotine-scarred voice wears out its welcome fairly quickly, though it's certainly effective in short bursts. There's a rickety beauty and tied-together charm in much of
The Beloved Enemy, and it's not at all difficult to imagine
Bennett making great albums with any number of people, from
Will Oldham to
Sam Phillips. But its many flaws and sadly empty feel also make it clear this guy is at his best when he has a collaborator, which is where this set falls conspicuously short. ~ Mark Deming