Seems like 2011 was a good year for those who love creative opening tracks as number 3 on our 2011 songs’ list is also a track 1-side 1, this time namely ‘Art of Almost’ by American alternative rock band Wilco. I would not really steal the show from the review or from the album description, it’s quick and straightforward enough to say that ‘Art of Almost’ is not only a flawless piece of work because of the exceptionally well-constructed broken beat played by drummer Glenn Kotche throughout the majority of the song, or Nels Cline mad guitar solo, John Stirratt’s rock-solid bass-rule, or the many this-and-thats added by Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen… The greatness of ‘Art of Almost’ predominantly lies in its capability of fitting in with other songs of an album with completely different instrumentation and of completely different moods.
Album version:
Alternative take:
Live version performed on ‘…Letterman’