Jeff Tweedy

For all of the experimentation that Tweedy has undertaken with Wilco and his other projects over the last five years, it has retained an appeal through his now well-developed songwriting craftsmanship. It may be impossible anymore to equate the guy who made A.M. with the guy who made A Ghost Is Born but these solo acoustic performances present a strong case that Tweedy’s creative evolution has been nothing if not natural. Capturing moments from five small theatre concerts in February ’06, Sunken Treasure Live touches on most of Tweedy’s history, from Uncle Tupelo ("Black Eye”) to the Mermaid Avenue project ("Airline To Heaven”) and of course, a wide sample of Wilco’s catalogue, all the while treating each song like a piece of a grander picture that he is continually painting. But what the film reveals most remarkably is Tweedy’s tenuous relationship with his audience, most of whom respond to him as if he were a drinking buddy. At times this is at odds with the music, but Tweedy manages it well, evoking an easy charm that emphasises the innocence at the core of his writing, something that has increasingly been overshadowed in Wilco. Whereas the I Am Trying To Break Your Heart documentary showed Tweedy as a reluctant anti-hero, Sunken Treasure Live shows his artistry in its purest form and is a must for anyone who doubts his songwriting and performing greatness.