HOW TO BUY… ALBUMS RECORDED AT THE LOFT

ALONE

(ANTI-, 2010) Tweedy has made several albums with the gospel legend and fellow Chicagoan, including one based on Pops Staples’ unfinished recordings. But the best remains their first, a collection of spiritually generous and musically adventurous songs showcasing Mavis’s mighty vocals. 9/10

LOW THE INVISIBLE WAY

(SUB POP, 2013)

This venerable band has been around almost as long as Tweedy has been active, releasing their debut just months before Wilco unleashed AM. Nearly 20 years later, they paired up for this set of intimate tunes that highlights some of the rootsier elements in Low’s signature sound. 8/10

RICHARD THOMPSON

STILL (NEW WEST, 2015) Thompson approached Tweedy looking to shake up his record-making process, and the result is an album that accentuates the precision of Thompson’s acoustic guitar playing, the bruised soulfulness of his vocals, and the often-overlooked humour in his lyrics. 8/10

MAVIS STAPLES YOU ARE NOT JOAN SHELLEY JOAN SHELLEY

(NO QUARTER, 2017)

The Kentucky singersongwriter took I-65 north from Louisville up to Chicago to make her fifth solo album, on which she adopts a minimalist palette that plays up the range of styles and sounds that inform her insightful songs. 8/10

KACY & CLAYTON THE SIREN’S SONG

(NEW WEST, 2017) After self-releasing two records, the Saskatchewan duo of singer Kacy Anderson and guitarist Clayton Linthicum worked with Tweedy on a pair of albums (including their new “Carrying On”) that showcase the twangier aspect of their sound. On songs like “Light Of Day” and “Cannery Yard,” they nod to their Appalachian and English folk influences but allow their own personalities to show through the chords. 8/10