Album · Wilco
A.M. by Wilco
A.M. is an album by Wilco, released in 1995. 4 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 36 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Box Full of Letters”, on 22 lists with a best position of #178.
A.M., Wilco's debut, came out on March 28, 1995, on Sire and Reprise, only months after Uncle Tupelo fell apart, and it walked straight into a grudge match. Jay Farrar had gone off to start Son Volt, Jeff Tweedy and the rest of the old band carried on as Wilco, and everybody wanted to know whose first record would be better.
Tweedy's is the looser, friendlier one: straight-ahead alternative country, twangy and bar-room easy, with Max Johnston's fiddle, banjo and mandolin, John Stirratt on bass, Ken Coomer on drums and Brian Henneman of the Bottle Rockets on lead guitar, the only Wilco album he played that role on. "Box Full of Letters", "Passenger Side" and "Casino Queen" are the keepers. Reviews were lukewarm, sales were slow, Son Volt's Trace did better, and the band came to call it a failure. It was also the last time they played it this straight; everything after wandered further afield.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from A.M. on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Box Full of Letters | 22 | #178 | – | 1996–2026 | |
| 2 | I Must Be High | 8 | #312 | – | 2007–2025 | |
| 3 | Passenger Side | 3 | #122 | – | 2010–2023 | |
| 4 | Casino Queen | 3 | #461 | – | 2022–2026 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.