Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne (Bonus Tracks) (2003) VBR
File Size: 118MB
Alt country pioneers and truly one of our faves, the awesome Uncle Tupelo with a remastered version of great their major label release Anodyne.
It was made just before the personal animosity between Messrs Tweedy and Farrar finally exploded.
The one good thing about their ultimate demise was that we had two great groups emerge from the ashes, the wonderful Wilco and the sublime Son Volt.
Catch the Son Volt Discography here; Son Volt discography.html
Anodyne was the fourth and final studio album by Uncle Tupelo, released on October 5, 1993. The recording of the album was preceded by the departure of the original drummer Mike Heidorn and the addition of three new band members: bassist John Stirratt, drummer Ken Coomer, and multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston.
The band signed with Sire Records shortly before recording the album and Anodyne was Uncle Tupelo's only major label release (if you don;t count 89/93: An Anthology released in 2002).
Recorded in Austin, Anodyne featured a split in songwriting credits between singers Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, plus a cover version of the Doug Sahm song "Give Back the Key to My Heart", with Sahm on vocals.
The lyrical themes were influenced by country music and- more than their earlier releases - touched on interpersonal relationships.
After two promotional tours for the album, tensions between Farrar and Tweedy culminated in the breakup of Uncle Tupelo.
This LP was well-received critically upon its initial release. Despite the lack of a single to promote the album, sales eventually surpassed 150,000 copies. A promotional tour for the album began later that year, including a sold-out show at Tramps in New York City. Most shows on the tour sold over one thousand tickets.
The success of the tour encouraged the label; according to Sire executive Bill Bentley, "people here thought we were going to have platinum records from Uncle Tupelo."
Despite the label's aspirations, Jay Farrar announced his intention to leave Uncle Tupelo in January 1994. Farrar kept his reasoning secret until fall 1995, when he claimed in an interview that "it reached a point where Jeff and I really weren't compatible."
As a sign of loyalty to band manager Tony Margherita, who had acquired a three thousand dollar debt on behalf of the band, Farrar agreed to do another promotional tour. Physical altercations between Tweedy and Farrar began two weeks into the tour and continued throughout—many were due to Farrar's refusal to play on Tweedy's songs. Despite Farrar's reservations, Uncle Tupelo performed Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brian, the band's only network television appearance.
The band played their final concert on May 1, 1994 at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, Missouri. The remaining members of the Anodyne sessions formed Wilco a few weeks later
This version of Anodyne was re-mastered and re-released in 2003 by Rhino Entertainment and includes five bonus tracks.
The band signed with Sire Records shortly before recording the album and Anodyne was Uncle Tupelo's only major label release (if you don;t count 89/93: An Anthology released in 2002).Recorded in Austin, Anodyne featured a split in songwriting credits between singers Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, plus a cover version of the Doug Sahm song "Give Back the Key to My Heart", with Sahm on vocals.
The lyrical themes were influenced by country music and- more than their earlier releases - touched on interpersonal relationships.
After two promotional tours for the album, tensions between Farrar and Tweedy culminated in the breakup of Uncle Tupelo.
This LP was well-received critically upon its initial release. Despite the lack of a single to promote the album, sales eventually surpassed 150,000 copies. A promotional tour for the album began later that year, including a sold-out show at Tramps in New York City. Most shows on the tour sold over one thousand tickets.
The success of the tour encouraged the label; according to Sire executive Bill Bentley, "people here thought we were going to have platinum records from Uncle Tupelo."
Despite the label's aspirations, Jay Farrar announced his intention to leave Uncle Tupelo in January 1994. Farrar kept his reasoning secret until fall 1995, when he claimed in an interview that "it reached a point where Jeff and I really weren't compatible."
As a sign of loyalty to band manager Tony Margherita, who had acquired a three thousand dollar debt on behalf of the band, Farrar agreed to do another promotional tour. Physical altercations between Tweedy and Farrar began two weeks into the tour and continued throughout—many were due to Farrar's refusal to play on Tweedy's songs. Despite Farrar's reservations, Uncle Tupelo performed Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brian, the band's only network television appearance.
The band played their final concert on May 1, 1994 at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, Missouri. The remaining members of the Anodyne sessions formed Wilco a few weeks later
This version of Anodyne was re-mastered and re-released in 2003 by Rhino Entertainment and includes five bonus tracks.
Uncle Tupelo never struck a finer balance between rock and country than on Anodyne, their major-label debut and parting shot.
For all of the ill will undoubtedly simmering throughout these sessions, Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy have never before been more attuned to each other musically; where earlier records often found the band's twin forces moving in opposing directions, Anodyne bears the full fruits of their shared vision.
Recorded live in the studio, the album encompasses and reinterprets not only country-rock (evidenced by the group's pairing with Doug Sahm on his "Give Back the Key to My Heart"), but also traditional country (the tribute to the songwriting legacy of "Acuff-Rose"), rock (the churning "The Long Cut," "Chickamauga"), and folk ("New Madrid," "Steal the Crumbs"), the band's reach never once exceeding its grasp.
The 2003 reissue of Anodyne on Rhino adds five bonus tracks: three previously unreleased tracks and two live songs that were only available on a promo-only disc issued in 1994 called The Long Cut + Five Live.
The three studio cuts are a mixed bag. "Stay True" is a fairly tuneless hard rock tune penned by Jay Farrar that features thundering riffs and ham-handed soloing, "Wherever" is a heartbroken and lovely ballad written by Jeff Tweedy that easily could have fit on the album proper, and "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" is a rollicking stab at one of Waylon Jennings' best tunes with Joe Ely joining in on vocals and guitar.
The two live cuts -- a raw take on the truck driver's anthem "Truck Drivin' Man" and a long workout on Dale Hawkins' "Suzie Q" -- are fun and full of energy. Too bad Rhino didn't include the other three songs that were on the The Long Cut + Five Live. Still, with the comprehensive liner notes, improved sounds, and mostly worthwhile bonus tracks, this is a great document for fans of the band.Review by Jason Ankeny
Tracklisting
01. Slate 3:2402. Acuff-Rose 2:35
03. The Long Cut 3:20
04. Give Back the Key to My Heart 3:26
05. Chickamauga 3:42
06. New Madrid 3:32
07. Anodyne 4:51
08. We've Been Had 3:27
09. Fifteen Keys 3:25
10. High Water 4:14
11. No Sense In Lovin' 3:46
12. Steal the Crumbs 3:43
13. Stay True (Bonus Track) 3:29
14. Wherever (Bonus Track) 3:48
15. Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? (Bonus Track) 3:01
16. Truck Drivin' Man (live) (Bonus Track) 2:13
17. Suzy Q (live) (Bonus Track) 7:13
Here'sUncle
Here's the great Son Volt. The most under-rated group on this or any other planet!
This pattern would continue with their later works and their two follow-up albums - 1997's 
Having already booked studio time, Farrar formed a new version of the band with a different line-up and released the album 
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