Fretplay.com Uncle Tupelo CD reviews Uncle Tupelo guitar tabs Uncle Tupelo CD reviews Uncle Tupelo tabs Anodyne


Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne Audio CD

A fair review of the Uncle Tupelo "Anodyne" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Uncle Tupelo reviews here, or go back to the Uncle Tupelo tabs.

Uncle Tupelo Band: Uncle Tupelo
Title: Anodyne
Rating:
Release Date: 1993-10-05
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Slate 2: Acuff-Rose 3: Long Cut 4: Give Back the Key to My Heart 5: Chickamauga 6: New Madrid 7: Anodyne 8: We've Been Had 9: Fifteen Keys 10: High Water 11: No Sense in Lovin' 12: Steal the Crumbs

Alt-highlights
. UT and Anodyne are heavily cited as a pillar of alt-country influence, and while that may be true, a few penned rockers and weepers have come to outweigh the majority of steel-pedal serviceability and electric-clunk on display.


does not live up to the praise.
50 out of 5 stars. 2.

Lyrics look good on paper but, are hurt by a solid mediocre voice with a faux southern accent I could do without. The vocals could have been more like the familiar Indie-hipster-rock-nasal-geek-Muppet voices used so often in groups The lyrics and music often sound like a Yankees' interpretation of a music he (they) never really knew by not living in The South. The players know their instruments and the clichés and play them as if learned in a class. I really don't get the punk influence I heard of much. They do often sound Indie-rock. I also have not responded well to Gram Parsons. After hearing artists like Emmylou Harris, who turned out an incredible rock/country LP "The Wrecking Ball", and possibly the real first alt-country artist, Mickey Newbury, who used a large palate of beautiful compositions on par with The Beatles, it's hard to be impressed by the "Alt" of Tupelo or Gram. I also like Lyle Lovett more than those "innovators".
The two albums I checked out are "Anthology" and "Anodyne", Anthology being difficult to get through twice. The 3rd attempt was played as a background to sitting on the back porch but, my wife made me turn it off half way through track 2! I can't get beyond the fake accent and the overly "sittin'-on-the-front-porch" feel to nearly every song. Pat your hands softly and sip a PBR. There is not enough oomph to any of the tracks and just not any staying power for me, save the stale cliché of a song overstated and over. . . .
The last half of "Anodyne" felt glummer. I have to say that at most was a little more pure. Still, it does not have the emotional impact or beauty of a fairly comparable artist, Mark Kozelek, also of the beloved Red House Painters.
.


Good Album, But Doesn't Quite Meet My Lofty Expectations
My appreciation for the two spinoff groups led me to Uncle Tupelo, and everything I read said Anodyne was THE Uncle Tupelo album -- so I was excited to get it. I discovered Son Volt and Wilco in the last year or so and really love both of them.

Anodyne is a really solid album; it's very easy to listen to the whole thing and there are no bad songs. But it didn't quite match up to the high (probably unreasonable) expectations I had for it. The album is a little more country-ish/less alt-ish than I had hoped and I don't find it quite as interesting as some of the Wilco/Son Volt albums.

But I'm clearly biased by my perspective. I came to this album backwards and I'm not a huge country fan. Still, I recommend Anodyne for anyone who loves their alt country with a little more country. And I think it's the type of album that will really grow on listerners after a paying it a half-dozen or so times.


A cure for all depression
"
One says "anodyne" means "a cure for all depression. Depending on what dictionary you use, you'll find different defintions for the word "anodyne. "
Another says it means "soothing, calming. "
Another: "a medicine that relieves pain. "
It can be a noun, or an adjective.
In all these definitions, it fits this album perfectly. This, Uncle Tupelo's last (and best) album together, "Anodyne," will cure those depressed by a lack of beautiful music, it will soothe and calm those who have wasted their time on music less melodious and less mournful, and will relieve the pain of those who have their hearts broken with no one to tell their sorrows to.
This album is full of songs of struggle and longing, hopefulness and the feeling of being betrayed, acceptance and resignation. The cover version of "Give Back the Key to My Heart" will lodge itself in your brain for weeks. "New Madrid" with its banjoish, country road, "Driving on 9" type of feel will make you rush to your car keys and out the door, slamming the screen door behind you. And "No Sense In Lovin'," with its lilting steel guitar and walloping lyrics will reaffirm your suspicion that Jeff Tweedy is among the greatest songwriters of all time. (It has to be Uncle Tupelo's best song. )
"There's no sense in lovin'
Anyone
Who hates themself. "
This is the last album of a great band full of great musicians. Listening to it, one is filled simultaneously with the sadness that this band may never play together again and a joyful knowledge of the great music that both of this band's main songwriters (Jeff Tweedy of Wilco and Jay Farrar of Son Volt) would go on to write on their own.
I love this album. (My daughter's NAME is Anodyne. Seriously. ) You can listen to this album when you're happy, or when you're sad, and they'll be something in it for you no matter what.
It's alt. country at its best.
It's MUSIC at its best.
It's GREAT.


Looks Brand New!
THANK YOU!. The item arrived promptly and in better condition than promised.


You can see a complete list of all Uncle Tupelo discography, or go back to the Uncle Tupelo tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

Search guitar tabs

#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
[ Search tabs | Guitar tabs | Bass tabs |
Easy guitar tabs | Guitar solo tabs |
Acoustic guitar tabs | Guitar chords |
How to read guitar tabs ]
Forum topics
Music forums
- Bands and artists - Songwriting and lyrics - Tablature talk - Promote your band
Instrument forums
- Guitar basics - Gear & accessories - Bass guitar
Community
- The pit - Site Feedback - Reviews
[ User survey | About us | Privacy statement ]