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Uncle Tupelo - 89/93: An Anthology Audio CD

A fair review of the Uncle Tupelo "89/93: An Anthology" 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: 89/93: An Anthology
Rating:
Release Date: 2002-03-19
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: No Depression 2: Screen Door 3: Graveyard Shift 4: Whiskey Bottle 5: Outdone (1989 demo) 6: I Got Drunk 7: I Wanna Be Your Dog (previously unreleased) 8: Gun 9: Still Be Around 10: Looking for a Way Out (acoustic version) 11: Watch Me Fall 12: Sauget Wind 13: Black Eye 14: Moonshiner 15: Fatal Wound 16: Grindstone 17: Effigy 18: The Long Cut 19: Chickamauga 20: New Madrid 21: We've Been Had (live)

booze, whiskey, jeezus and homespun heroes
And it seems to embody the spirit of old school country and folk songs. This music makes you wanna get in your car and tour the Mid-west. Some of em' ain't pretty! A few are downright depressing. But that is what makes them great. It's that tendency to lean toward the dark side that gives them their poignancy, in my opinion.

The songs are littered with characters and people we all seem to know: middle class, hard working, hard drinking, anti-depressant swallowing, front porch sitting, regular-kinda-folk-people. There's murder ballads, straight ballads, rockers, folky tunes and all that good stuff that made up all the great country and folks lyrics.

I don't know exactly where Uncle Tupelo originate from, but it seems like it could be Gary, Indiana, Detroit, Michigan, Erie, Pennsylvania, etc, etc. All those nasty places that represent much of what home seems to me.

Favorite lyrics:
"I took a fifth and I poured me a shot/and I thought about all the things I haven't got/and I drank that down and I poured me some more/kept drinking and pourin' til I felt the floor. "

"I don't know what I'm breathing for/ cause the air around here ain't so good anymore/weatherman says fair/but he looks like a lie/nothing's free in this country/ and there's no place to hide.

If you have an interest in listening to the roots of Wilco and Son Volt, then by all means check this out. If you have any interest in roots music at all-- meaning folk and country roots-- fused w/ rock then, again, take a chance. .


Faux accents don't fly.
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. Lyrics look good on paper but, are hurt by a solid mediocre voice with a faux southern accent I could do without. 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. 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.

.


Great way to introduce yourself to UT, and alt-country.
and resisted the whole alt-country movement for years, not being able to shake off my pre-conceived stereotype of a band led by some Garth Brooks-meets-Billy Idol hybrid from hell. I'm a fan of bands like The Replacements, Afghan Whigs, Minutemen, etc.

But finally, after hearing too many people whose musical taste I respect talk about the greatness of Uncle Tupelo and the genius songwriting of Farrar and Tweedy, I finally decided to check them out.

This was the first CD I bought of theirs, and it was mind blowing for me. Such diversity and range, everything from pure country classics like "No Depression" to songs like "Gun" that could have been written by Paul Westerberg himself. And toss in their incredible cover of CCR's "Effigy" to boot.

I've since become a huge UT fan, have all of their CDs now, and am working my way through the Son Volt and Wilco catalogs. Great, great music.


Perfect
One of the things I'm struck by is how tight the band was, especially in their 'middle' era, where the drum stops are so perfect. I find this a very satisfying overview of Uncle Tupelo's career. Farrar's guitar in the later tracks reminds me of J Mascis. The other thing that strikes is me is how heavily influenced the band was by the music of Neil Young. For some reason that didn't come out so much, to my ears, when I was listening to them back in the 1980s.

Superb collection, highly recommended. I still follow Wilco and Son Volt, though neither band has ever attained the sheer intensity of the best Uncle Tupelo.


Looking for Uncle Tupelo?
This cd covers a lot of ground. If you are a SonVolt or Wilco fan this is where it all began. You would have to buy 4 cd's to get all their best songs. Country, rock, a little bit of bluegrass. America's Heart.
Mandatory material!.


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.

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