Anodyne (album)
Anodyne | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 5, 1993 | |||
Recorded | May–June 1993 | |||
Studio | Cedar Creek, Austin, Texas | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 43:17 | |||
Label | Sire | |||
Producer | Brian Paulson | |||
Uncle Tupelo chronology | ||||
|
Anodyne is the fourth and final
Recorded in Austin, Texas, 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.[3] The lyrical themes were influenced by country music and—more than their preceding releases—touched on interpersonal relationships. After two promotional tours for the album, tensions between Farrar and Tweedy culminated in the breakup of Uncle Tupelo. Well-received upon its initial release, Anodyne was re-mastered and re-released in 2003 by Rhino Entertainment including five bonus tracks.
Context
Uncle Tupelo's third album, March 16–20, 1992, was released through Rockville Records on August 3, 1992. On the release, the band eschewed the growing popularity of alternative rock by playing acoustic folk and country songs "as a big 'fuck you' to the rock scene".[4] Drummer Mike Heidorn had a reduced role on the album; because it was an acoustic album, Heidorn added only brush-stroke percussion on a few songs. Heidorn wanted to leave the band to spend more time with his wife and two young children. Though band manager Tony Margherita announced that several major labels were interested in signing Uncle Tupelo, Heidorn decided to permanently leave the band.[5]
Rockville Records refused to pay Uncle Tupelo any royalties, even though the band's first two albums, No Depression and Still Feel Gone, sold a combined 40,000 copies. Consequently, Margherita was trying to find a new recording deal for the band.[6] On a recommendation by singer Gary Louris of The Jayhawks, talent scout Joe McEwen pursued the band for a contract with Sire Records. McEwen was impressed by how the band was willing to go against trends, calling the band "an alternative to the alternative".[7] Executing an out-clause in their contract with Rockville, Uncle Tupelo signed a seven-record deal with Sire in 1992. The deal guaranteed the release of at least two albums, with a $150,000 budget for the first.[8]
Before releasing their first album with Sire, Uncle Tupelo needed a drummer. Farrar and Tweedy interviewed twenty-four candidates and were both impressed with
Recording
Anodyne was recorded from May to June 1993 at Cedar Creek studio in
The album was recorded live in the studio, and each song was recorded in only one take. As a result, the recording sessions for Anodyne were completed in two weeks.[14][15] Anodyne was the only Uncle Tupelo album to completely lack overdubbing.[16] Sire was pleased with the album; according to McEwen, "everybody [at the label] considered it a step up from what they'd done before."[17] Farrar wrote six of the songs on the album and Tweedy wrote five, though all the new material was credited to both songwriters. While on tour, Uncle Tupelo met Texas Tornados singer Doug Sahm at the Hotel Phoenix in Boston, Massachusetts. Farrar invited him to join the band in the studio for a cover of Sahm's "Give Back the Key to My Heart",[3][18] which Sahm contributed lead vocals to.
The lyrical content of Anodyne was influenced by 1950s and 1960s country music, particularly Ernest Tubb, Buck Owens, and Lefty Frizzell. Tweedy included several songs referencing aspects of the music industry. One example was "Acuff-Rose", a paean on the music publishers of Acuff-Rose Music. He also wrote "We've Been Had", which was intended to chastise bands such as Nirvana and The Clash who were "all just show biz" in his opinion. Tweedy was also the author of "New Madrid", a song about Iben Browning's erroneous prediction of an apocalyptic earthquake in New Madrid, Missouri. Farrar was less comfortable discussing the lyrics that he wrote, claiming that his songs frequently change their meanings.[14] Like other Uncle Tupelo albums, Farrar and Tweedy wrote their own lyrics, and played them for each other a week before the recording sessions.[12] In comparison to the rest of the Uncle Tupelo catalog, Coomer described the music of the album as "some of [the band's] earlier crunch with the acoustic subtlety of March 16–20, 1992".[19]
Promotion and reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [22] |
NME | 9/10[23] |
Q | [24] |
Rolling Stone | [25] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [26] |
Uncut | [27] |
Anodyne was Uncle Tupelo's only recording to appear on the American
Despite the label's aspirations, Jay Farrar announced his intention to leave Uncle Tupelo in January 1994.
The band re-mastered and re-released the album on March 11, 2003, through
Anodyne was well received by critics domestically and internationally. AllMusic writer Jason Ankeny wrote, "Uncle Tupelo never struck a finer balance between rock and country than on Anodyne".[20] Mark Kemp wrote for Rolling Stone that the band "[has] an intuitive sense of the simplicity and dynamics of a country song."[25] German music periodical Spex compared the album to Neil Young and to Little Feat's debut album.[36] CMJ's Jim Caligiuri praised Anodyne as "another austere, inspired collection".[37] Karen Schoemer of The New York Times found that the album "is certainly derivative, but Uncle Tupelo isn't seeking to reinvent its sources, merely to honor them".[38] At the end of the year, Anodyne placed at number twenty-eight on The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll and at number nineteen on the Spex critics' poll.[39][40] Greg Kot praised Max Johnston's contributions in the 2004 book The New Rolling Stone Album Guide and called the album "Tupelo's finest effort."[26] Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet listed Anodyne in 1999 as one of "The Best Albums of the Century".[41] In 2008, Rolling Stone critic Tom Moon listed Anodyne among the 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.[42]
Although the majority of the album's reviews were positive, some critics disagreed. Q's reviewer gave the album three stars out of five and noted that the band needed to "shed some of the Neil Young obsession."[24] Tom Moon of Rolling Stone gave the 2003 re-release all five stars, but commented that the bonus tracks there were "pleasant but inconsequential."[43] Robert Christgau perceived the album as neither a "dud" nor worthy of "honorable mention".[44]
In 2016, Paste ranked Anodyne at number one in its list of "The 50 Best Alt-Country Albums".[1]
Track listing
Songwriting credits from the 2003 reissue.
- "Slate" (Farrar) – 3:24
- "Acuff-Rose" (Tweedy) – 2:35
- "The Long Cut" (Tweedy) – 3:20
- "Give Back the Key to My Heart" (Doug Sahm) – 3:26
- "Chickamauga" (Farrar) – 3:42
- "New Madrid" (Tweedy) – 3:31
- "Anodyne" (Farrar) – 4:50
- "We've Been Had" (Tweedy) – 3:26
- "Fifteen Keys" (Farrar) – 3:25
- "High Water" (Farrar) – 4:14
- "No Sense in Lovin'" (Tweedy) – 3:46
- "Steal the Crumbs" (Farrar) – 3:38
2003 CD reissue bonus tracks
- "Stay True"* (Farrar) – 3:29
- "Wherever"* (Tweedy) – 3:38
- "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way"* (Jennings) – 3:01
- "Truck Drivin' Man (Live)" (Fell) – 2:13
- "Suzy Q (Live)" (Hawkins/Lewis/Broadwater) – 7:13
- *Tracks 13–15 previously unreleased studio outtakes.
Personnel
- Uncle Tupelo
- Ken Coomer – drums
- Jay Farrar – vocals and guitar, mandolin on "Acuff-Rose"
- Max Johnston – fiddle and lap steel guitar; banjo on "New Madrid", dobro on "Fifteen Keys"
- John Stirratt – guitar, bass guitar
- Jeff Tweedy – vocals, bass guitar, guitar
- Additional musicians
- Joe Ely – vocals on "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?"
- Brian Henneman – vocals on "Truck Drivin' Man"
- Lloyd Maines – pedal steel guitar
- Doug Sahm – guitar and vocals on "Give Back the Key to My Heart"
- Technical personnel
- Dave C. Birke – art direction
- Dan Corrigan – photography
- mastering
- engineering, mixing
Notes
- ^ a b "The 50 Best Alt-Country Albums of All Time". Paste. August 4, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Uncle Tupelo | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c Anodyne album notes (re-issued version), 2003. Sire Records.
- ^ Kot 2004. p. 66
- ^ Kot 2004. pp. 68–69
- ^ Kot 2004. p. 70
- ^ Kot 2004. p. 71
- ^ Kot 2004. pp. 72–73
- ^ Kot 2004. p. 73–74
- ^ Kot 2004. p. 75
- ^ Hampel, Paul (August 5, 1993). "Uncle Tupelo: Filling Out into a Quintet". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- ^ The Orlando Sentinel.
- ^ Kot 2004. p. 77
- ^ a b Durcholz, Daniel (November 1993). "Are You Ready for the Country?". Request Magazine.
- ^ Fine, Jason (November 1993). "Heart of the Country". Option Magazine.
- ^ Masley, Ed (February 27, 1994). "Mix of Punk and Country? Say Uncle". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ a b Kot 2004. p. 79
- ^ MacQueen, Steve (February 4, 1994). "Uncle Tupelo Taps Both Vintage Country and Punk Rock for a Winning Sound. The Band from Belleville, Ill., has a Loose, Spontaneous Sound". Tallahassee Democrat.
- Roanoke Times.
- ^ a b Ankeny, Jason. "Anodyne – Uncle Tupelo". AllMusic. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
- ^ Rothschild, David (October 24, 1993). "Uncle Tupelo: Anodyne (Sire)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ "Uncle Tupelo: Anodyne". NME: 31. October 16, 1993.
- ^ a b "Uncle Tupelo: Anodyne". Q (86): 138. November 1993.
- ^ a b Kemp, Mark (December 9, 1993). "Uncle Tupelo: Anodyne". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
- ^ a b Kot 2004b, pp. 836–37
- ^ "This Month In Americana". Uncut (73): 113. June 2003. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
- ^ "Heatseekers". Billboard. October 10, 1993.
- ^ a b c Kot 2004. p. 80
- No Depression. Archived from the originalon March 26, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ^ Kot 2004. p. 82
- ^ Kot 2004. p. 83
- ^ Kot 2004. p. 84
- ^ Kot 2004. p. 85
- ^ Sheridan, Phil (February 1995). "Roger, Wilco". Magnet.
- ^ Diederichsen, Detlef (October 1993). "Uncle Tupelo: Anodyne". Spex.
- ^ Caligiuri, Jim. "Uncle Tupelo: Anodyne". CMJ. Archived from the original on June 24, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
- ^ Schoemer, Karen (December 10, 1993). "Critic's Choice/Pop; Mending an Aching Heart". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
- ^ "Pazz & Jop 1993". The Village Voice. March 1, 1994. Archived from the original on July 16, 2007. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
- ^ "1993 Jahresabrechnung". Spex. January 1994. Archived from the original on February 21, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
- ^ "Århundrets album". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). December 28, 1999. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ Moon, Tom. "Anodyne". 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
- ^ Moon, Tom (April 8, 2003). "Uncle Tupelo: Anodyne". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
References
- ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Kot, Greg (2004). ISBN 0-7679-1558-5.
Further reading
- Beaugez, Jim (October 5, 2018). "Uncle Tupelo's 'Anodyne' at 25: An Oral History". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
External links
- Press release for Anodyne re-release, by Rhino Records, February 21, 2003.