No Depression (album)
No Depression | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 21, 1990 | |||
Recorded | January 21–31, 1990 | |||
Studio | Fort Apache South, Boston, MA | |||
Genre | Alternative country, country rock, alternative rock | |||
Length | 41:41 | |||
Label | Rockville | |||
Producer | Sean Slade, Paul Q. Kolderie | |||
Uncle Tupelo chronology | ||||
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No Depression is the first studio album by
No Depression was critically acclaimed and sold well for an
Background
The band discovered a musical niche around Washington University in St. Louis, where bands such as Brian Henneman's Chicken Truck performed in a similar style.[5] The trio recorded its first professional tracks in Champaign, Illinois with future Chicago punk producer Matt Allison. The demo tape, Not Forever, Just for Now, contained early versions of several songs that would later appear on their debut album, including "Train", "Whiskey Bottle", "Flatness", "Screen Door", and "Before I Break".[6]
That demo, as well as the band's rigorous touring schedule, attracted the attention of several music scouts. Record labels initially were wary of signing the band whom they perceived as straddling "the divide between the countrified punk of early 1980s such as
Recording
Six months before signing a full contract with Giant/Rockville, Uncle Tupelo recorded the tracks for No Depression over ten days in January 1990 at
Slade and Kolderie suggested that the band deemphasize the roots rock influences heard on Not Forever, Just for Now and convinced them to replace the harmonica parts with pedal steel guitar. For this, Slade and Kolderie recruited guitarist Rich Gilbert of Human Sexual Response for the recording.[10] The tracks were recorded using little overdubbing; only a few banjo and acoustic guitar parts were later added to the songs. At the suggestion of Slade and Kolderie, No Depression was recorded on eight-track, so "the music would compress and "jump" off the tape during playback".[3] The recording sessions occurred before Uncle Tupelo officially became affiliated with Giant Records, so there was little input from the label.[3]
Lyrically the songs reflected the band members' experiences growing up in Belleville. Farrar and Tweedy romanticized tales about unemployment, alcoholism, and the feeling of living in a small town in an effort to emulate the profundity of songwriters such as Woody Guthrie.[11] Musically, No Depression was influenced by the start-stop musical pattern of the Minutemen.[12] The cover of the album features a blurry photo of the band, taken by J. Hamilton, reminiscent of the albums released on Folkways Records.[13]
Promotion and reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [14] |
The A.V. Club | A−[15] |
The Guardian | [16] |
Mojo | [17] |
Pitchfork | 8.4/10[18] |
Q | [19] |
Record Collector | [20] |
Rolling Stone | [21] |
Spin | 8/10[22] |
Uncut | 9/10[23] |
No Depression was released by Rockville Records on June 21, 1990.
After the lawsuit with Tenenbaum, Farrar and Tweedy received the rights to their first three albums (including No Depression), which were previously held by Rockville. In 2003, Uncle Tupelo remastered and re-released No Depression with six bonus tracks through
No Depression is cited by
Track listing
Original release
All songs written by Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn except as indicated.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Graveyard Shift" | 4:43 | |
2. | "That Year" | Farrar, Tweedy | 2:59 |
3. | "Before I Break" | 2:48 | |
4. | " A.P. Carter[34] | 2:20 | |
5. | "Factory Belt" | 3:13 | |
6. | "Whiskey Bottle" | 4:46 | |
7. | "Outdone" | Farrar, Tweedy | 2:48 |
8. | "Train" | Tweedy | 3:19 |
9. | "Life Worth Livin'" | 3:32 | |
10. | "Flatness" | Tweedy | 2:58 |
11. | "So Called Friend" | Farrar | 3:12 |
12. | "Screen Door" | 2:42 | |
13. | "John Hardy" (CD only bonus track) | traditional, arr. Lead Belly | 2:21 |
Total length: | 41:41 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
14. | "Left in the Dark" | Draznik | 3:09 |
15. | "Won't Forget" | 2:51 | |
16. | "Sin City" | Parsons, Hillman | 3:53 |
17. | "Whiskey Bottle" (Live Acoustic) | 4:40 | |
18. | "No Depression" (1988 Demo) | A.P. Carter | 2:19 |
19. | "Blues Die Hard" (1987 Demo) | A.P. Carter | 4:08 |
2014 Legacy Edition
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Graveyard Shift" | 4:43 | |
2. | "That Year" | Farrar, Tweedy | 2:59 |
3. | "Before I Break" | 2:48 | |
4. | " A.P. Carter[34] | 2:20 | |
5. | "Factory Belt" | 3:13 | |
6. | "Whiskey Bottle" | 4:46 | |
7. | "Outdone" | Farrar, Tweedy | 2:48 |
8. | "Train" | Tweedy | 3:19 |
9. | "Life Worth Livin'" | 3:32 | |
10. | "Flatness" | Tweedy | 2:58 |
11. | "So Called Friend" | Farrar | 3:12 |
12. | "Screen Door" | 2:42 | |
13. | "John Hardy" | traditional, arr. Lead Belly | 2:21 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
14. | "Left in the Dark" | Draznik | 3:09 |
15. | "Won't Forget" | 2:51 | |
16. | "I Got Drunk" | 2:26 | |
17. | "Sin City" | Parsons, Hillman | 3:53 |
18. | "Whiskey Bottle" (Live Acoustic) | 4:40 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Outdone" (1989 Demo) | 2:57 |
2. | "That Year" (1989 Demo) | 3:14 |
3. | "Whiskey Bottle" (1989 Demo) | 4:55 |
4. | "Flatness" (1989 Demo) | 3:24 |
5. | "I Got Drunk" (1989 Demo) | 3:07 |
6. | "Before I Break" (1989 Demo) | 2:44 |
7. | "Life Worth Living" (1989 Demo) | 3:25 |
8. | "Train" (1989 Demo) | 3:31 |
9. | "Graveyard Shift" (1989 Demo) | 4:58 |
10. | "Screen Door" (1989 Demo) | 2:46 |
11. | "No Depression" (1988 Demo) | 2:18 |
12. | "Blues Die Hard" (1987 Demo) | 4:08 |
13. | "Before I Break" (1987 Cassette Demo) | 3:11 |
14. | "I Got Drunk" (1987 Cassette Demo) | 2:55 |
15. | "Screen Door" (1987 Cassette Demo) | 2:23 |
16. | "Blues Die Hard" (1987 Cassette Demo) | 4:00 |
17. | "Pickle River" (1987 Cassette Demo) | 2:18 |
- Tracks 1-10 from 1989 demo tape "Not Forever, Just for Now", tracks 11-12 from 1988 demo tape "Live & Otherwise", and tracks 13-17 from 1987 demo tape "Colorblind and Rhymeless".
Personnel
- Uncle Tupelo
- Jay Farrar – vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, harmonica
- Mike Heidorn – drums, cymbals
- Jeff Tweedy – vocals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar
- Additional personnel
- Rich Gilbert – pedal steel guitar
- J. Hamilton – photography
- sound effects
- Sean Slade – production, piano, engineering, background vocals
Notes
- College Media Journal. November 10, 2000. Archived from the originalon June 24, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2008.
- ^ Kot 2004, p. 10
- ^ a b c d e f g h Heidorn, Mike (2003). No Depression re-issue liner notes. Legacy Recordings.
- ^ Dechert, S. Renee (April 22, 2002). "Uncle Tupelo 89/93: Anthology". PopMatters. Retrieved October 18, 2008.
- ^ Kot 2004, pp. 29–30
- ^ a b Kot 2004, p. 38
- ^ Pick, Steve (July 5, 1990). "Uncle Tupelo: From Belleville to Rockville". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- ^ Kot 2004, p. 41
- ^ Kot 2004, p. 43
- ^ a b Kot 2004, p. 44
- ^ Kot 2004, p. 42
- ^ Kot 2004, pp. 36–37
- ^ a b c Kot 2004, p. 48
- ^ a b c Ankeny, Jason. "No Depression – Uncle Tupelo". AllMusic. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
- ^ Zaleski, Annie (January 28, 2014). "24 years later, does No Depression live up to its reputation?". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Bakare, Lanre (December 11, 2014). "Uncle Tupelo: No Depression – Legacy Edition review – pioneering alt-country landmark". The Guardian. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
- ^ Cameron, Keith (April 2014). "Uncle Tupelo: No Depression". Mojo. No. 245.
- ^ a b Petrusich, Amanda (January 30, 2014). "Uncle Tupelo: No Depression: Legacy Edition". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ^ "Uncle Tupelo: No Depression". Q. No. 207. October 2003. p. 131.
- ^ Minihane, Joe (March 2014). "No Depression: Legacy Edition | Uncle Tupelo". Record Collector. No. 425. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Hermes, Will (January 28, 2014). "No Depression: Legacy Edition". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
- ^ Menconi, David (January 23, 2014). "Uncle Tupelo's 'No Depression' Reissue Fetes a Hard-Luck Classic That Birthed a Whole Genre". Spin. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Torn, Luke (February 26, 2014). "Uncle Tupelo – No Depression: The Legacy Edition". Uncut. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Kot 2004, p. 72
- ^ Kot 2004, p. 52
- ^ Mundy, Chris (March 19, 1992). "Still Feel Gone : Uncle Tupelo : Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 3, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
- ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
- ^ Moon, Tom (May 1, 2003). "Uncle Tupelo: No Depression". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
- ^ Shea, Eric. "Uncle Tupelo—Alt Country—Country—Music". RealNetworks. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
- ^ "No Depression: Surveying the Past, Present, and Future of American Music". No Depression. Archived from the original on February 24, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- )
- ^ "Genre: Alternative Country-Rock". AllMusic. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
- ^ "Music Profiles—Uncle Tupelo". BBC. Archived from the original on June 11, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
- ^ A.P. Carter, a book by Bill C. Malone attributes the song to James David Vaughan (see "No Depression in Heaven").
- ISBN 0-7679-1558-5.
External links
- No Depression liner notes (2003 reissue) from factorybelt.net