Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne

does not live up to the praise.

2.50 out of 5 stars.

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.
June 3, 2008

Good Album, But Doesn't Quite Meet My Lofty Expectations

I discovered Son Volt and Wilco in the last year or so and really love both of them. 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.

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. February 13, 2007

A cure for all depression

Depending on what dictionary you use, you'll find different defintions for the word "anodyne."
One says "anodyne" means "a cure for all depression."
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. October 10, 2005

Looks Brand New!

The item arrived promptly and in better condition than promised. THANK YOU! September 17, 2005

The essence of the 90s alt-country movement

Anodyne catches Uncle Tupelo at their zenith. At that moment when a band realizes their potential just before the wheels come off. Each of these songs have much too offer. "Acuff-Rose", "We've Been Had", the Doug Sahm cover "Give Back the Key to My Heart" are the highlights of a cd full of gems. Buy this record, turn it to 11, pour a glass of bourbon of your choice, and become a part of the greatest American alt-country band doing what they do best. July 16, 2005

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