"Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne"

My understanding of alt-country, or "cowpunk" as it is alternately known, comes mostly from listening to the Old 97s. My assumption was that they were pretty indicative of the punk/country combination musical style. Uncle Tupelo proves this assumption wrong.

I think there are basically two approaches to the style now--from the punk/rock side, and from the country side. The Old 97s clearly start with a base of punk and rock and graft country and twange onto that base. They are essentially a pop-rock band with twange, punk rockers playing country like punk rock. Once in awhile, they play a straight country tune or straight pop tune.

On the other side of the equation is Uncle Tupelo, which approaches from the direction of country music with punk aesthetics. Starting from a country base, the members of this band grafted a punk mindset and lyrical themes onto country music, occasionally bursting forth in a punk-like flurry of instrumentation and energy, but they add things like fiddles and pedal steel guitars to the mix.

Anodyne was Uncle Tupelo's fourth and last album, released in 1993. It's the perfect synthesis of classic country & western in the tradition of Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Waylan Jennings, and even folks like Roy Acuff, coupled with a Rolling Stones swagger and CCR gut-bucket stomp rock.

The album opens with a pair of simple country tunes, one from Jay Fararr and the other from Jeff Tweedy. Both are beautiful and spare, relying on minimal but evocative instrumentation (mostly guitars, fiddle, bass, and light percussion). Then the album shifts gears into a pair of excellent rock tunes--Tweedy's "The Long Cut" and a cover tune led by Fararr.

From there, the music just keeps getting better and better, weaving straight country tunes with country-rock. The album was essentially recorded live in the studio with a bare minimum of overdubs, so the instrumentation remains basic. Guitar, bass, and drums make up the primary sonic components, though pedal and lap steel and fiddle are also prominent throughout. The live in the studio tact means that the vocals are sometimes a little too muddled and buried in the mix, but not too deep. The band featured here--led by Tweedy and Fararr--essentially became Wilco after Uncle Tupelo broke up, with Fararr leaving to focus on solo work and a new band, Son Volt. You can hear the beginnings of Wilco in Tweedy's songs on Anodyne. Many of his rockers sound as though they would fit on Wilco's debut, A.M.

The special edition of the album (which is what you'll most likely find in stores anymore) offers a wonderful assortment of added goodies--a brief essay in the booklet talking about the band's evolution and the recording of the album, and a handful of bonus tracks (two live covers, including "Suzi Q" and a Merle Haggard song about Nashville, "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?") which are fun and revealing.

Overall, this is a great album. The strength of the country side of the band surprised me at first, but the music is good enough that it transcends genre. Only the best music manages that, and Uncle Tupelo pull the trick off.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Uncle Tupelo, "The Long Cut"