Customer Reviews

89/93: An Anthology

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The late, great Uncle Tupelo is not an easy band to anthologize, certainly not on a single disc. They had no radio hits, and quite simply too many great songs to choose from. Throw in the fact that they had two first rate, but seperate and distinct songwriting talents and the task becomes even more daunting. I purchased this CD because it contains seven tracks that are not on Uncle Tupelo's original four albums (of which I own all). The previously unavailable on album cuts include "Outdone," "I Got Drunk," "Sauget Wind;" cover tracks "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and Effigy; an alternative accoustic version of "Looking for a Way Out" and a live version of "We've Been Had."

Of the rest, some are truly among UT's best songs, including "No Depression," "Screen Door," "Still Be Around," "The Long Cut" and "Fatal Wound." But where are "Postcard," "Shaky Ground," "Key to My Heart," and "If That's Alright"? They are all better than some of the selections that were included.

Nitpicking aside, Uncle Tupelo was the 1990s version of the Velvet Underground, a cult band that broke new ground for many other (more popular) artists to follow. Bandmates Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy have been trying to live up to UT's high standards ever since, with mixed success. According to the liner notes, plans are in the works to re-release all four original albums with bonus tracks. This is a good thing, because all of Uncle Tupelo's music deserves to be heard.

At the risk of being branded a heretic, I will venture the opinion that not everything this incredibly influential band touched turned to gold, so a well-chosen greatest hits package is just the thing for novices and the curious, and that's exactly what this album is.

The songs are presented in a basically chronological order, so you can trace the band's development over the course of their four albums. Each album is represented with multiple songs, and the B-sides and rarities aren't just collector bait, they easily merit a place on the record--especially "Sauget Wind" and a wonderful cover of the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog." I could take or leave the live version of "We've Been Had," however--the album track (from Anodyne) would have been a better choice.

Still, 89/93 is a good value and a great introduction to one of the better bands of the 90's. The album tracks are well-chosen, I'm glad that the rarities are generally available, and the liner notes are well worth a read. I would not hesitate to recommend this as the UT album to buy to anyone who was going to buy only one UT album, and isn't that the ultimate test of a greatest-hits package?

I hearily agree with the reviewer who commented that that this was one of the greatest anthologies he ever bought. To have a collection of twenty one songs written by the modern geniuses Jeff Tweedy and Jay Ferrar is indeed quite a treat. As you probably know, Uncle Tupelo was responsible for starting and stimulating the 'alt-country' genre that is so oftenly mentioned today. Countless bands try to mimic and recreate this sound, but very few have gotten the sound right like Uncle Tupelo did. The formula was a combination of country mountain twang, punk rock energy and an earnest, heartfelt delivery. Uncle Tupelo had this methodology down to a tee, and the resultant songs are proof thereof. On 89/93, eleven of the songs are Jay's, and ten are Jeff's. Although it was implied that this was more Jay's band, I think that Jeff wrote the best songs. 'Black Eye' is one of the most beautiful songs the band ever recorded. The cover of Iggy Pop's 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' is just flat out awesome. Fatal Wound is a great but infinitely sad song that foreshadows Jeff's mastery of melancholy on his Wilco albums Being There and Summerteeth. The last track, 'We've Been Had', is amazing too. Jeff sang with all the passion of a disillusioned twentysome year old with absolutely no where to go, and I think that wandering enthusiasm is what this band showed best. It's probably obvious by now that I prefer Tweedy and Wilco over Ferrar and Son Volt, but Jay was the founder of this band, and he wrote a number of incredible songs too. 'I Got Drunk' is so plain, but it's so good and so true. 'Looking For A Way Out' is a beautiful acoustic number that further illustrated how these guys were ramblin' men. And the wonderful 'Sauget Wind' is as pretty of a song as you'll hear anywhere. These guys made indispensable music, and 89/93 chronicles their greatness wonderfully. I recommend this to all listeners.

...or sometimes you would have to say punk-folk, or somewhere in between.

I first heard this in a record shop, immediately bought it and have played the bejesus out of it ever since. If you appreciate American acoustic folk mixed together with a hard electric feedback edge and some thought provoking lyrics - then you'll love UT. I have never heard such a unique blend of sound as these guys have produced, and its a shame that Farrar and Tweedy split. My favorites are: Whiskey Bottle - which contrasts Liquor & Guns vs. Jesus; Sauget Wind - depicting the cancerous cost of our consumer oriented society; and Still Be Around - love vs. drink. I know UT is placed in the "Alt-Country" genre, but to my ears they are definitely more folk than country - especially most of the songs on Anthology.

I have since gotten all of the other UT CDs, as they have all been re-issued and are widely available now. Without a doubt the best one is Anodyne, and the title track of this CD should have been on the Anthology. But don't despair, go out and get it as well. And maybe, someday, Farrar and Tweedy will hook up again!

what a one disc anthology should be!
great choice picks made by the founders themselves.
not a bad song in the bag!
this one covers all their true best and then some you might've missed.
I was really taken by the 1989 demo of Outdone. the flow of the song is the best I have ever heard it before!
every song is given a different feel than the albums gave. WHAT! you ask. the different song order I say. this disc as a whole feels really good all the way through. the album releases cut the songs open with a sharp intense blade showing the center meat of UT. 100% pure..........

if you are a new or old fan of UT then this is a great disc to have. it's a whole new experience and a great introduction.

Where can I start? Uncle Tupelo's raucus guitars grind. Uncle Tupelo's folk picking rolls flawlessly. Uncle Tupelo's songwriting, music, and sound are legendary. It's often said that anyone who's ever been into them formed a band. It's true. The trip down our rich religious and folk musical paths are refreshing, as are the louder trips down the electric highway. They can have you dancing one minute (The Long Cut) and then weeping bitterly (Fatal Wound) without even knowing why. Anyone who's ever lived in Nowhere, USA will feel this music. It's a damn shame they're gone, but Wilco and Son Volt keep the flame alive. Thanks, guys.

Welcome to `The Movement'

Appropriately enough, Uncle Tupelo were my introduction to the altenative country movement of the 90s, though I didn't actually hear them until the 00s. Influenced by an alternative music guide, I spent a few minutes downloading a copy of UT's debut, No Depression - boy do I miss that ethernet connection I had back in Jersey. At first, I couldn't tell what I thought of UT - I am first and foremost a metal fan after all. Only "Whiskey Bottle" grabbed me immediately. But over the next few months, I came to appreciate that entire weird little country-punk record more and more. Next, I moved on to the Drive-By Truckers whose Southern Rock Opera immediately captured the heart and mind of this wild-eyed southern boy. By the time I got to Son Volt, Wilco, and the Bottle Rockets, there was no turning back. In the space of a few short months, I'd become a full-fledged alt-country fan.

Truth be told, country music was a substantial part of my life when I was a child. Until I was in my teens, I remember country music playing on the radio at the breakfast table, blasting out of the garage, and emanating from the car radio. My dad was a fan of 70s country artists like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt. It was a time when country wasn't the syrupy goo that drips out of Nashville these days and as much as I tried to resist it at the time, it seems to have had an effect on my musical tastes. How else can I explain my high school fondness for Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Eagles and other country tinged rock acts? At some point late in the 80s, my dad became disgusted by what country music had become with its new emphasis on style over substance, and suddenly deserted country to return to the music of his youth (what we call oldies today).

A decade later, I would become disgusted by what was happening in the American metal scene I had been part of for nearly 15 years. Rap-metal had risen to supremacy and outside of a few isolated acts like Brooklyn's Type O Negative, the U.S. metal scene had become a barren wasteland (though metal still thrives to this day in Europe - check out Paradise Lost, Moonspell, and Opeth if you don't believe me). In any case, I needed a supplement to carry me through until the rap-metal boom in America passed. About a year ago, I finally found the perfect supplement: alt-country. And it was Uncle Tupelo who got the ball rolling for me.

The breakup of most great bands is generally a cause for consternation and hand-wringing (you should have seen the girls in my junior high school the day the Police called it quits), and I'm sure the handful of UT adherents out there at the time of their dissolution were heartbroken. Luckily, however, the bands that rose from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo all became alt-country legends in their own right. Jay Farrar formed Son Volt and quickly recorded one of "the movement's" greatest masterpieces (Trace). Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco, a band that has produced classic albums with stunning regularity over the past 8 years. Even UT's guitar tech and sometime guitarist, Brian Henneman, went on to form a top-notch country/southern rock band, the Bottle Rockets, who released one of the best (and most criminally overlooked) albums of the 90s, The Brooklyn Side. It's nothing short of astonishing that so many great bands were spawned from a single act.

Of course, if you sit down with Anthology and a couple bottles of IBC, you'll start to understand how Uncle Tupelo could have given birth to so many significant bands. Including songs from their 4 studio albums plus several previously unreleased rarities, Anthology is a near perfect introduction to what UT were trying to achieve with their pioneering fusion of country and punk rock. After exposure to Anthology, you'll find yourself coveting old UT albums the way Gollum covets that Ring. Trouble is, Gollum has a better chance of getting his hands back on the Ring than you do of landing one of those old UT albums (other than Anodyne which is bizarrely available for under [$$] - buy it now!) for less than [$$] bucks. Fortunately, there are rumors floating around that by March, reissues of the early UT albums will appear on the market. If so, you may want to spend some of your cash on Anthology and Anodyne today and save the rest for those reissues. Uncle Tupelo were a very special band and I suggest you find a place in your life for them if they aren't in it already.

This is really the band that launched a million bands. I've never spent a whole lot of time listening to UT's early stuff, although I own it all. Someone did a great job of picking through it and putting a lot of great stuff together... a great UT mix tape. I still think Anodyne was their finest hour, but there is a lot here to recommend it, even if you already have the original issues. The acoustic version of looking for a way out is very cool, that was always one of my favorite UT songs, but I always preferred the acoustic stuff myself.
My only quibble is with the choices from Anodyne... no "Key to My Heart"??? Anyway, you should have that whole album anyway. I've been listening to this ever since I got it, it never quite has the impact of a five star CD, but I can't stop listening to it. Maybe it's just knowing what was coming next...
My wish would have been for a reunion track. Come on, just one song, guys? Both your bands are breaking up. The time is now.

This new "greatest hits" package by Columbia Legacy is a great collection of Uncle Tupelo highlights from their too- short career. Clocking in at 71- plus minutes and containing 21 tracks, it's a great comprehensive overview of their entire catalog. The real treasures here, though, are the assorted seven- inch singles, alternate versions and b-sides scattered throughout. The remixed versions of "I Got Drunk" and "Sauget Wind" are a great improvement to the sound quality of the original seven- inches, and a treat to those who have yet to hear them. Equally great is the unrealeased Still Feel Gone track "I Wanna Be Your Dog", which shines through a brilliant arrangement and a haunting harmony vocal between Jay and Jeff.
If there is any downside, it's the admission of the agressively powerful "Postcard" and the many assorted b- sides and unreleased live tracks out there among collectors. The inclusion of the No Alternative version of "Effigy" is a bit of a downside, as the live version from the 1993 Lounge Ax show is a brilliant representation of the tune and would have made a great closing track to this collection. Also, the live cut of "We've Been Had" seems like a poor choice, as the studio version holds up much better. A good replacement would have been the racuous live version of "Truck Drivin' Man" from the Five Live E.P. Hopefully, though, much more will come out with the album re-issues, but this collection is a great introduction to all.
Lastly, it should be noted that the packaging is as great as the cd itself. Finally UT fans get an explanation about what happened to break up the band from the band members themselves. There are great early photos dating all the way back to The Primitives and many wonderfully written comments and perspectives from all involved in their career. Pick this up! A must have all the way around!

Everything about this release is perfect. I remember first hearing Uncle Tupelo in 1990 when I was a senior at Belleville West High School. It was a great ride watching this band grow. I remember hanging up the wonderful review of Still Feel Gone from Rolling Stone magazine years ago. Reading the liner notes and listening to the songs was like journeying back into time. I am very proud of these guys. From the opening notes of No Depression to the last notes of hearing them live this album is a true gem. A must for any true fan. Watch for the upcoming reissued releases as well.