Customer Reviews

March 16-20 1992

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a fine roots album if ever there was one. Before Wilco, before Son Volt, there was Uncle Tupelo. And of all the Uncle Tupelo discs, this, in my mind, stands supreme. The songs alternate vocals between Jeff Tweedy and Jar Farrar. Farrar, in his preacher's baritone, tends to sing more politically oriented songs, songs of the early twentieth century, socialist songs focusing on coal miners unionizing or the ills of capitalism on the small man. Farrar's version of Moonshiner is like a priceless relic suspended in amber. Tweedy (his voice sounds younger and more contemporary than Farrar) also tackles some good old Americana in "I wish my Baby was Born" and "Satan, Your Kingdom must Come Down." Overall Tweedy leans more toward the personal and emotional while Farrar seems more comfortable with traditional ballads. Most of the songs are traditional tunes - folk songs, blues songs, spirituals. The guitar work is strong, with both men playing acoustic to fill out the sound. On some songs there are mandolin and violin - but it's really an acoustic guitar driven record. The band does a superb job of capturing the timelessness of the older music, and does well to blend their tunes with such a venerable canon. This is folk music as it was meant to be - raw, intense, masculine, topical. There is nothing cheesy on this record - and "Atomic Power" is probably the standout cut on the disc. Buy this music - you won't be disappointed - I guarantee!

That is a huge claim, but I believe, backed up by this remarkable album. It is at once timeless and immediate. It can be seen a story cycle, a classic look at America, as it starts with a man describing his working conditions as brutal and hopeless -"Grindstone"- and proceeds to depict scenes of madness, murder, undying love and biblical damnation. However, the album ends on a hopeful note with the song "Wipe the Clock" which suggests that there is redemption for all of us. This album is both a scathing critique of american gangster capitalism, the death penalty, nuclear power, but also believes in the healing power of love. The music is very spare, stripped down to bare bones acoustic, but is still some of the most haunting music ever put to wax. A very American album, you can hear all the musical echoes from the Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, to anybody whoever sat on his front porch and plucked out a blues; from a Kentucky back holler to the Mississippi Delta. If anybody ever asked me to name a list of albums that most represented and reflected our country, this album would rank high on that list.

Buy It.

Watershed release from seminal rockers come crooners come whatever. Produced by R.E.M' s Peter Buck, March... sees Jay and Jeff respectively trading blows of genius. Highlights include Farrar's protest ditty "Grindstone" and Tweedys brooding "Black Eye" but perhaps most significantly the two combine on this record for unbelievable results. Most notably the breathtaking "Moonshiner" and the instrumental "Sandusky". A classic in every sense of the word. The re release features early demos of "Grindstone" and "Atomic Power" as well as a live version of "Moonshiner".

If all this CD contained was "Fatal Wound", "Sandusky", "Wipe The Clock" and the live version of "Moonshiner", it'd still be worth what Amazon wants for it and then some...

Throw in all the other tracks here, and you have a killer CD that you'll play over and over and over (like I am as I type this review).

I don't know exactly why I like Uncle Tupelo so much, but I do. I think it's just such good music, great lyrics, talented musicians that play "raw" enough for my tastes (no major overdubs or polishing", but whatever it is I love it and I just wish they had made 10 more CDs of equal quality. The other 3 are equally as good, each in their own way, but I still need more!

The other three Uncle Tupelo albums each have some good songs, but don't really hold together that well as records. "March" does, beautifully. Recording at a crossroads in music history when underground bands were getting mainstream radio airplay, Uncle Tupelo's popularity might have exploded if they had stayed where they were for "Still Feel Gone." This is one case, however, where you'd rather not think about the might-have-beens, as this album, all acoustic and roughly half traditional folk covers, is one of the rare albums that nearly defines "rocking." Tweedy is at his finest with the simple, sadly meditative "Black Eye," and Farrar contributes "Criminals," a song with a social conscience that manages to not seem dated. The folk songs are all beautiful, and the instrumental "Sandusky" is flawlessly executed. Though recorded in the short span of time noted in the album title with only acoustic instruments, this album manages at once to be timeless and to be eminently of its own time.

Uncle Tupelo went unplugged on their brilliant third album, March 16-20, 1992. Produced by R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, the album features six cover songs of mostly traditional folk music. The band's signature sound is stripped down to the skeletal remains of acoustic guitars with a dash of percussion and strings. The songs have on overt political nature and the band throws in some religion as well. The overall starkness of the album recalls Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska. Unlike that album which found Mr. Springsteen singing from a first person point of view, Uncle Tupelo act as troubadours, telling the tales of the downtrodden. The album shows the band's versatility and Mr. Buck's subtle production is first-rate.

I love this album. Most people are familiar with the story of Uncle Tupelo, and how they branched off to form two great bands, Wilco and Son Volt. This disc captures Tupelo at thier finest. The whole disc has a live type feel to it. It is a mystery why this disc has not been elevated to classic status. Maybe if the music industry wasnt so concerned with the flavor of the week, this disc would be more widely played. If your a fan of music with some heart and soul to it, you will like this disc.

This is by far my favorite Uncle Tupelo album because this is the album that best shows Uncle Tupelo's folk influence. This album has a perfect blend of original songs, and traditional songs the band learned from a Missouri folk compilation tape they heard. Its also good to see a CD that has worthwhile liner notes. The liner notes explain the band's background and the inspirations for the album, which makes for interesting reading for any Uncle Tupelo fan. Out of all the Farrar/Tweedy albums, I rank this one second only to "Trace".

I was a Tupelo fan from the early 90s, and bought the cassette at about the time it came out, somewhere around 1992 or 1993. Until I looked up this finding on Amazon, I didn't realize that this album was so hard to find. (Maybe the new Uncle Tupelo anthology "89/93" will include some of these tracks.)

The first two albums by Tupelo -- "No Depression" and "Still Feel Gone" -- do incorporate some bluegrass and acoustic music, but there is a really big guitar sound that almost sounds like "country metal". It's not a swipe at their credibility (the lyrics and the spirit of the albums are fine), but in the early 90s, there really wasn't a place to categorize this type of music. But if you want to understand the context between the sonic tempest of "Still Feel Gone" and the alt-country landmark of "Anodyne", this CD of half-traditional, half-original numbers will explain a lot.

With "March 16-20, 1992", it's almost like their unofficial unplugged album. The tone-down in volume doesn't take away from the power of the album. Some other reviewers have commented on the traditional songs they cover, but there are three killer tracks that (if I recall correctly) are originals that give the album a heart all its own.

On the first side is "Shaky Ground", one of the most resonating and textually complex songs you'll hear out of only a singer (Jay) and his guitar, accompanied by a bottleneck guitar at the end.

On the second side is a double-shot. The first is "Fatal Wound", where Jeff sings the lament of someone whose barstool fate has been sealed long before he/she realizes it. This dire song is then followed by an instrumental -- "Sandusky" -- that has the breath of life within it. After all of the depressing nature of the songs preceding it, the song is like a curtain opening to the sunlight.

For an album that might have been categorized as a tribute to their roots, "March 16-20, 1992" serves a purpose far beyond that premise, and deserves attention even today.

Recorded over a five day period in Athens under the production guidance of Peter Buck, this is one of the true acoustic masterpieces of all time. (I would also highly recommend "The Good Earth" by the feelies - another P.Buck produced record). What passes for alt-country these days cannot compare to this seminal effort.

The Jayhawks, Whiskeytowns, and even the two UT spinoffs can learn a lot from the simplistic beauty of this music.

Excellent.