Anodyne (album)

Anodyne (album)

Anodyne is the fourth and final studio album by alternative country band Uncle Tupelo, released on October 5, 1993. The band signed with Sire Records shortly before recording the album. Anodyne featured a split in songwriting credits between singers Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, plus a cover version of the Doug Sahm song “Give Back the Key to My Heart”, with Sahm on vocals.

About Anodyne (album) in brief

Summary Anodyne (album)Anodyne is the fourth and final studio album by alternative country band Uncle Tupelo, released on October 5, 1993. The band signed with Sire Records shortly before recording the album. Anodyne featured a split in songwriting credits between singers Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, plus a cover version of the Doug Sahm song “Give Back the Key to My Heart”, with Sahm on vocals. The lyrical themes were influenced by country music and—more than their preceding releases—touched on interpersonal relationships. After two promotional tours for the album, tensions between Farrars and Tweedy culminated in the breakup of Uncle Tupelos. The recording of the album was preceded by the departure of the original drummer Mike Heidorn and the addition of three new band members: bassist John Stirratt, drummer Ken Coomer, and multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston. The album was recorded from May to June 1993 at Cedar Creek studio in Austin, Texas. It was re-mastered and re-released in 2003 by Rhino Entertainment including five bonus tracks.

The now-expanded lineup inspired Tweedy to spend more time with his bandmates. The new material was credited to both songwriters, though all the new songwriters were credited on the album and Farrarrar wrote six of the songs on the songwriters’ version of “Give Back The Key To My Heart” The band’s third album, March 16–20, 1992, was released through Rockville Records on August 3, 1992. On the release, the band eschewed the growing popularity of alternative rock by playing acoustic folk and country songs “as a big ‘fuck you’ to the rock scene”. Because it was an acoustic album, heidorn added only brush-stroke percussion on a few songs. On March 16, 1992 the band embarked on the European segment of the promotional tour for March 16 – 20, 1992 as the opening act for Sugar. After six months, Bill Belzer was dismissed from the band after six months.