March 16–20, 1992
By Uncle Tupelo
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Track listing
Show track credits
- 1 Grindstone 3:16
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writer
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- 2 Coalminers 2:33
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writer
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- 3 Wait Up 2:09
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writer
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banjo
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feedback
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- 4 Criminals 2:20
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writer
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- 5 Shaky Ground 2:49
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writer
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bouzouki
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bass
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- 6 Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down 1:53
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bouzouki
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writer
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- 7 Black Eye 2:19
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writer
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guitar
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- 8 Moonshiner 4:23
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guitar
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writer
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- 9 I Wish My Baby Was Born 1:39
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writer
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- 10 Atomic Power 1:51
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writer
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writer
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Buddy Bainwriter
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- 11 Lilli Schull 5:15
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slide guitar
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writer
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- 12 Warfare 3:43
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writer
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- 13 Fatal Wound 4:09
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writer
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bass
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- 14 Sandusky 3:43
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writer
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writer
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pedal steel guitar, banjo
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- 15 Wipe the Clock 2:36
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writer
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- Total length: 44:38
Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
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5 Issues
- Release view [combined information for all issues]
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March 16-20, 1992 Bonus Tracks, Remastered
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March 16–20, 1992 Bonus Tracks, Remastered
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March 16-20, 1992 180 gram, 33 rpm, Exclusive, Remastered
25 Reviews
this has been burning in my back catalog for years, probably. Just never really felt compelled to listen before, and now that i am i realize it's in my collection because this is Wilco-adjacent. But (surprisingly) pleasantly this isn't very evidently Wilco-adjacent; had i not read the credits list i dunno if i'd even realized Tweedy had any hand in this. Instead i'm rather captivated by Jay Farrar's gravelly vocals accompanying this blissfully simple, down to earth band. Granted, nothing is especially spectacular here, but it's surprisingly endearing and easy to get lost in.
Published
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Ah yes, the acoustic one. This is where I think Uncle Tupe may get a little too big for their britches. Songs like "Coalminers" are really hard for me to buy into. Sure Jay Fararr has the perfect voice for this style, but he's still a kid from the suburbs of Chicago. Not exactly speaking from personal experience now are we Jay. Not that that's bad, but the lyrics to this song are so "personally informed" and I just can't buy it. Yeah fuck capitalism dog but I know Jay has never seen the inside of a coal mine. Even Tweedy gets caught up in a little bit of this pretentious overstep on "Satan, You Kingdom Must Come Down" and "I Wish My Baby Was Born". They are just so out of place compared to the Tweedy cuts that would come later.
This isn't one of those "punk isn't political" reviews, but the band was much better off letting their music carry the social messages of their songs and having their lyrics provide emotion/relatability. Obviously "Anodyne" would go and surpass all of this anyways. This album is just a little too up its own ass imo. However it is saved by the excellence of "Moonshiner" and "Sandusky".
Oh "Sandusky".
That track is 4 minutes of acoustic instrumental bliss. No wonder it's on Spotify's "Songs to Test Headphones With" playlist. It's literally amazing and an all time favorite of mine.
I am pretty hard on this record but it's not bad really, the other songs are average but I wouldn't say I hate any of the tracks. This will be the one I come back to the least out of the four though.
This isn't one of those "punk isn't political" reviews, but the band was much better off letting their music carry the social messages of their songs and having their lyrics provide emotion/relatability. Obviously "Anodyne" would go and surpass all of this anyways. This album is just a little too up its own ass imo. However it is saved by the excellence of "Moonshiner" and "Sandusky".
Oh "Sandusky".
That track is 4 minutes of acoustic instrumental bliss. No wonder it's on Spotify's "Songs to Test Headphones With" playlist. It's literally amazing and an all time favorite of mine.
I am pretty hard on this record but it's not bad really, the other songs are average but I wouldn't say I hate any of the tracks. This will be the one I come back to the least out of the four though.
Published
Uncle Tupelo's folk record, reported recorded as a deliberate "fuck you" to the West-coast alt scene that had blown up since the release of Still Feel Gone, and which the band sought to distance themselves from. The tracks here are about half original and half reworkings of existing, traditional tracks. There's just about no electric guitar of any kind (and almost no percussion) on the record, and this is definitely the kind of album that a serious lover of Americana and the modern folk scene should check out.
A lot of people really like this, as witnessed by the fact that it's the highest ranked Uncle Tupelo album on here, but I dunno, something about this is a bit off to me. They're good songs n all, but with so much of this being traditional you're not going to see me rating this any higher than the first two.
A lot of people really like this, as witnessed by the fact that it's the highest ranked Uncle Tupelo album on here, but I dunno, something about this is a bit off to me. They're good songs n all, but with so much of this being traditional you're not going to see me rating this any higher than the first two.
Published
Peter buck takes over production duties and jay farrar in particular seems to be on a woody guthrie trip firing out a fair amount of protest folk song with impressive vim whilst the band leave behind the electric guitars and drums for acoustic sounds augmented with pedal steel,mandolin,fiddle and banjo from other players.
Among the grim subject matter of many of the songs are a couple of louvin brothers covers and some real nice songs from tweedy including the jaunty 'wait up' 'black eye' and his americana instrumental 'sandusky'. The album is a good listen but the mix between the 2 styles starts to jar a little before the end.
The tension between the farrar and tweedy was becoming more evident in and out of the studio (rarely collaborating on songwriting) and whilst tweedy was enjoying working with different players and learning from them (and gradually assembling the earliest incarnation of wilco into the process) farrar was feeling more and more isolated.
Among the grim subject matter of many of the songs are a couple of louvin brothers covers and some real nice songs from tweedy including the jaunty 'wait up' 'black eye' and his americana instrumental 'sandusky'. The album is a good listen but the mix between the 2 styles starts to jar a little before the end.
The tension between the farrar and tweedy was becoming more evident in and out of the studio (rarely collaborating on songwriting) and whilst tweedy was enjoying working with different players and learning from them (and gradually assembling the earliest incarnation of wilco into the process) farrar was feeling more and more isolated.
Published
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I really don't see the appeal of this record at all,the first two records where great and full of good rockers, but this is just boring as hell acoustic folk country dirge with the intolerable "Lilli Schull" being one of the most depressing and boring songs I have ever heard which seemed to go on forever as did the whole record,also Tweedy's songs outshine Farrar's on here which was a surprise for me as although I love both vocalist, Farrar is usually the more interesting one but there is no indication of that on here,a very disappointing release for me.
Published
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1
Grindstone
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2
Coalminers
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3
Wait Up
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4
Criminals
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5
Shaky Ground
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6
Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down
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7
Black Eye
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8
Moonshiner
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9
I Wish My Baby Was Born
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10
Atomic Power
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11
Lilli Schull
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12
Warfare
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13
Fatal Wound
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14
Sandusky
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15
Wipe the Clock
The tracks all flow strongly together, but I feel that the songs with Jeff Tweedy on lead vocals are definitely the album's strongest points. Simple and elegant tunes like "Wait Up", "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down", "Black Eye", "Warfare", and "Fatal Wound" are sure to please both Wilco fans and fans of traditional country and folk music alike.
Published
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1 Grindstone
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2 Coalminers
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3 Wait Up
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4 Criminals
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5 Shaky Ground
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6 Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down
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7 Black Eye
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8
Moonshiner
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9 I Wish My Baby Was Born
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10 Atomic Power
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11 Lilli Schull
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12 Warfare
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13 Fatal Wound
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14
Sandusky
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15 Wipe the Clock
I mean, seriously "dirty capitalist system"? It doesn't even end up fitting into the meter.
Published
The more I listen to this record the more I know it's Tupelo's best.
Published
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