Search - Various Artists :: For Anyone That's Listening: A Tribute to Uncle Tupelo

Torture "For anyone that's listening"

J. Bosiljevac | 06/09/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Excited to see that there was a tribute to perhaps one of the wonderfully paridoxical, rough edged yet heartfelt Uncle Tupelo, I listened to this album with eager ears. All they were greeted by was a sappy watered down redition of "Graveyard Shift", which fell dangerously short of any artist integrity or imagination the original version held. When listening to a tribute album the listener is supposed to be delighted in the spin different bands place on the song they are covering and what it adds to the song as a whole. Here it seems that the bands find some perverse pleasure in stripping these songs of anything interesting. For the most part it's as if they just played the songs slower, if you don't heed this warning and buy it, listen cause every song is slower. It wouldn't be bad if they did it well but considering that they don't, it's just pathetic and creepy. Uncle Tupelo derserves better than this. If you've never heard Uncle Tupelo and you are interested in the band which was said to have the power to blow you away and cry into your beer at the same show, buy any one of their albums (Anodyne being the most accesible to a new listener, March 16-20 the most heartfelt, Still Feel Gone the best fusion of poppy rock and country to this day, and No Depression the classic debut--dripping with feeling and power), you won't find anything worth listening to here. If you like trashy drivel, buy this right away. As for the Uncle Tupelo fans, buy this only to add to a collection, don't even listen to it, you'll be disappointed and will find new meaning in "Fall Down Easy" when Farrar sings, "I feel I've been betrayed, feel that I've been wronged"."

To the artists, I'm sorry but...

J. Bosiljevac | san fran, ca | 12/21/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"These seem like very heartfelt renditions. I'm sure the artists on this tribute all love Uncle Tupelo as much as I do. If I had enough musical talent, I'd cover Uncle Tupelo too. But let's be honest here, nobody's going to do these songs as well as the band that wrote them.



I enjoy hearing new takes on old great songs. And I've listened to this album several times. I really want to love it. There are a couple of nice arrangements on this album--"Graveyard Shift" by Anna Fermin & the Trigger Gospel and "Black Eye" by Jason Wilber are two of my favorites--but none of them come close to touching the originals. If the songs weren't so great to begin with, this album would be one star. And when I listen to it, I find myself wanting--no, NEEDING--to listen to the originals."

Hard goin' wrong with these songs--and these artists don't.

J. Kennedy | DeKalb, IL USA | 11/26/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Admittedly, I'm an Uncle Tupelo junkie. I've bitten on all of this year's reissues like so many spinner baits. Heaven help me--I'm just not that bright.However, purchasing this UT tribute album makes me feel a little smarter. With only two to three exceptions, each of these artists stares down a Tupelo original with nary a sign of flinchage (Yes. It's a word. But, no, don't look it up. Show a little faith for once in your life.).Four artists particularly distinguish themselves and are therefore presented with Fat Carpenter Awards for (1)showing a lot of guts and (2)nailing it. They are: Mark McCay & The Bad Souls; Ed Petterson; Tom Roznowski; and Jim Roll.The keyword when considering purchasing tribute albums is usually "BEWARE!!!" For this one, it's "PROCEED!!""