Uncle Tupelo – Anodyne (Clear vinyl)

Seminal alternative country-rock group Uncle Tupelo was formed in the Midwestern backwater of Belleville, Illinois, by high school friends Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heldorn. Their marriage of punk rock animus with the simplicity of American roots music ignited a major movement heralding rock's return to traditional country origins.

Heldorn had departed, Ken Coomer signed on, and in 1993 the band released one final album, Anodyne, widely considered their definitive work. Recorded live in an Austin studio, the disc reinterprets country, rock, and folk idioms with the compelling vision that was Tupelo's own. After parting ways, members went on to found Wilco and Son Volt, but the brief and shining moment that was Uncle Tupelo will forever cast a long shadow on American roots rock.