Can We List The Albums Best To Worst Including Uncle Tupelo Releases?

[Uncle Skujelo]

This might be blasphemy, but remember that they considered continuing as Uncle Tupelo after the split.

 

I confess to having very selfish reasons for this exercise: I have never listened to Uncle Tupelo, and I want to see how the 4 albums rate amongst you diehards.

 

Actually I have never heard AM or Being There yet. Or Mermaid Ave/Loose Fur. (I know, right?) Despite these gaping holes in my cognitive development, I have been an absolute Wilco Worshipper since YHF. Star Wars continues the greatness, and I finally decided that I should embrace the complete works. Joining this forum is a big step in that direction.

 

Thanks so much for your thoughts/inputs, and for my education.

[calvino]

First I would get Being There --- then with Uncle Tupelo - I would start with No Depression and go down the line -- all are great.

 

Still Feel Gone is my favorite.

[GtrPlyr]

Of the ones you haven't heard yet, I'd go with these 3 first: Being There, Anodyne and Born Again in the USA. Then Mermaid Avenue (the first one.)

[worldrecordplayer]

Listening to Being There from start to finish is the next thing you should do in your life.

 

 

[The Inside of Outside]

Listening to Being There from start to finish is the next thing you should do in your life.

 

 

This.

[d. boony]

No Depression is a country punk masterpiece, from opening chord to finish.  It was really a game changer for me the first time I heard it - on a cassette on a long road trip from Chicago to Texas.  

 

March 16-20th is brilliant in a completely different manner, and probably more of a "Jay" album than "Jeff".  But it's some of the best UT songwriting in my opinion.

 

if you do a mashup of AM and Trace, you'll produce Anodyne.

 

To this day I can pull any UT album out of my player and enjoy it start to finish.  Amazing talent between those two leads. 

 

Trying to slot them in between Wilco albums in a ranking?  Impossible.  Different beasts.  Might as well throw Jay's efforts in there as well and make a comprehensive UT-spawn l

[Analogman]

I wouldn't worry about a list - there is no such thing as worst anyhow. Get all of them - and then get all the Jayhawks, Old 97s, Ryan Adams, and then the best, Blue Mountain cds. And then you will be all good.

[Beltmann]

Joining this forum is a big step in that direction.

 

Welcome! This is a great place.

[d. boony]

I wouldn't worry about a list - there is no such thing as worst anyhow. Get all of them - and then get all the Jayhawks, Old 97s, Ryan Adams, and then the best, Blue Mountain cds. And then you will be all good.

You stole my record collection. 

[Uncle Skujelo]

Listening to Being There from start to finish is the next thing you should do in your life.

 

 

 

Yes.

[Uncle Skujelo]

No Depression is a country punk masterpiece, from opening chord to finish.  It was really a game changer for me the first time I heard it - on a cassette on a long road trip from Chicago to Texas.  

 

March 16-20th is brilliant in a completely different manner, and probably more of a "Jay" album than "Jeff".  But it's some of the best UT songwriting in my opinion.

 

if you do a mashup of AM and Trace, you'll produce Anodyne.

 

To this day I can pull any UT album out of my player and enjoy it start to finish.  Amazing talent between those two leads. 

 

Trying to slot them in between Wilco albums in a ranking?  Impossible.  Different beasts.  Might as well throw Jay's efforts in there as well and make a comprehensive UT-spawn l

 

OK, thanks. I just watched the show UT did on Conan - very Unwilco, if you will. (But very many years ago also. This is one thing that blows me away about Wilco: Tweedy seems to take giant leaps at an age when most other acts start to suck. He was 34 when YHF came out, and in his 40s he shows absolutely no signs of retreating.)

[TCP]

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED:

 

1) Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

2) Anodyne

3) A Ghost Is Born

4) Being There

5) Summerteeth

6) Loose Fur

7) Still Feel Gone
8) Mermaid Avenue 

9) Born Again in the USA

10) Star Wars
11) March 16/20 1992

12) AM
13) Sukierae

14) Sky Blue Sky
15) The Whole Love

16) Mermaid Avenue II

17) Wilco the Album

18) No Depression
19) Mermaid Avenue III

I included all the Wilco albums, Mermaid Avenue albums, Loose Fur, Uncle Tupelo, and Tweedy. But not Golden Smog, 7 Worlds Collide, or Down With Wilco.

No Depression has a ton of energy and attitude but frankly, the songs aren't nearly as great as they are on later releases. It was an important album when it came out, but it got overshadowed by subsequent releases. People who were there are the time of release will probably hold it in higher regard to people who first listened to it after UT had dissolved, due to nostalgia. I can't blame them, what a breath of fresh air it must have been in the pre-grunge early 90s. Still, Anodyne is their best as Jay was peaking as a songwriter (sorry Son Volt fans) and Jeff was just starting to write great tunes. Plus it's the perfect blend of country and rock. Still Feel Gone feels in a lot of ways like No Depression 2.0, the songs are all better than No Depression. March is a great acoustic album, there's not much more to say about it beyond that.

Mermaid Avenue III is what happens when you scrape the bottom of the barrels, there's a few Wilco gems on there (When the Roses Bloom Again) and a whole lot of Billy Bragg garbage. Mermaid Avenue II is kind of the same deal, only with a few more gems on it due to Wilco recording new songs. 

[Vacant Horizon]

Start with Wilco (the album) 

 

Actually, I think each album shows a different era of the band with The Whole Love and Sky Blue Sky being the most similar.  AM is pure alt. country.  Being There is classic country/rock/alt. album in the vein of any of Neil Young or Dylan's masterpieces.  Summerteeth is intellectual power pop.  YHF is deconstructed alternative rock.  A Ghost is Born is one of the greatest albums of all time in production and songwriting.  That's a start.

[sonicshoulder]

Start with Wilco (the album) 

 

Actually, I think each album shows a different era of the band with The Whole Love and Sky Blue Sky being the most similar.  AM is pure alt. country.  Being There is classic country/rock/alt. album in the vein of any of Neil Young or Dylan's masterpieces.  Summerteeth is intellectual power pop.  YHF is deconstructed alternative rock.  A Ghost is Born is one of the greatest albums of all time in production and songwriting.  That's a start.

This is incredibly accurate in my opinion, especially the Summerteeth and Ghost descriptions. However let's not taint Wilco the Album to the untrained ear....those who have not heard other albums could absolutely love that album(maybe).   Die hard Wilco lifers have trouble accepting it in comparison to the band's other work. It's not exactly the chopped liver it is made out to be around here. It's better than most of Maroon 5's catalog. 

[TCP]

You should work in marketing for the band! "Wilco The Album: Better than Maroon 5, buy now!!" 

[Passenger Sid]

Very tough. My favorite 10:

 

1. March 16/20 1992 (Uncle Tupelo)

2. Summerteeth

3. Being There

4. Anodyne (Uncle Tupelo)

5. Mermaid Ave. 1 (Wilco & Billy Bragg)

6. Trace (Son Volt)

7. YHF

8. Still Feel Gone (Uncle Tupelo)

9. Hollywood Town Hall (Jayhawks)

10. Tomorrow The Green Grass (Jayhawks)

[TCP]

Except those Son Volt and Jayhawk albums don't have anyone from Wilco playing on them.

Also Trace above Yankee Hotel Foxtrot? 

[Uncle Skujelo]

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED:

 

1) Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

2) Anodyne

3) A Ghost Is Born

4) Being There

5) Summerteeth

6) Loose Fur

7) Still Feel Gone

8) Mermaid Avenue 

9) Born Again in the USA

10) Star Wars

11) March 16/20 1992

12) AM

13) Sukierae

14) Sky Blue Sky

15) The Whole Love

16) Mermaid Avenue II

17) Wilco the Album

18) No Depression

19) Mermaid Avenue III

I included all the Wilco albums, Mermaid Avenue albums, Loose Fur, Uncle Tupelo, and Tweedy. But not Golden Smog, 7 Worlds Collide, or Down With Wilco.

No Depression has a ton of energy and attitude but frankly, the songs aren't nearly as great as they are on later releases. It was an important album when it came out, but it got overshadowed by subsequent releases. People who were there are the time of release will probably hold it in higher regard to people who first listened to it after UT had dissolved, due to nostalgia. I can't blame them, what a breath of fresh air it must have been in the pre-grunge early 90s. Still, Anodyne is their best as Jay was peaking as a songwriter (sorry Son Volt fans) and Jeff was just starting to write great tunes. Plus it's the perfect blend of country and rock. Still Feel Gone feels in a lot of ways like No Depression 2.0, the songs are all better than No Depression. March is a great acoustic album, there's not much more to say about it beyond that.

Mermaid Avenue III is what happens when you scrape the bottom of the barrels, there's a few Wilco gems on there (When the Roses Bloom Again) and a whole lot of Billy Bragg garbage. Mermaid Avenue II is kind of the same deal, only with a few more gems on it due to Wilco recording new songs.

 

Really appreciate your insights and opinions here, thanks.

[Uncle Skujelo]

Start with Wilco (the album) 

 

Actually, I think each album shows a different era of the band with The Whole Love and Sky Blue Sky being the most similar.  AM is pure alt. country.  Being There is classic country/rock/alt. album in the vein of any of Neil Young or Dylan's masterpieces.  Summerteeth is intellectual power pop.  YHF is deconstructed alternative rock.  A Ghost is Born is one of the greatest albums of all time in production and songwriting.  That's a start.

I'm extremely familiar with all the Wilco albums since YHF. I have noticed on this forum that Wilco (The Album) gets the most knocks against it, which is something that I don't understand. It's not their best album, but damn, there are some absolutely great songs on it. (One Wing, Everlasting Everything, Sonny Feeling, Deeper Down). Maybe the flow is wrong though....I always thought the second half was sequenced wrong.

 

I'm about to do an 80min bath with red wine and Being There!! (Too much info, possibly.)

[Passenger Sid]

Except those Son Volt and Jayhawk albums don't have anyone from Wilco playing on them.

Also Trace above Yankee Hotel Foxtrot? 

 

I included the Jayhawks, as they were brought up in this thread. I like their first 2 records better than some of Wilco's records.

 

YHF is a classic. It deserves to be on many "best of" lists. The accidental lyrical connection to 9/11, the experimental sonics, and lyrics about isolation and feeling disconnected give the record...for me...a dark, eerie vibe. That's not a bad thing. I loved the record at the time. Still like it a lot.

 

But yeah, I prefer "Trace". It's got a warm-ness and comfortable-ness about it that's never let it get old for me. Thinking about it, maybe I'd rank "Trace" higher on my favorites list. 

[d. boony]

I can't imagine ranking them all.  But if I had to pick a list of which would be in the top few, including the various UT offshoots:

 

No Depression

March 16-20

Trace

Ghost Is Born

Being There

Okemah and the Melody of Riot.

 

I'm pretty much equally infatuated with Wilco and Farrar/Son Volt - though I don't love where Farrar has gone since Okemah.

[lost highway]

if you do a mashup of AM and Trace, you'll produce Anodyne.

 

I don't know if I'm alone here, but I find Jay's contributions to Trace to be better on the average than Anodyne. And then worse after.

 

Jeff in my eyes did the opposite, his post Tupelo work was weaker and he only grew from there.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

YHF

Summerteeth

Being There

AGIB

Anodyne

Mermaid Ave I

Star Wars

A.M.

The Whole Love

March 16

Sky Blue Sky

Still Feel Gone

Wilco the Album

No Depression

Mermaid Ave II

[Vacant Horizon]

This is incredibly accurate in my opinion, especially the Summerteeth and Ghost descriptions. However let's not taint Wilco the Album to the untrained ear....those who have not heard other albums could absolutely love that album(maybe).   Die hard Wilco lifers have trouble accepting it in comparison to the band's other work. It's not exactly the chopped liver it is made out to be around here. It's better than most of Maroon 5's catalog. 

 

I wasn't really slighting WTA.  Just a cheap shot, I guess.  That album is kind of their AGIB meets pop album.  Bull Black, Deeper Down and One Wing are as good as anything they've done.  I cannot warm up to Sonny as the lyrics are just clunky and weird.  The riff is pretty cool though.

 

Adding UT, I'd put Anodyne in the top 5.  That album is perfect and one of the best albums of the 90s (there weren't that many imho :-).  One of the best albums ever?  Yes.  

[CortezTheKiller]

Also Trace above Yankee Hotel Foxtrot? 

 

Yes.