Recording
Anodyne was recorded from May to June 1993 at Cedar Creek studio in Austin, Texas. Uncle Tupelo liked the studio because it "just seemed really kind of homey and small and cheap". The album was produced, mixed, and engineered by Brian Paulson. The now-expanded lineup inspired Tweedy to spend more time with his bandmates. After Tweedy wrote each song, he would play it to Stirratt, Coomer, and Johnston to get their opinions. Farrar interpreted these practice sessions as a sign of Tweedy's increasing arrogance. At live shows, during this time, tensions between Tweedy and Farrar increased and led to verbal altercations.
The album was recorded live in the studio, and each song was recorded in only one take. As a result, the recording sessions for Anodyne were completed in two weeks. Anodyne was the only Uncle Tupelo album to completely lack overdubbing. Sire was pleased with the album; according to McEwen, "everybody considered it a step up from what they'd done before." Farrar wrote six of the songs on the album and Tweedy wrote five. While on tour, Uncle Tupelo met Texas Tornados singer Doug Sahm at the Hotel Phoenix in Boston, Massachusetts. Farrar invited him to join the band in the studio for a cover of Sahm's "Give Back the Key to My Heart".
The lyrical content of Anodyne was influenced by 1950s and 1960s country music, particularly Ernest Tubb, Buck Owens, and Lefty Frizzell. Tweedy included several songs referencing aspects of the music industry. One example was "Acuff-Rose", a paean on the music publishers of Acuff-Rose Music. He also wrote "We've Been Had", which was intended to chastise bands such as Nirvana and The Clash who were "all just show biz". Tweedy was also the author of "New Madrid", a song about Iben Browning's erroneous prediction of an apocalyptic earthquake in New Madrid, Missouri. Farrar was less comfortable discussing the lyrics that he wrote, claiming that his songs frequently change their meanings. Like other Uncle Tupelo albums, Farrar and Tweedy wrote their own lyrics, and played them for each other a week before the recording sessions. In comparison to the rest of the Uncle Tupelo catalog, Coomer described the music of the album as "some of earlier crunch with the acoustic subtlety of March 16–20, 1992".
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Famous quotes containing the word recording:
“I didn’t have to think up so much as a comma or a semicolon; it was all given, straight from the celestial recording room. Weary, I would beg for a break, an intermission, time enough, let’s say, to go to the toilet or take a breath of fresh air on the balcony. Nothing doing!”
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