Uncle Tupelo had four cds released. Three were under the independant label Rockville records and the final cd was released under Reprise. They were No Depression (1990), Still Feel Gone (1991), March 16-20, 1992 (1992), and Anodyne (1993).

They formed around St Louis and achieved a large following for their sound called by many "Roots Rock" or "Country Punk". Some UT songs are quiet and acoustic for example most of March 16-20, 1992 and many others are loud and rocking like "Chickamunga" off of Anodyne.

The time when Uncle Tupelo came about was one where the grunge sound of Seattle was really at its peak. The more laid-back style acquired a large underground following even without much airplay (at least around New Orleans it didn't!). The creative force behind UT was Jay Ferrar and Jay Tweedy, who alternated writing, singing and playing instruments on the different songs. The duo, along with the rest of UT, had some inspired playing and powerful songs. But the lack of one clear leader eventually led to the group's demise when Jay Ferrar left the band to start his own, Son Volt. Tweedy took the rest of Uncle Tupelo and returned to the studio with the new band name Wilco. Both groups have had some real success, with Son Volt opening this summer for John Cougar Melloncamp, and Wilco is opening for R E M.

Son Volt released its' first cd, entitled Trace, in 1995. It was met with high marks from virtually every music review including Rolling Stone. "Drown" received decent airplay and is a song that absolutely rocks. The second time I heard this song on the air, I found a music store with their cd and bought Trace. Much of the rest of the cd is different though, much more mellow and acoustic. A few other songs really rock as well though, and the overall work from beginning to end is fantastic. Other sites have chronicled how Ferrar's isolation after the breakup of UT is apparent in the songwriting on Trace. Many people say "this is a country cd!" but it's not, it has twang in it for sure but I tell people it is more of a folksy/rock cd with some steel guitars thrown in for effect. I suppose it's all in what you think of it. I have seen Son Volt in concert twice and didn't see one cowboy hat in the crowd, but I saw a lot of "Gen X"ers (although i hate that term! Call us the "star wars generation"). Trace was really a borderline work that defies being pigeonholed into any one group since there is a diversity of song styles there.

Son Volt's next release was Straightaways, in mid-1997. Straightaways doesn't have quite the cohesiveness of Trace-to me it seems more like a cd full of singles, but some of my favorite songs ever come off of this one. Caryatid Easy is the first track off and it rocks as much as anything from UT or Son Volt yet. Picking Up The Signal is also a loud rock song. And there are many of the more laid-back twangy songs on Straightaways as well. An excellent cd overall, but the critics didn't embrace it the way that they did Trace a couple years earlier. Ferrar has said that he sees Trace and Straightaways as companion pieces, or complimentary works.

Later in 1998 Son Volt released Swing Wide Tremelo, which sounds a bit different from the first two cds. The group has said that they wanted a different feel for this one, that they have a new recording studio and the additional freedom gave this one a more unique ambiance. Straightface, the first song on the disc, is another straight up rock song. It's great, and is followed by other more mellow songs but not straight up country songs-the tracks on this one are more complex and don't fall into any one genre. Medicine Hat is one of the most amazing songs to come from Son Volt, although I personally don't care for the harmonica track preceeding it. SWT took a while for it to really grow on me but I like it as much now as either of the other two Son Volt cds or anything from Uncle Tupelo.

Son Volt also has two EPs with four songs each on them, one entitled Switchback and the other entitled Straightface. I have them both (Woohoo!!) and they're both great. If you like the band, get them, they're available out there. coming soon: links links and more links! and some other stuff i didn't feel like writing at midnight on a wednesday night. ciao for now, scott