Anodyne is the fourth and final studio album by alternative country band Uncle Tupelo, released on October 5, 1993.

[5] Rockville Records refused to pay Uncle Tupelo any royalties, even though the band's first two albums, No Depression and Still Feel Gone, sold a combined 40,000 copies.

[6] On a recommendation by singer Gary Louris of The Jayhawks, talent scout Joe McEwen pursued the band for a contract with Sire Records.

Belzer was chosen and Uncle Tupelo embarked on the European segment of the promotional tour for March 16–20, 1992 as the opening act for Sugar.

They recruited multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston and bassist John Stirratt—Stirratt's presence enabled Tweedy to become a full-time guitarist on the songs that he wrote.

While on tour, Uncle Tupelo met Texas Tornados singer Doug Sahm at the Hotel Phoenix in Boston, Massachusetts.

The lyrical content of Anodyne was influenced by 1950s and 1960s country music, particularly Ernest Tubb, Buck Owens, and Lefty Frizzell.

[14] Like other Uncle Tupelo albums, Farrar and Tweedy wrote their own lyrics, and played them for each other a week before the recording sessions.

[12] In comparison to the rest of the Uncle Tupelo catalog, Coomer described the music of the album as "some of [the band's] earlier crunch with the acoustic subtlety of March 16–20, 1992".

[17] The success of the tour encouraged the label; according to Sire executive Bill Bentley, "people here thought we were going to have platinum records from Uncle Tupelo.

[32] Despite Farrar's reservations, Uncle Tupelo performed Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the band's only network television appearance.

AllMusic writer Jason Ankeny wrote, "Uncle Tupelo never struck a finer balance between rock and country than on Anodyne".

[20] Mark Kemp wrote for Rolling Stone that the band "[has] an intuitive sense of the simplicity and dynamics of a country song.

[37] Karen Schoemer of The New York Times found that the album "is certainly derivative, but Uncle Tupelo isn't seeking to reinvent its sources, merely to honor them".

"[24] Tom Moon of Rolling Stone gave the 2003 re-release all five stars, but commented that the bonus tracks there were "pleasant but inconsequential.