The best description I ever heard of Uncle Tupelo was that they sounded like Hüsker Dü fronted by Hank Williams Sr. In the five years UT were around — from their 1989 debut, No Depression, to their tumultuous break-up in 1994 — the band united the dual impulses of country and pop punk, producing a group of songs about thwarted dreams and hard drinking that stayed true to both genres. Like the Velvet Underground, UT were far more influential after they disbanded than during their short existence. Their first three albums, originally released on the Rockville label, created the alterna-country genre. These have been out of print for years, so Sony Legacy has undertaken what it calls a "restoration project" of the band’s catalogue, starting with this anthology. The compilation was produced with the full participation of both UT frontmen, Jay Farrar (now of Son Volt and solo) and Jeff Tweedy (now of Wilco).

The songs range from the driving punk of Farrar’s "Graveyard Shift" and the straight-ahead rock of Tweedy’s "Gun" to lonely acoustic ballads like Farrar’s "Still Be Around." The hits (such as they were) are here as well, including UT’s cover of the traditional "Moonshiner" and Farrar’s "Whiskey Bottle," possibly the best five minutes of the band’s career. And the rare/unreleased tracks range from the thrashing "I Got Drunk" to a brilliantly countrified version of Iggy Pop’s "I Wanna Be Your Dog." I was hoping for some of the harder songs from their second album, Still Feel Gone, and for Farrar’s cover of the old labor song "Coalminers." Still, having the highlights in vastly better sound is reason enough to welcome this collection. The resuscitation is slated to continue with the reissue of all three Rockville albums, and there are rumors that a recording of the band’s final gig, from May 1994, is in the works as well.