Uncle Tupelo :: The Roots Of Effigy

Uncle Tupelo

While we’re on the topic of Creedence, I’ve encountered a good number of Uncle Tupelo fans over the years who were unaware that “Effigy” was, in fact, a CCR cover. Not entirely surprising, though, as the tune was not a single (it’s the closing track on the LP Willy And The Poor Boys), and as I mentioned in the previous post, the majority of CCR’s fans know them only as a singles band. Let’s remedy this, shall we.

Uncle Tupelo’s version, stylistically, pretty much follows the original, and was first released via the 1993 compilation No Alternative, and later on the band’s 21 track retrospective disc 89/93: An Anthology. It also exhibits, within its five minutes and fifty-nine seconds, some of Jay Farrar’s fiercest guitar work to date.

13 thoughts on “Uncle Tupelo :: The Roots Of Effigy

  1. I saw Band of Horses a few weeks ago and they are playing “Effigy,” too. Very nice version.

  2. I played CCR’s “Effigy” on my show the other week – I’d played UT’s version before (from the No Alternative compilation) and didn’t know it was a CCR cover until I decided to download Willy and the Poor Boys when it became available on EMusic. It’s a tremendous song and yeah, UT’s version is boss.

  3. kind of odd that within such a short span of time you hit two artists (UT & bob mould) that i first discovered via the ‘no alternative’ album.

    i was unaware of the roots of ‘effigy,’ my only CCR album being ‘chronicle.’ i’ll have to bolster my collection.

  4. U rule. mate. I did not know it was a cover either. Thanks 4 the great tunes, the unpretentious soulful music journalism.

  5. I also found out about effigy after downloading Willy and the Poor Boys from eMusic, and it quickly became one of my favorite CCR songs. Its up there with Someday Never Comes and the non-radio cut of Suzie Q.

    Looking at the timeline, I guess I did hear it first on the 89/93 Anthology – but it was the CCR original that blew me away.

  6. I know this song through Gov’t Mule and had no idea it was a CCR cover. Warren rips it up. Go check it out. Thanks for the further musical enlightenment AD!

  7. Tupelo covered a few CCR songs back in the day. Born On The Bayou and Fortunate Son were done way back in the Heidorn days and Effigy and Suzie Q were done towards the end of the band’s run. Fans should track down any of the Coffee Creek tapes, which was a side project of UT and Brian Henneman of the Bottle Rockets. They only played 3-4 times, but it was an excuse to get together and play a bunch of country and country-rock covers. One of those covers was CCR’s Wrote A Song For Everyone, which I’m pretty sure was the only Jeff Tweedy vocal during Coffee Creek’s short-lived existence.

  8. Great post. I discovered the UT version first many years ago, and a bit later, the CCR version. Both are great, in my opinion, but for different reasons, which is really a testament to the inherent quality of the song itself. I have a couple of live UT discs with Effigy as a choice track. While the version on No Alternative is great, it is phenomenal live.

  9. “I saw Band of Horses a few weeks ago and they are playing “Effigy,” too. Very nice version.”

    I saw them last night, and they played a great version. It was the best thing they played all night. It would be well worth tracking down a copy of them covering it.

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