Billy Bragg, Wilco - Mermaid Avenue
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CD Details
Artist: Billy Bragg, WilcoBrand: BRAGG,BILLY & WILCO
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 1998-06-23
Music Label: Elektra / Wea
Soundtracks:
- Walt Whitman's Niece
- California Stars
- Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key
- Birds And Ships
- Hoodoo Voodoo
- She Came Along To Me
- At My Window Sad And Lonely
- Ingrid Bergman
- Christ For President
- I Guess I Planted
- One By One
- Eisler On The Go
- Hesitating Beauty
- Another Man's Done Gone
- The Unwelcome Guest
Music reviews of Mermaid Avenue
Music Review: A fitting tribute
Rating: 5 Stars
Do not be scared off by the premise of the project: a vaguely country-rock band and a Scottish folksinger reviving ancient Woody Guthrie lyrics. First of all, none of those descriptions do their discriptee justice; Wilco's one of the strongest songwriting groups in America today with the musical skills to back it up, Billy Bragg's a gifted balladeer and a brilliant folk-rocker and Woody Guthrie...well, that name ought to speak for itself by belonging to one of the greatest songwriters ever, author of a vast catalogue of topical, witty and beautiful songs that celebrate people, life, children and America in a way that has rarely been matched. Apparently, Woody's daughter Nora approached Wilco and Bragg about the possibility of collaborating to write music and record some of the thousands of songs that Woody wrote but never recorded. The result is a very impressive album. Maybe the key is that the artists, while certainly aware of Guthrie's incredible contributions, don't spend the album revering Guthrie, wringing their hands over being worthy of such a project. Wilco and Bragg jump right in and immediately get their hands dirty, opening with a song that's confusing and ribald but playing and hollering along with so much energy it will literally make you smile. Most of the Woody Guthrie releases now in print tend to focus on his political ballads and protest songs, so its fortunate that Wilco and Bragg chose lyrics that reflected a more personal side of Guthrie: love songs, songs about his children, songs lusting after Ingrid Bergman...Woody would have been unlikely to record such autobiographical songs, and its fortunate that someone did, leaving no doubt that Woody was more than just a powerful voice for others but a brilliant, introspective artist as well. Musically, the album's much like Wilco's "Being There," heavy on organ and acoustic guitar, with many large swells of sound. This might sound a little offensive to some, but this isn't a Woody replica, it's a modern band making these songs their own. The arrangements are straightforward and layered, which results in a rich, warm sound. Bragg's brogue works perfectly as a vehicle for Guthrie's rough lyrics, and Jeff Tweedy's boyish drawl lends an innocence and charm to the love songs that couldn't even be achieved by Guthrie. Woody was known to pass his guitars along to aspiring musicians to help them along; even better that he should pass along some songs not only to Wilco and Bragg, but through them, to the rest of us as well. This is probably more of a Wilco album than anything else, but with even greater-than-normal lyrics, and it's apparent how much Tweedy has taken from the classic understatement of Guthrie. Cannot recommend this album enough.
Description of Mermaid Avenue
Essential 15 track collection of 'lost' WOODY GUTHRIE songs. Natalie Merchant. Tiny mark on disc will not affect play.A ghost, a band, a troubadour. Easily the strangest co-op project ever, and easily one of the finest and most evocative albums of the year. British socialist and folkie Billy Bragg was given unprecedented access to Woody Guthrie's unrecorded lyrics. Teaming up with alt-country band Wilco and quoting from more than 50 years of country, folk, and rock music, Billy and company bring Guthrie's politics, poetry, and morality to the end of the century and prove he's as necessary now as ever. --Tod Nelson
When you first heard that Billy Bragg and Wilco were teaming up to set some Woody Guthrie lyrics to music, you knew it'd be an interesting project. But did anyone realistically think Mermaid Avenue would also wind up being one of 1998's finest albums? That's exactly what it is, a distinction it pulls off by simultaneously honoring Guthrie and blasting away any folksy expectations we might have of his music. Walking Guthrie's World War II-era lyrics into the 20th century's second, rock & roll half, Bragg and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy take turns on lead vocals, and the entire group collaborates on a sound that draws on folk- and country-rock, from Bob Dylan and the Band to Gram Parsons and Uncle Tupelo. The results are nearly flawless, ranging from yearning laments and playful children's rockers to horny ballads and brave protest songs that are not merely political but also profoundly moral. Like all of Guthrie's work, Mermaid Avenue is music to live better by. --David Cantwell
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