Billy Bragg / Wilco Mermaid Avenue CD

MERMAID AVENUE is a collection of previously unrecorded Woody Guthrie lyrics exhumed from the Woody Guthrie Archives and set to music by Billy Bragg and Wilco at the invitation of Guthrie's daughter Nora.
Billy Bragg & Wilco: Billy Bragg (vocals, acoustic, electric & steel guitars, banjo, bouzuki); Jeff Tweedy (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica); Jay Bennett (acoustic, electric & slide guitars, banjo, bouzuki, dulcimer, piano, Clavinet, Hammond & Farfisa organs, melodica, electric bass, drums, percussion, background vocals); John Stirratt (piano, Hammond organ, acoustic & electric basses, background vocals); Ken Coomer (drums, percussion, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Natalie Merchant (vocals); Corey Harris (electric & lap steel guitars, background vocals); Bob Egan (slide & pedal steel guitars); Eliza Carthy (violin); Elizabeth Steen (accordion); Peter Yanowitz (drums); Jonathan "JP" Parker (background vocals).
Engineers include: Dave Trumfio, Mike Hagler, Matt Ellard.
Recorded at Totally Wired Studio and Windmill Lane, Dublin, Ireland; King Size Sound Laboratories, Chicago, Illinois; Fort Apache Studio, Boston, Massachusetts. Includes liner notes by Billy Bragg.
MERMAID AVENUE was nominated for a 1999 Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
Personnel: Billy Bragg (vocals, acoustic guitar); Jeff Tweedy (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonica); Natalie Merchant (vocals, background vocals); Wilco (vocals); Corey Harris (guitar, electric guitar, lap steel guitar); Bob Egan (slide guitar); Jay Bennett (bouzouki, piano, Clavinet, organ, drums, background vocals); Eliza Carthy (violin); John Stirratt (piano, acoustic bass, electric bass, background vocals); Ken Coomer (drums, percussion); Peter Yanowitz (drums).
Recording information: King Size Sound Laboratories, Chicago, IL; Totally Wired Studio, Dublin, Ireland; Windmill Lane Recording Studio, Dublin, Ireland.
During the spring of 1995, Woody Guthrie's daughter Nora contacted British urban folk troubadour Billy Bragg about writing music for a selection of completed Guthrie lyrics. This was no minor task -- Guthrie left behind over a thousand sets of complete lyrics written between 1939 and 1967 that had no music other than a vague stylistic notation. Bragg chose a number of songs to finish, as did Jeff Tweedy of the alt-country band Wilco (often with bandmate Jay Bennett). Nora Guthrie impressed a common goal upon them: Rather than recreating Guthrie tunes, they should write as if they were collaborating with Woody, creating new, vital music for the lyrics. Both artists completed more songs than could fit on Mermaid Avenue, which is neatly split between Bragg and Wilco, with Bragg taking lead on eight of the 15 songs. The results are almost entirely a delight, mainly because all involved are faithful to Guthrie's rowdy spirit -- it's a reverent project that knows how to have fun. There are many minor, irresistible gems scattered throughout the album, and most of them come from Bragg. Where Wilco's fine contributions sound inextricably tied to the '90s, both for better and for worse, Bragg's music sounds contemporary while capturing Guthrie's folk traditions. That's not to say Wilco's contributions are failures -- it's just hard to imagine Guthrie singing the plaintive "California Stars" or the plodding "Christ for President," neither of which quite fit the lyrics. Nevertheless, their hearts are in the right place; more often than not, they come close to the target, and their joyous playing invigorates Mermaid Avenue. The blend of Bragg's traditionalist sensibility and Wilco's contemporary style ultimately illustrates that Guthrie's words, ideals, and aesthetics remain alive in the '90s. It's a remarkable record that deserves a sequel. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Woody Guthrie's gift to the world of music cannot be overstated. His songwriting helped to define folk music as we know it, as an instrument not only of musRolling Stone (5/13/99, p.65) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Spin (1/99, p.91) - Ranked #8 on Spin's list of "Top 20 Albums of '98."
Spin (9/98, p.184) - 8 (out of 10) - "...The combination feels nostalgic and contemporary at once, like a good rabble-rousing speech--or a snatch of Americana suddenly recalled years after you thought it'd passed forever from memory."
Entertainment Weekly (9/4/98, p.84) - "...Bragg and the otherwise callow Wilco make the many moods of Woody spring to life with boozy, woozy roughhouse folk-rock. It may feel like school, but at least the classroom's rollicking." - Rating: B+
CMJ (1/11/99, p.3) - "...The varied arrangements uncover Guthrie's knack for evoking many moods with simple words, making for one of the year's most memorable and inspired albums..."