Billy Bragg, Wilco - Mermaid Avenue
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Free Music Notes for Mermaid Avenue
Free Music Review: They Pulled It Off!
Hit: 5 Stars
Whenever someone starts messing with the past, all sorts of warning flags drop down in my head. When Billy Bragg and Wilco (and who paired THEM up?) took the task of writing music to old Woody Guthrie songs, I was more than a little skeptical. No more. The music is generally simple and unencumbered (no massive horn sections or rap breaks), and the performances are top-notch and heartfelt - but they seemed to enjoy themselves at the same time. Even when I found the lyrics somewhat obtuse ("Eisler on the Go"), the impassioned music and playing kept me listening intently. Early highlights include "The Unwelcome Guest", "Hesitating Beauty", and "Way Over Yonder in a Minor Key". I must admit, I didn't like Natalie Merchant singing "Birds and Ships", but I'll admit to a negative prejudice in her direction. Add it to your cart already!Free Music Review: Mermaid Avenue is a delightful surprise!
Hit: 5 Stars
This CD took me back to the years when I was first exposed to Woody through the early recordings of Dylan and PP&M. What I didn't realize at that time was what a range of topics Woody covered. Don't think of this as an extension of the catalog of Woody's songs you already know - think of it as discovering a new artist. Billy Bragg may have written and peformed the songs differently from how Woody would have done it, but who cares? I'm sure Woody is getting a real kick out of it "way up yonder in the Kingdom of God." Natalie Merchant's tender treatment of "Birds and Ships" is so poetic and beautiful that it demonstrates what a romantic Woody really was - not the left-wing badass that HUAC probably thought he was. Another side of Woody that I never appreciated was that his lyrics really go with a rock arrangement - it's not just campfire music and Kumbayah!Free Music Review: Without question the best album of 1998
Hit: 5 Stars
The best thing of last year, maybe of the last 10 years. There are few partnerships as promising as Billy Bragg, Wilco and Woody Guthrie, but the supergroup mentality doesn't overtake things here. This is a modest, and incredibly arresting set of songs. Wilco and Bragg both check in with classics. "I Guess I Planted" may be the best vocal performance of Bragg's career, and "Another Man's Done Gone" is without a doubt the best of Jeff Tweedy's. There are rockers:"Walt Whitman's Niece," "Hoodoo Voodoo," "Christ for President,"; great ballads: "Another Man's Done Gone," "Way Down Yonder In The Minor Key," and songs that fall somewhere in the middle: "Hesitating Beauty" and "Ingrid Bergman." This album is essential. Can't wait for volume 2Free Music Review: Spooky, achingly poignant, fun and tuneful
Hit: 5 Stars
Sot a lot of today's folk-rock groups have never lived up to their potential, and the historic folk music that you buy seems so dated. Then isn't this the perfect choice?It is beautiful in its realization, and spooky too. You listen to the songs and think that Woody surely would've performed them this way. And then you remember that the lyrics and music are separated by 40 years or more, and that the only link is our American musical heritage. On top of that somewhat chilling cultural thought you find joint-jumping silliness like Hoodoo Voodoo, the beauty of Birds and Ships and the poignance of Sad and Lonely (and the days when ship travel meant you waited forever for loved ones). Ingrid Bergman is an amazing musical gem. I only wish that I had grown up on these songs as a kid. My kids sure will.
Free Music Review: Way better than expected
Hit: 5 Stars
While I am a huge Wilco fan, I didn't know much about B.Bragg, just heard 1-2 songs, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought it might be similiar to Tweedy's other band, Gloden Smog. But no, this is different. These songs move me. Maybe because they are not "rock songs" or "country songs" or even "folk songs"; they are just good songs. Undefining category, these are classics. Not knowing much about Guthrie, I like these songs for the songwriting - the credit of Wilco & Bragg. And Natalie Merchant's two contributions are very nice. Unfortunately uncategorical songs mean no radio play, and that's too bad because these songs deserve it. But maybe it's better that we spoil ourselves with them and keep it our little secret.