Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue (1998)

I'm sure you know the story. After playing a tribute concert to Woody Guthrie, Bragg was contacted by Nora, Guthrie's daughter, asking him to put music to lyrics which Guthrie hadn't yet recorded at the time of his death in 1967 (the music only existing in Woody's head!).

In collaboration with US band Wilco, Bragg did just that, attempting to bring new life to Guthrie's words and, I'm sure, raise awareness of his work.

I bought the album at the time, but subsequently won a copy signed by BB in a competition on the BBC website, as you can see pictured. So, does this collaboration work?

Well, it depends what you mean by work. Inevitably it's an amalgam of Bragg's folk-punk roots with Wilco's alt-country, with Guthrie's lyrics binding it together and I'm finding this an album which improves with each playing. I've had a lot of 'sit at a computer plugging away type work recently, so this and the next few albums have been my accompaniment to the tedium of spreadsheets.

Opener Walt Whitman's Niece is a boisterous call and response song, which gets the foot tapping, followed by the more laidback, folky California Stars, sung by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, with Bragg returning for Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key, another gentle American folk tune. Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs) steps up to the mike for Birds And Ships, gently pleasant without really inspiring and the upbeat Hoodoo Voodoo is welcome after than as a bit of rock'n'roll.

But there seems to be a noticeable fade to this album after the promising opening, with only the minimal Ingrid Bergmann and the lively I Guess I Planted standing out from the middle section. Of the final group of songs, there's nothing awful - One By One is a warming love song, Eisler On The Go sees Bragg deliver a soulful performance with minimal accompaniment, Hesitating Beauty is a cheery country tune and the album concludes with the mournful The Unwelcome Guest.

It's an enjoyable album, with a few highs, but probably more accessible if, unlike me, you have a thing for US folk and alt-country. Certainly worth a few listens.

Link to album tracks

3* - a bold project, which aficionados of this genre will enjoy