Mermaid Avenue

Well made, well sung, well played, but doesn't really grab me. I find Wilco to be a good band, but their studio albums often feel a bit boring. I can't really find fault with the album, but I just don't have that much interest in a lot of the songs here. Still a really decent tribute to one of the greatest American songwriters out there. Wonder why we didn't get an album from Woody Guthrie himself though.

Feel like I’ll end up listening to this one again

I liked this but theres at least 5 Wilco albums I like more.

A good album? Yes.
Must hear before you die? Only California Stars.

This is a stellar idea and collaboration. Many memorable songs combining Guthrie lyrics with Bragg / Tweedy music, played with heart and spirit.

Moram lupit jednu ličnu anegdoticu. Probudim se jutros, promijenila se ova vremenska zona. Sva pogubljena, gledam šta je na generatoru. A reko otkud Billy Bragg s dosadnim Wilcom. Kad skontam da razmišljam o Billyu Oceanu. Hiljadu puta zanimljivija priča nego album. Billy Bragg je bolji čovjek nego muzičar pa nek se drži toga. Wilco opet, ne mogu da vjerujem.

På et tidspunkt på videregående satt jeg på denne plata og stoppa ved "California Stars". Den har jeg til gjengjeld hørt veldig mye på, og hatt med i utallige lister. Jeg er fortsatt svak for den, og syns det er en av de beste forsøkene på å bringe Woody Guthrie inn i vår tid.

Bragg og Wilco gjør generelt en god jobb med å være tro mot Guthrie samtidig som de tilfører noe nytt. Jeg tenkte et øyeblikk at "Hoodoo Voodoo" skrenset litt langt unna, men så kom jeg på at "Car Song" eksisterer.

Det er ikke en plate som finner opp kruttet på nytt. Men de pakker sammen noen fine fyrverkeri av gammelt krutt. Det er Billy Bragg & Wilco som låner stemmen til Woody Guthrie. Plata kunne godt fått 5, og det som holder det unna toppen er kanskje bare at jeg også må holde den opp mot andre plater i katalogen til Bragg og Wilco.

En sidenote som jeg husker fra Bob Dylans memoarer er at han beskrev at han snakket med Guthrie om en eske med en haug av upubliserte låter som han ville Dylan skulle ha. Han dro for å snakke med kona hans, men hun var ikke hjemme, så han dro hjem. Det hadde selvfølgelig vært interessant å høre hva Dylan hadde gjort med disse tekstene, men jeg tenker han også hadde rotet bort mye av det. Så jeg er glad for at Billy Bragg og Wilco fikk gi låtene liv.

Nice but never set my world on fire

This sounded great - their voices and styles are really good together.

Irgendwie schwer zu bewerten. Fand es ganz angenehm zu hören, zwischen 3 und 4 Sternen.

Kind of surprised at how earnestly rootsy this seems. Wilco has a kind of indie cool factor, and (as far as I'm aware) Billy Bragg was mostly a folk punk poet type character before this. But, united perhaps by their love of Woody Guthrie (which I must infer) they basically lay down 50 minutes of really wonderful Americana on Mermaid Avenue. I'm not sure that I am confident in my ability to review this one, there's like 15 songs here, from showstoppers to little vignettes, and I think they all deserve a little time that I probably can't give. But, I can talk favorites. Walt Whitman's Niece is a fantastic opener, it's earnestly Americana, but it certainly has something wry and clever, and almost a little weird about it: great song. California Stars is one of the more popular cuts here, and I think it deserves it, this is a song for driving through the great plains region of the United States, which is a type of song I have a sort of affinity for. Birds And Ships is another more popular cut, and it also pulls it's weight with Natalie Merchant providing beautiful guest vocals. I think I like Hoodoo Voodoo, but regardless, it's hard to not talk at least a little about. Christ For President has a *particularly* rootsy folk stomp that I enjoy quite a bit. One of my absolute favorites is Eisler On The Go, which is banjo driven and particularly sad. We end with Another Man's Done Gone and The Unwelcome Guest, which are both worthwhile slow jams. Everything else here is at least decent, but there are a couple of more forgettable songs. But, all in all, the experience of Mermaid Avenue is really great, and the seemingly unlikely mixture of Wilco and Billy Bragg is really natural and potent: cool stuff if you like Americana.

I enjoyed this one a lot. I had never heard of it before. It is really helpful to read up on Woody Guthrie a bit before listening - the style and lyrics make a lot more sense in context.

A thoughtful and musically solid tribute to Woody Guthrie’s lost lyrics, 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘈𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 brings together the warmth of Americana with Guthrie’s poetic fragments. Wilco’s arrangements are rich and understated, while Billy Bragg brings a grounded, folk sensibility to the mix.

And yet, despite the craftsmanship, little of it truly sticks with me. The songs are pleasant, even moving at times — but they rarely take root. Part of me can’t help but wonder: what would these words have sounded like in Woody’s own voice? Would they have carried more grit, more urgency, more soul?

As it stands, 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘈𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 is a respectful and admirable project — but not a revelatory one.

A wonderfully unique project.

4/5

i cannot be arsed with all these wank folk rock albums anymore

When I get albums like this I feel sort of like my mom telling me to eat my vegetables because it's good for me, I don't have to like it but I do have to eat it.

And eat it I did... it didn't make me sick, at least. Well, the <stomp/clap> stuff kind of did, as did the couple of silly sexual innuendos - okay BREAKING NEWS - THIS JUST IN all lyrics are written by Woodie Guthrie. Bragg and Wilco put these to music. A brave move but it takes this down another notch. Just like there's a reason you don't watch the Director's cut of a movie, or listen to the ultra-mega-super-digital remaster extended version of an album (unless you're a HUGE fan, and even then it's iffy). There's a reason Guthrie didn't release this during his life, and that reason is because they're not great! Well, ok, Jesus for President is pretty good.

Leave well enough alone, let sleeping dogs lie, there are plenty of old sayings that directly address doing this as a bad idea.

Mermaid Avenue was a shockingly solid album. Apparently this album contains lyrics written by an old folk singer named Woody Guthrie but repurposed into actual songs by Billy Bragg and Wilco and i must say, they did a pretty good job here when it came to replicating that folkish feel that Guthrie appeared to be going for. Even without all that cool history, it's still a solid album. Most of the songs had a very relaxing feel to them which are perfect for just lounging around. Furthermore, the production was pretty great with the album sounding quite expensive. Even as a guy who isn't the biggest fan of folk or country music, i still found a fair bit to like here.
Best Song: Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key
Worst Song: California Stars

I can't tell you if Woody Guthrie would have liked this, but I’ll tell you I did not. I appreciate the project at hand, but don’t love the execution. I think this may have worked better if every track was a full collaboration, instead of sending two musicians off to each work on 1/2 an album.
Some tracks are better than others, but I'm hard pressed to pick a standout. If anything, "Birds and Ships" (Track 4, featuring Natalie Merchant) felt like the low point. There is no connective tissue in how the first side of this album is laid out and it feels like they're throwing everything at the wall to see if something would stick. "Hoodoo Voodoo" continues the disparate trend and it's not until "She Came Along to Me" that they start cycling through approaches again and things feel more familiar. They never bring in another guest vocalist though, so Natalie holds the honor of being the only cameo on the whole album. The only track I noticed in the back half was "Eisler On The Go", where the haunting vocal performance forced me out of my malaise for a few minutes. Sadly, it goes straight into the upbeat "Hesitating Beauty" and quickly forgets the mood it just created (again).
The album finally closes with "The Unwelcome Guest" which certainly lives up to its name. The harmonies (I use the word loosely) will encourage you to leave as soon as possible and make sure you think twice about coming back.
I guess someone liked this enough to bring everyone back to do it two more times. I’ll never know if those sessions went better.

Yeah, thats not for me

More country-ish than expected based on the artists. Had some good moments, but too twangy for my taste. 3*
Highlights: california stars, birds and ships

As a longtime Billy Bragg fan, I’ll admit this review comes with a bit of bias—but I was thrilled to see one of his albums included in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Well deserved, Billy!

Before today, I didn’t realize that this album was built around previously unreleased lyrics by the legendary Woody Guthrie. That alone makes the project remarkable.

The album itself is a joy. It offers a little bit of everything—heart, grit, warmth, and soul. Natalie Merchant’s guest vocals are a standout, adding a beautiful texture and depth that complement the material perfectly.

“California Stars” is an all-time classic—dreamy, wistful, and unforgettable. “Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key” is another gem, rich in melody and storytelling. Honestly, there’s not a bad track here.

Favourite Songs: “California Stars,” “Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key”
Least Favourite: None—every track brings something worthwhile.
Album Artwork: A great cover that fits the timeless, rootsy feel of the music.