Mermaid Avenue Vol. II

Wilco, Billy Bragg

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 30, 2000)
• Original Release Date: May 30, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B00004TBES
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,891 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #7 in	Music > Alternative Rock > New Wave & Post-Punk > Urban Folk
  #43 in	Music > Pop > Britpop
  #58 in	Music > Alternative Rock > Alternative Styles > Alternative Folk

• This is item 2 in The Mermaid Avenue Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2000

Mermaid Avenue, Vol. II finds Billy Bragg & Wilco setting Woody Guthrie's words to their own music a second time. The result is more sonically diverse than the first installment, but just as rewarding. With guests Natalie Merchant and bluesman Corey Harris lending their voices to this new-century hootenanny, this 15-song disc manages to capture the collective spirit of both IWW and the WTO times. Woody would've been proud of the initial collection; he'd be prouder still of this one. --Steven Stolder

Product Description

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: BRAGG,BILLY & WILCO
Title: VOL. 2-MERMAID AVE.
Street Release Date: 05/30/2000
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Good, May 31, 2000

By	Gianmarco Manzione (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Mermaid Avenue Vol. II is patchier but no less enjoyable than its predecessor. Tweedy's claim that the album is "less folky" is fairly accurate, as most of the album's highpoints are more rooted in Rock 'N Roll than folk, such as "Airline To heaven" with its tantalizing drum rhythms and chorus, the rollicking and downright fun "Feed of Man" with its joyous guitar licks, or "Blood of the Lamb," an eerie mix of thumping drums and bells that would not sound out of place on Bob Dylan's recent "Time Out of Mind."

These sounds do not appear on vol. I, Tweedy is correct, and the result is stunningly good. The diversity of this album is even more startling than on Mermaid Avenue I. Not only does every song sound different from previous tracks, each song belongs to a different genre. Beyond the album's Rock tunes are some delightfully dirty blues tracks like "All You Fascists" and "Meanest man," which would fit perfectly on the next Tom Waits record. Bragg even touches on some jazzy drum shuffling and vocals on the very slick "Stetson Kennedy."

However, Wilco & Billy Bragg do not entirely ignore the folk roots that pervaded vol. I; "I was Born" is straight from the vein of vol. I's "Ingrid Bergman," and most will recognize "Eisler on the Go" lurking beneath the surface of the gorgeous acoustic ballad, "Black Wind Blowing."

Yes, this album does stretch the listener's attention span a bit more, the music is indeed more challenging, but delicately so. It is difficult to imagine that this talented group could deliver an album of as much meat as vol. I, but they have, proving that the union of Wilco and Billy Bragg just might be one of the most outstanding musical projects in modern rock history. But let's not forget that these Mermaid Avenue albums are only made possible by the brilliant songwriting legacy of one named Woody Guthrie.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I stumbled upon a gem..., July 5, 2003

By	Marc A. Healy (Elgin, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was born and bred on rock and roll, but lately I've been more interested in jazz, world music and classical. I'm not really enthusiastic about folk music, but I listen to it from time to time. When I pulled this album from the bin at the library, it was because I had heard some Billy Bragg before and thought it was interesting. I knew nothing of Jeff Tweedy and Wilco. This disk blew me away- ecclectic, original, different yet familiar, I think every track is a winner, even though I like some better than others. Certainly if you are sick of listening to the same old stuff, this is a great mixture of rock, blues, bluegrass, folk, and musical styles that should just be filed under "other." I enjoyed this sequqal much more than the first "Mermaid Avenue" disk- but judging from the other reviews this is an issue of personal taste. Then again, isn't music like that to begin with? I appreciate Woody Guthrie a whole lot more now, and I think it's tremendous what modern independant musicians have done with material from a previous generation. Definately check this disk out- I think it belongs in any serious music lover's collection.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Woody Would Be Proud!, June 1, 2000

By	Voice of Chunk (NY) - See all my reviews

For those of you who had doubts as to whether Billy and Wilco could match the greatness of "Mermaid Avenue 1," you can put those doubts aside. Wilco puts in a series of stellar performances, from the Dylan-tinged opener "Airline to Heaven" to the Petty-ish "Secret of the Sea," to "Blood of the Lamb" which could have been penned and produced by Tom Waits. Billy Bragg, likewise, contributes consistently top-notch performances throughout the album, the highlights being "Black Wind Blowing" (which echoes "Eisler on the Go" from "Mermaid Avenue 1"), the train chugging "My Flying Saucer" and "Stetson Kennedy." Sure, Bragg favors the political and Wilco focuses on the romantic, but that should be no surprise to fans of either or both. In fact, that's the beauty of this album: There's a balance of ideas and sentiments, but an avoidance of didacticism and sentimentality. And it's all cemented together with loose, folky, rocking grooves. If you liked the first collection, you'll like this. If you're unfamiliar with "Mermaid Avenue," go buy it after you buy this one. You won't be disappointed.