Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions

Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions
Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions
Box set by Billy Bragg and Wilco
Released	April 21, 2012
Recorded	1997–1998
Studio	Boston, Chicago, and Dublin
Genre	Folk revival, folk rock
Language	English
Label	Nonesuch
Producer	Wilco, Billy Bragg, Grant Showbiz
Billy Bragg chronology
Wilco chronology
Billy Bragg & Wilco chronology

Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions is a 2012 box set of albums by Billy Bragg & Wilco, all of which feature songs consisting of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie set to newly created music. It was released by Nonesuch Records on Record Store Day to commemorate Guthrie's 100th birthday.

The set contains all of the tracks from the previously released Mermaid Avenue (1998) and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (2000), as well as a third disc of outtakes from the original album sessions in 1997 and 1998. A DVD containing the documentary Man in the Sand (1999), which is about the "Mermaid Avenue" project, is included as a fourth disc.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
American Songwriter	[2]
The A.V. Club	A−[3]
Consequence of Sound	[4]
Drowned in Sound	9/10[5]
The Phoenix	[6]
Pitchfork Media	8.1/10[7]
PopMatters	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Uncut	7/10[10]

On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the set has an average score of 85 based on 12 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[11] The A.V. Club gave it an A−.[3]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Woody Guthrie, except those of "When the Roses Bloom Again" (see note)

Disc 1: *Mermaid Avenue*
No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Walt Whitman's Niece" (Words: 1946; Music: 1997)	Billy Bragg	3:53
2.	"California Stars" (Music: 1997)	Jay Bennett/Jeff Tweedy	4:57
3.	"Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key" (Words: 1946; Music: 1997)	Bragg	4:06
4.	"Birds and Ships" (Music: 1997)	Bragg	2:13
5.	"Hoodoo Voodoo"	Wilco(Tweedy/Bennett/John Stirratt/Ken Coomer)/Bragg/Corey Harris	3:12
6.	"She Came Along to Me" (Words: 1942; Music: 1998)	Bragg/Tweedy/Bennett	3:26
7.	"At My Window Sad and Lonely" (Words: 1939; Music: 1997)	Tweedy	3:27
8.	"Ingrid Bergman" (Words: 1950; Music: 1996)	Bragg	1:50
9.	"Christ for President" (Music: 1997)	Tweedy/Bennett	2:39
10.	"I Guess I Planted" (Music: 1997)	Bragg	3:32
11.	"One by One" (Words: 1939; Music: 1997)	Tweedy	3:22
12.	"Eisler on the Go" (Music: 1997)	Bragg	2:56
13.	"Hesitating Beauty" (Words: 1949; Music: 1997)	Tweedy	3:04
14.	"Another Man's Done Gone" (Music: 1998)	Bragg	1:34
15.	"The Unwelcome Guest" (Words: 1940; Music: 1996)	Bragg	5:09

Disc 2: *Mermaid Avenue Vol. II*
No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Airline to Heaven" (Words: 1939; Music: 1997)	Jay Bennett/Jeff Tweedy	4:50
2.	"My Flying Saucer" (Words: 1950; Music: 1995)	Billy Bragg	1:45
3.	"Feed of Man" (Music: 1998)	Tweedy	4:08
4.	"Hot Rod Hotel" (Words: 1949; Music: 1996)	Bragg	3:17
5.	"I Was Born" (Words: 1950; Music: 1996)	Bragg	1:50
6.	"Secret of the Sea" (Words: 1939; Music: 1999)	Bennett/Tweedy	2:42
7.	"Stetson Kennedy" (Words: 1950; Music: 1997)	Bragg	2:39
8.	"Remember the Mountain Bed" (Words: 1944; Music: 1999)	Tweedy/Bennett	6:26
9.	"Blood of the Lamb" (Words: 1955; Music: 1997)	Bennett/Tweedy	4:16
10.	"Aginst th' Law" (Words: 1947; Music: 1995)	Bragg	3:03
11.	"All You Fascists" (Words: 1942; Music: 1997)	Bragg	2:43
12.	"Joe DiMaggio Done It Again" (Words: 1949; Music: 1995)	Bragg	2:31
13.	"Meanest Man" (Words: 1945; Music: 1997)	Bragg	3:46
14.	"Black Wind Blowing" (Music: 1997)	Bragg	3:00
15.	"Someday Some Morning Sometime" (Words: 1948; Music: 2000)	Tweedy	2:53

Disc 3: *Mermaid Avenue Vol. III*
No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Bugeye Jim" (Lyrics: 1946)	Billy Bragg	3:18
2.	"When the Roses Bloom Again" (This song was published in 1901 as "I'll Be With You When the Roses Bloom Again", credited to Gus Edwards (composer) and Will D. Cobb (lyricist). The version contained on this album has altered lyrics and a new melody,[12] with only Cobb and Tweedy receiving writing credit.)	Jeff Tweedy	4:11
3.	"Gotta Work" (Lyrics: 1949)	Corey Harris	2:16
4.	"My Thirty Thousand" (Lyrics: 1949)	Bragg	2:40
5.	"Ought to Be Satisfied Now" (Lyrics: 1939)	Bragg	3:34
6.	"Listening to the Wind That Blows" (Lyrics: 1939)	Tweedy	5:07
7.	"Go Down to the Water" (Lyrics: 1945)	Bragg	4:36
8.	"Chain of Broken Hearts" (Lyrics: 1939)	Tweedy	3:31
9.	"Jailcell Blues" (Lyrics: 1953)	Bragg	2:28
10.	"Don't You Marry"	Bragg	3:18
11.	"Give Me a Nail" (Lyrics: 1943)	Bragg	1:42
12.	"The Jolly Banker"	Guthrie	3:31
13.	"Union Prayer" (Lyrics: 1949)	Bragg	4:12
14.	"Be Kind to the Boy on the Road"	Bragg	3:46
15.	"Ain'ta Gonna Grieve"	Tweedy/Jay Bennett	4:52
16.	"Tea Bag Blues"	Harris	4:03
17.	"I'm Out to Get" (Lyrics: 1946)	Bragg	3:58

Disc 4: Man in the Sand (DVD)

Personnel

Billy Bragg – guitar, vocals
Jay Bennett – organ, bouzouki, clavinet, piano, drums, background vocals
Ken Coomer – percussion, drums
John Stirratt – piano, bass, background vocals
Jeff Tweedy – guitar, harmonica, vocals

Additional musicians

Eliza Carthy – violin
Bob Egan – slide guitar
Corey Harris – vocals, guitar, lap steel guitar
Ben Ivitsky – viola
Natalie Merchant – vocals
Peter Yanowitz – drums

References

Allmusic link
Beviglia, Jim (19 April 2012). "Billy Bragg & Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". American Songwriter. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
Hyden, Steven (17 April 2012). "Billy Bragg and Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions | Music | Music Review | The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
Gerber, Justin (27 April 2012). "Album Review: Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
Lucas, Dan (23 April 2013). "Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
Lundy, Zeth (1 May 2012). "Billy Bragg + Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". The Phoenix. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
Deusner, Stephen M. (27 April 2012). "Billy Bragg / Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
Franco, Michael (27 April 2012). "Billy Bragg and Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". PopMatters. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
Hermes, Will (24 April 2012). "Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
McKay, Alistair (2012). "Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Uncut. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
"Critic Reviews for Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Metacritic. Retrieved on 2012-09-20.
UMaine.edu https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1751&context=mmb-vp. Retrieved 3 February 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

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[allmusic-1] Allmusic link

[americansongwriter-2] Beviglia, Jim (19 April 2012). "Billy Bragg & Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". American Songwriter. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

[avclub-3] Hyden, Steven (17 April 2012). "Billy Bragg and Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions | Music | Music Review | The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 17 April 2012.

[cos-4] Gerber, Justin (27 April 2012). "Album Review: Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

[drowned-5] Lucas, Dan (23 April 2013). "Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

[phoenix-6] Lundy, Zeth (1 May 2012). "Billy Bragg + Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". The Phoenix. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

[pitchfork-7] Deusner, Stephen M. (27 April 2012). "Billy Bragg / Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

[popmatters-8] Franco, Michael (27 April 2012). "Billy Bragg and Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". PopMatters. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

[rs-9] Hermes, Will (24 April 2012). "Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

[uncut-10] McKay, Alistair (2012). "Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Uncut. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

[Metacritic-11] "Critic Reviews for Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Metacritic. Retrieved on 2012-09-20.

[12] UMaine.edu https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1751&context=mmb-vp. Retrieved 3 February 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Billy Bragg
Studio albums	Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy Brewing Up with Billy Bragg Talking with the Taxman About Poetry Workers Playtime The Internationale Don't Try This at Home William Bloke Mermaid Avenue Mermaid Avenue Vol. II England, Half-English Mr Love & Justice Mermaid Avenue Vol. III Tooth & Nail Shine a Light Bridges Not Walls The Million Things That Never Happened
Compilations and boxsets	Back to Basics The Peel Sessions Album Victim of Geography Bloke on Bloke Reaching to the Converted Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg Volume 1 Volume 2 Fight Songs Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions
Singles and EPs	Between the Wars EP "Levi Stubbs' Tears" "Greetings to the New Brunette" "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards" "Sexuality" "We Laughed"
Related articles	Discography Red Wedge "A New England" Wilco Man in the Sand

Wilco
Jeff Tweedy John Stirratt Nels Cline Pat Sansone Mikael Jorgensen Glenn Kotche Leroy Bach Jay Bennett Ken Coomer Bob Egan Brian Henneman Max Johnston
Studio albums	A.M. Being There Summerteeth Yankee Hotel Foxtrot A Ghost Is Born Sky Blue Sky Wilco (The Album) The Whole Love Star Wars Schmilco Ode to Joy Cruel Country Cousin
Live albums	Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
With Billy Bragg	Mermaid Avenue Mermaid Avenue Vol. II Mermaid Avenue Vol. III Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions
EPs	More Like the Moon
Compilations	What's Your 20? Essential Tracks 1994–2014 Alpha Mike Foxtrot: Rare Tracks 1994 - 2014 Crosseyed Strangers: An Alternate Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
DVDs	Man in the Sand I Am Trying to Break Your Heart Wilco Live: Ashes of American Flags
Related articles	Discography The Autumn Defense Jim O'Rourke Billy Bragg Down with Wilco At the Organ Golden Smog Jeff Tweedy discography Loose Fur Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest Tweedy Uncle Tupelo The Wilco Book Wilco: Learning How to Die Record Club dBpm Records

Woody Guthrie
Studio albums	Ballads of Sacco & Vanzetti Dust Bowl Ballads Songs To Grow On Volume One: Nursery Days Songs to Grow on for Mother and Child
Live albums	The Live Wire: Woody Guthrie in Performance 1949
Compilations	The Columbia River Collection Library of Congress Recordings The Asch Recordings Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection
Almanac Singers	Talking Union Deep Sea Chanteys and Whaling Ballads Sod Buster Ballads Dear Mr. President
Related	Discography Bound for Glory (1943 book) Bound for Glory (1976 film) Almanac Singers "This Land Is Your Land" "Grand Coulee Dam" Mermaid Avenue (Vol. I Vol. II The Complete Sessions) Man in the Sand This machine kills fascists Roll on Columbia: Woody Guthrie and the Columbia River Songs People's Songs Woody Guthrie Center Woody Guthrie Foundation Woody Guthrie Folk Festival "Song to Woody" "Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie"
Family	Marjorie Mazia Guthrie (wife) Arlo Guthrie (son) Nora Guthrie (daughter) Jack Guthrie (cousin) Sarah Lee Guthrie (granddaughter) Aliza Greenblatt (mother-in-law)