Mermaid Avenue

Decepcionante. Me gusta el Wilco rockero, no este Wilco folk adyacente al country, probablemente el género más sobrerepresentado aparte del rock británico.

Inoffensive but I'm not much of a country music or country-like music fan

don't you DARE say the word 'kissle' in my ears again.

Very surprised by how much I like this one.

2/5

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.

One of the more generic albums we've had here on this list. Feels like something geared towards Americans with it's country-light sound. Sounded pretty weak at times, so that mixed with it being quite boring brings it to 2 for me.

*Folk rock, which I normally like, but this was mostly pretty boring. *Natalie Merchant made an appearance! But only for a short 2 min song… *Fave track - way over yonder. *Pleasant, good background music. Just not very compelling. RATING - 6/10

This was just okay. Not sure it’s something I need to hear before I die. I do like this better than Wilco, generally, and that’s probably because it’s technically Billy Bragg. I didn’t love this, though, and there were parts where the lyrics were laughably bad. I’d give this a 2.5 if I could, but I have to round down.

I could totally see this being a five star for some people

A nice folksy sound but nothing that shook my tree.

Not a fan, but someone probably is.

2.5 Didn’t enjoy the Billy Bragg half, liked the Wilco half okay. I didn’t find that these two halves worked together, so it was jarring for the songs to go back and forth. Although both artists are guitar based folk, the comparisons stop there. The way their music sounds is fundamentally different. I didn’t like that. And beyond all that, as someone who enjoys Wilco, 3 albums of theirs on this list is a bit much, wouldn’t you say?

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.

Aspiring to describe a mythical land some time past this feels laconic and dull. All of it making up Alternative Country.

Lo encontré medio fomeque

Non capisco tutto questo entusiasmo

Well produced and performed but just not feeling it I suppose

On my first listen (about two years ago at time of typing), I felt that the album's concept was a good idea on paper which falls flat with its execution. Today- a week after pulling Billy Bragg's Talking to the Taxman About Poetry (solid folk punk album by the way)- I return to Mermaid Avenue. My second listen: it's fine. Opinion stars the same. I like Wilco. I appreciate Woodie Guthrie and Billy Bragg. All three write great music separately. Overall: 4/10

Just seeing the name Billy Bragg is enough to put me off.

not in love with folk music still

No charm to this at all. I'd rather listen to Woody Guthrie.

1998. Kind of a chill country sounding album. Wilco featured on every song of this album as well.

Meh

It’s like moving through mud

The world did not need this album

A bit of a snooze fest although I’ve heard Woodie Guthrie’s poetry is top tier

Not what I thought or expected

I dont remember much sorry must have not been amazing then

Det är typ tillräckligt för att jag skulle nicka med om någon satte på det men idk jag var kanske bara inte så taggad. Jag respekterar politiken dock.

Anglobard, but thanks for The Internationale.

Average album

327/1001

Didn't really dig it.

Good energy, but not great songs.

I can't. I know it's "folk" or whatever, but it sounds an awful lot like country. Too much slide guitar and twangy shit. It's really annoying.

Chris TT has a song called Preaching To The Converted that questions the use of singing protest songs to people who agree with you. A line in that song is "Billy Bragg's gone fishing in his 4x4". I would rather listen to 50 minutes of BB driving than this to be quite honest.

Bored listening to this

Most forgettable music in history. I have vague memory of listening to it.

I understand what they were trying to do and the concept is definitely interesting but this album had trouble holding my attention. I would find myself zoning out during the middle of songs to the point that I had to restart a couple. It's not a bad album but it just isn't interesting to me. It's a shame that Woody Guthrie didn't write songs to accompany these lyrics because he probably would have done a better job with them, in my opinion. This is the issue that I've had with Wilco, overall. Their music isn't bad. It's clear that they're actually quite good at what they do. It's just boring to me and I'm generally a fan of folk, indie, and alternative.

imagine the parallel universe in which Woody Guthrie covers Billy Bragg

Too slow for me

I honestly did not love this. I’m getting fatigued of getting albums that feel like a two rating. Haven’t discovered anything new or amazing for quite some time.

mmmmm

I appreciate this album but it’s just not a genre I’d revisit much - but for the genre I’d say it’s pretty good! If that makes any sense!

This is an interesting one. It's a collection of unfinished Woody Guthrie songs (that were just lyrics, no music) that was commissioned by Guthrie’s daughter to be finished and recorded by Billy Bragg (who I had never heard of), who chose Wilco as his backing band. Apparently she wanted the songs to be in a style that would appeal to a new generation, but maintain her father’s original lyrics and meaning. It’s very well done, and I like a lot of it. Certain songs are more captivating than others, and there isn’t anything that particularly resonated with me upon my initial listen, but it’s ok. Like I said, I enjoyed it, but I don’t know that I would necessarily come back to it. We’ll see.

Would not listen again, kind of a tough one; California stars is nice?

Late 1990s alternative country/US folk rock album by Billy Bragg with previously unheard lyrics by Woodie Guthrie. It was a nice listen but nothing remarkable or memorable, probably I won't listen to it again.

At first, I really did not like this album, but it got better on or around Christ for President. I like One by One also. Overall, just not to my liking. Too many songs in this album. 2.

These songs are performed well, but the overall sound is not really my thing. It was kind of dreamy and show gazer ish at times, which is not bad, but it just didn't grab me. Seems like an album that you have to be in a certain mood for. Elements of Hoodoo Voodoo reminded me of The Beatles' Lady Madonna.

Bragg kan mycket bättre. Saknar gnista. Två.

Not really appealing to me, quite boring. The only reason this is on the list as far as I can tell is that the lyrics are from Woody Guthrie’s rejected song notes. 2⭐️

Strange enough as a concept to warrant a place on the list alone… thing is though it’s not that interesting, Wilco are an alright band and billy bragg is solid but I feel the in your face Britishness to his voice is completely redundant and that’s what I found charming about his work 2/5

was alright kinda country vibe

I like that one song, but mainly shit.

Got a couple of songs in and just wasn’t me for. Didn’t really like this one

I don't like country

Very boring.

Not terrible, just a bit of a snoozer even for the genre. Would be a great album if I wanted to wind down after work, but then it merits no more attention than a lo-fi playlist

It was kind of all over the place, stylistically. There were two songs on the album that I did like.

This was actually fine but I just didn't like it for some reason. There was nothing wrong with it. There was also nothing right with it. Very odd.

the music itself is fine but the guy's style of narrative almost spoken word pissed me off really

It was hard to stay awake during this at points.

I'm not American or British, so I have absolutely no idea who any of these people are. I fully accept that there might be some context that turn this into a masterpiece, but my impression while listening was mostly confusion. I truly do not understand how an album like this made the list. The lyrics are subpar. There's no amazing musical ability on display. Who did this influence? This did nothing to change my view on past albums, or my perception of future listens. It did not provide any insight into the evolution of anything.

Was a bit of a rough listen for me. Sounds a lot like a mixture of classic country with Irish folk/bar music. Not as innovative as My Morning Jacket, just blah songs one after another. I did enjoy "Birds and Ships" though. 2.33/5 according to my album rating on iTunes, so I'm going with a 2.

First some tracks had some good energy and vibes but it seemed to taper off towards the middle and later part of this album. 2.5 goin down.

It's a fine album that didn't really do anything standout to me. I did like Walt Whitman's Niece and California Stars, but after that, it started fading into background noise and slipped from my attention. Nothing offensive, but I probably will not be coming back.

naw

California Stars Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key

I'm really not a big fan of the is album 2/5

# 307 : boring folk country, can listen to it, but it's not real good and nothing stood out. Not much to Bragg about

The best part is Natalie Merchant appearing on Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key and Birds and Ships. Her voice is transcendent. Otherwise I found the album repetitive and forgettable. Except for Hoodoo Voodoo. Which would have been great on Sesame Street. I hope Woody isn't turning in his grave.

Too country for me.

So Billy Bragg and Wilco - both of whom I'm not exactly a fan of, but don't have anything against, either - write music to go with unsung Woodie Guthrie lyrics. Which...you know. Is grand for Guthrie fans, I suppose. Because they also stay really close to how music by Guthrie himself would have sounded. But I really, thoroughly do not get why this made the list. It's perfectly fine musicianship, combined with perfectly fine lyrics. But if Guthrie had written, recorded and released the music himself, this wouldn't be one of the Guthrie albums on the list. So... Why is it on the list with Bragg and Wilco doing the honours?

This is an honest alt-country/folk album. The story behind the album is nice, it is well interpreted, but I'm not really sensitive to this specific genre, it lacks edges, and I honestly find it a bit boring.

okay de erst song isch chli arsch gsi gad. zu folky. de zweit isch sehr schön gsunge und schön gspielt mit de pedal steel gitarre. bin mi recht am langwiile gad sorry woody guthrie. hoodoo voodoo isch recht okay. 2.

was isch denn das wieder fürn schmarre ouhouh momentan gar kei bock uf so musig ja das isch mier gad chli zu amerikanisch ah ich chegg wiso dassmers chan schön finde aber es isch eifach zu cheesy und schnulzig für mich way over yondrr hani sehr schön gfunde wies zemme harmonisch gsunge hend oke han gad glese was no de kontext vom album isch...sehr cool aber weg dem hanis trz nöd gern bin gad am HOODOO VOODOO CHOO CHOO lose und ich lieb was de eint guy gfunde het: "The Mermaid Avenue project is essential for showing that Woody Guthrie could illuminate what was going on inside of him as well as he could detail the plight of his fellow man" aha denn findi sehr fair christ for president findi gad wieder sehrsehr schlimm, de rhythmus AAAH aso me muss natürlich sege es isch schön gschribe und guet gsunge meistens und alles aber de country-pop oder was das au IMMER söll sii entspricht mier gar nöd one by one und eisler on the go sind jz die erste wo ich chli öppis chan abgwünne OMG ES ISCH FERTIG ICH HANS GAR NÖD CHEGGT wür gern es 1 geh will hanmi huere gnervt aber das wär unfair, will gspielt etc. ischs guet drum es 2

I’m being generous.

I really wanted to like this. Easy pleasant music - nothing offensive - but lyrics and vocals were nothing special! I don’t see any innovation here. Just middle of the road vocals and melodies.

Some decent tracks and some worse tracks. 2/5

Not quite my type of nostalgia.

Another Man’s Done Gone //

I thought a few of the tracks were ok. Didn’t like others. Really this was just too much folk for me at one time.

It balances between British folk and American country. A bit too close to country. 2.5/5.

Not for me, couldn't finish

Honestly, I found this one to be a bit too generic to be memorable.

I like Billy Bragg but really don’t like this album. It’s not really in the English folk tradition. Sounds very Americana at times.

One of those albums where you wonder why it is on the list.

Ok.

Okee hmm ja mwah

This is an interesting album. I'm not saying its a good album, but I can at least see why it might make a list of albums that everyone should hear. Why not just put some Woody Guthrie albums on this list instead, though? Anyway, its not bad, but its not good either. I love Woody Guthrie, but this doesnt capture any of the feelings from his lyrics here. 2/5

You cannot escape the notion that the Bill Bailey parody is spot on.

Not for me

nothing happens so stfu about your house

Нет. Не ужасно, но даже второй раз переслушивать не хочется.

2/5

Favourite song Birds and Ships & One by One

Not listened yet

Bleh

Riesco a capire dalle canzoni che sono di qualità per il loro genere folk, ma a me questo tipo di musica proprio non dà niente purtroppo, non mi piace. Alla fine riconosco che è un album fatto bene.

Maybe if you repeated the choruses just a couple more dozen times then you would have achieved your goal of putting me to sleep.

meh

Not for me

Bland. I guess I'm not a fan of Wilco... 2nd album I've gotten with them & just not feeling it.

Niks voor mij, ik zie mezelf wel op een porch zitten met een schommelstoel en spugen in een metalen vaas achtig, waarbij ik dan lekker mondharmonica speel

country blijft niet mijn ding California Stars wel ok nee dank u

This was fine, but I wasn't super into it.

Not really my kind of thing

I like this fine, but I struggle to see how it ended up on this list. There are better Guthrie, Wilco and Bragg albums, so its inclusion seems a bit odd. That said, it’s a fun listen, there’s a spontaneity to it that works well on songs like California Stars and Way Over Yonder… not a bad album, just not a great one.

It kinda all sounds the same?

A resounding MEH. “California Stars” is recognizable and I love nearly everything Natalie Merchant does but I was left wondering why on Earth this album was included.

Nope. This album is not for me. After a couple songs, I clicked on the reviews (first time doing so on this site), and found that all the lyrics were Woody Guthrie's. This would explain my reaction, as his poetry had always left me cold.

Is it a bad thing when you randomly start singing a completely different song? And I don't mean different lyrics, I mean I was just singing something else over this. Very boring

Actively didn’t enjoy some parts but others were tolerable

I really like some other Wilco stuff but this was mostly a miss for me

I always feel like i ought to like folk but mostly i just don't.

I like Billy and I like Wilco but that doesn't necessarily mean I like them together. This just feels like bland countryesque rambling. Sorry but it's nothing special.

Not for me but I appreciate the story of collaboration for this album. My cats liked Natalie Merchant’s voice on the song Birds and Ships

I'm not sure whether to give this 2 or 3 stars. I like some of the lyrics (which are not written by billy bragg) and the world view but musically this doesn't really speak to me too much

it was fine, nothing rly hit for me though

Couldn’t find any enjoyment in this. It’s just not my thing. Nothing completely offensive though

Boring didn't like it

boring and trash but i can respect they know how to play i guess

Didn’t really think much of the album. Then I read about it and was surprised. I liked the female vocalist but otherwise wasn’t really impressed.

California Stars Way over Yonder in the Minor Key

Didn’t love it at all. Not that it is bad per we, it’s just not really my bag.

Not my style

This process is really showing my lack of musical breadth. Billy Bragg is yet another artist I feel I should really have paid more attention to. Having said that, an album of Billy Bragg doing unrecorded songs by Woody Guthrie might not be the best place to start. Despite it being quite Country there is something here I could get into. But it would require more time than I’m prepared to give. That’s my problem.

The story behind the album is kinda interesting, but I don't really care about the music. I thought it might be worse, so I guess I'm glad it's only a two. Not the worst country I've heard, but I've also heard better. My favourite song was California Stars.

I like the idea of this album more than the album itself. I’ve never had more than a. Tepid interest in Wilco - guess that won’t change

Dos trenzas.

Pretty meh

I think the concept of this album is cool and noble and everything, I just don't particularly care for the music itself. I could barely stand Wilco in their prime, let alone on this album, and I've honestly never listened to Billy Bragg. D for effort, though.

Not my cup of tea, really.

Meh

Decent country songs, but probably not gonna listen again

one or two were good

I’m sure it would have been excellent if Woody himself had performed it. This is extremely dull with too clean of production for my tastes.

Honestly too slow and boring for my tastes. Just not my kind of music.

Fine for background music I guess

ну было и было алкоальбом: вино грузинское из ардиса

Скучно. Долго. Непонятно.

Not bad but nothing special either

Too long to be memorable

Love Wilco, like Billy B (though sometimes he sounds a bit flat) I find this a bit dreary though. Workmanlike and unmemorable.

Top 3 Songs: 1 - California Stars (2) 2 - Christ for President (9) 3 - Hoodoo Voodoo (5)

Only song I'd heard before is California Stars, which fucking sucks. Some of the tracks were alright, especially when more country flecked. Overall just pretty unremarkable, would definitely be one of the 10,001 albums.

wilco if they were bad

Fine

I'm sure there's much more to this than I was getting but just couldn't enjoy it

A little too country for me, especially in the vocals department. It's fun and lighthearted though. The track with Natalie Merchant singing is gorgeous.

Meh, þetta er ekki pirrandi en gerir nákvæmlega ekki neitt fyrir mig.

The human brain cannot bear much revolution, it seems. Spin someone around too much and they lose the horizon and start to vomit. This intolerance for too much discord parallels a curious phenomenon in music: the socially liberal artist espousing a progressive message whilst never straying from the sonically conservative. The clearest examples stem from the 60s folk-rock hippies. These unwashed protesters would champion civil rights and feminist causes alongside decrials against the Vietnam War, all while plucking an acoustic guitar and insisting they were continuing the tradition of Pete Seeger and Hank Williams. This became calcified into the singer-songwriter glut of the early 70s, with the likes of James Taylor somehow being treated as oracles for the state of the world. Couple that to the lamentable American tendency to view rote copying of classic acts as legitimate homage, and the result is a decades-long presence of gently picked acoustic guitars accompanying platitudinous worries for the lot of the working American stiff. (Actually, during the 80s the politics got a little muted when all these folk singers secretly or not-so-secretly voted for Reagan.) Billy Bragg is not an American. He’s an ardently left-wing British folk singer who sprang to prominence in the wake of punk, and I suppose there’s a contention that his folk-indie protest songs are part of the post-punk diaspora, of musicians growing strange new crops after punk’s slash-and-burn. Still, it’s not that much of an innovation, being a left-wing folk singer during Thatcherism. In any case, Bragg has maintained the role of the politically committed troubadour for over 30 years, perhaps succumbing to that curse of his message being lost due to his becoming a British institution. But I feel that I should leave that discussion to the list’s one solo Bragg album, Talking with the Taxman About Poetry. Onto Mermaid Avenue. In 1995, Billy Bragg accepted an invitation from Woody Guthrie’s daughter Nora, who had witnessed Bragg play at a Woody Guthrie tribute concert in 1992, to record some of Woody Guthrie’s unrecorded lyrics. Since there were over a thousand such lyrics, an overwhelmed Bragg contacted Wilco to assist him through sifting among the morass, with the two acts collaborating on the resultant album. Now, I’ve reviewed Wilco’s other albums on the list (Being There and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, since you didn’t ask), and they alienated me due to their good behaviour. The music was so well-mannered that it seemed to lack any trace of personality. I could not fault the construction of the music, but none of it left any impression whatsoever. A well-made cardboard box, if you will. So, we have the lyrics of a revered left-wing American folk singer, performed by a left-wing British folk singer and an American alt-country band. I don’t think it’s tricky to guess how this album sounds. It sounds like a British folk and an American alt-country band reverently performed songs written by an American folk singer. The most curious element is that Billy Bragg sings in an American accent throughout. I guess Bragg’s nasal Essex drawl would just prove distracting to the standard American listener, who would be the main audience for this album. Now, Nora Guthrie gave Bragg and Wilco the commandment to resurrect these songs in a contemporary manner, which essentially results in them sounding like Wilco. This means Mermaid Avenue suffers from the main flaw that afflicts Wilco’s other albums: the lack of flaws leads to a lack of character, and this lack of character makes it rather dull. The song California Stars has its charms, I guess, and to call the album bad feels impolite. But it feels disengagingly safe. There’s no sense of risk, or challenge, or grit. Bragg and Wilco never stop genuflecting to question what Woody Guthrie would have done nowadays. I’m not sure that’s the legacy Woody Guthrie would have wanted. Another figure to emerge in the aftermath of British punk was an awkward Salfordian called Mark E. Smith. Mark E. Smith would co-found the post-punk group the Fall in 1976 after seeing the Sex Pistols play at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester (Joy Division, the Buzzcocks, Morrissey and, weirdly, Mick Hucknall also attended that gig). Smith would soon become the dictator of The Fall, notorious for sacking dozens of band members over the Fall’s 40-year history, for offences ranging from eating a salad to dancing to a song by the Clash. Politically, Mark E. Smith was vehemently anti-socialist (and vehemently anti-social) and he supported Brexit; one biographer characterised Smith as a working-class Tory with occasionally radical (and slightly eccentric) opinions. However, the Fall were never musically conservative, with a Fall album able to encompass electronica, country, krautrock, acid house, disco, reggae and punk, and Mark E. Smith’s fractured, cryptic poetry cementing it all as a work by the Fall. Mark E. Smith’s politics weren’t right-on, but the music he and his cohorts made was far more interesting and far more alive than anything Bragg or Wilco have ever managed. There’s no reason why the socially progressive can’t also be audibly radical. Aren’t they meant to be smashing the system? FOLK MUSICIANS OF THE WORLD, UNITE! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE EXCEPT YOUR ACOUSTIC GUITARS AND FORTY VERSES ABOUT THE DEATH OF THE MINING INDUSTRY! NoRadio, signing out.

There was kind of a country feeling here, so not really my vibe, but not bad nonetheless. The lyrics were pretty okay and I like the song titles. Fave track(s): California Stars

I think I preferred the wilko parts.

Allt í lagi stöff, ekkert sem greip mig sérstaklega.

Kind of boring, I'm sure if I was listening a little harder I'd get the message but I just don't care

This was all over the place pacing and genre wise

I cared so little for this album, that I didn’t even pay all that much attention to it while it was on. It was OK….I guess.

Wilco is responsible for two amazing albums that are likely on this list. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born. The rest of their output has been mediocre at best and that is okay. This record is clearly one written and recorded as a passion project due to their love of classic Guthrie and old style country music. Again, it's totally fine. But it shouldn't be on this list. Because this is not a top album in ANY measure. It sucks. Again, that's okay. Not everything has to be mind blowing. But it shouldn't be here.

Keskinkertainen, vaikka Guthrie onkin kova 2/5

Strange. I respect Billy Bragg and I like a few Wilco albums, but this collab just annoyed me. That opener is painful. Not a fun listen :(

Boeieee, waarom staat dit hierin?

Sorry Wilco, blei lei av dåke på Bergenfest

Country de vella escola, una mica avorrit

I’m sure it’s good but I’m not a fan of either artist.

I like most alt country when I here it, even though it's not a style I often put on myself, but this album did very little for me.

From a big Wilco fan, this album was one of the most boring things iv'e ever listened to. 5/10

DNF, road trip vibes where it’s the only radio station on

Not for me, too country

Meh. Too long

It's mostly low-key and nice and inoffensive. It doesn't get me going.

If this was a team competing at the controversial 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, it'd be Cameroon.

3/10

Stand out tracks - Birds and Ships - Hoodoo Voodoo

I own this album and I don't think I've ever listened to it more than once. Wait, do I own this album? Maybe I borrowed it from the library? Who knows. I like Bragg's voice every now and then, but it's not for me.

Me he aburrido bastante, me gustan Wilco y Billy Bragg así que no sé que ha podido salir mal. Aunque no es malo y se queda en 2 estrellas y por supuesto no es imprescindible más allá de unir a estos músicos.

Its probably not bad but it really not for me, I found it dull and uninspired and it just droned on and on

I thought no I've mentioned before that this turn of the century Americana revival leaves me a bit cold. And sadly, while my values align pretty much perfectly with Billy Bragg's and I love what he speaks about and could listen to him talk all day, I've never found a way in with his music... And by embracing Americana it just makes it harder! I didn't hate it, but I did just kind of let it happen. Walt Whitman and the President one were both okay?

Not the type of music I typically enjoy. Overall, I did not really enjoy this album.

Did not enjoy this one much, but it wasn't offensive. 2/5

Ho-hum.

Unimpressed. Zo was blue grass folky country kan me niet overtuigen

Billy Bragg has always been a bit cheeky, but as a country album, it isn't as convincing as it needs to be. As an alt-rock album, it also fails.

Its certainly an interesting idea for an album and I'm glad I was able to give it a listen, but it's a far cry from either of their best work

Было сложно слушать. Очень неинтересно, но под фоном пойдет. Музыка легкая, ненапрягающая.

Gedraaid, maar totaal vergeten wat dit was. Als het echt belachelijk slecht was, was er vast meer van bijgebleven.

Ik hoor werkelijk niet wat hier nou zo speciaal aan zou moeten zijn. Waarschijnlijk hoor ik niet waarom dit goed zou moeten zijn omdat dit niet het genre is waar ik warm boor loop. Erg middelmatig.

Not really my style

Smokey Roadhouse tavern sound to this album. Not really my thing, but has its place. REVERB.

Not my thing

Did not listen to this entirely. Folk is not my lan and this album didn't change that.

A cool story about how this came into fruition, but musically its not for me.

Pleasant collaboration.

Some nice tracks but all just felt a bit lacklustre to me.

If I listened to folk music This might be the kind of folk for me And if I wrote lyrics for folk songs I might sing them over these tunes Kind of witty sentiment and A fag packet bar chord structure Old twenties Americana Or contemporary satire If I listened to folk music This might be the kind of folk for me

Woody Guthrie connection is interesting, but this album didn't capture me (on the day I listened). Maybe one for when I'm in a more mellow mood. 2.5

2/5

First two songs were boring. I liked "way over yonder" and the natalie merchant songs. Most of the album was just typical boring americana.

Much more upbeat than I had expected, this is quite a fun album. I likely won't ever listen again but I'm glad I know of its existence.

Boring folkish album. I don't get why it's on this list, but you know how Wilco fans are...

Boring folk album, the singer looks like he's always joking during a karaoke session. really long for what it is...I'm tired now !

This is two albums mushed together. There’s a folk album that’s lovely, has a Johnny Cash feel at times. The first two tracks of the record are beautiful, unfortunately the female vocalist is not heard again. Then there’s the other album with occasional 90s counting crows, Tom pretty esque sounds. It really wasn’t a good mix.

The album oddly gets better as it goes, but it never stops sounding like boring white music for uninteresting college kids. For fans of Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, and The Grateful Dead.

Nothing offensive here. Just not an album I overly connected with.

This album made me feel like a should live in a trailer, wear denim, gingham, and cowboy boots, drink whisky and drive a beat up truck. It’s not a bad vibe to listen to, it’s just not my vibe.

It's fine. Listenable.

A bit into the opening tracks, I was thinking “mmm… this could be interesting”. 50 minutes later, I’m thinking "this is boring".

I suffered through it. I did not skip any songs. I would not recommend and I would listen to it again.

I thought I'd like this more because I like Billy Bragg so much, but so it goes.

Not for me. I like some Wilco, but can't stand Billy Bragg and his influence is too much for me here. Sort of country, sort of folk, and mostly pretty uninteresting. I did like some of the lyrics (courtesy of Woody Guthrie), but less of a fan of the music. I actually enjoyed a couple of the tracks - generally the ones that sounded more Wilco than Bragg - but overall not a fan and certainly won't be coming back to this again.

Was not feeling it. Generic music

Too long and uneventful

I didn't listen to the lyrics very hard as it was the soundtrack to a particularly gnarly spreadsheet and I had to concentrate. But the tunes were boppy and inoffensive. I liked the one where the girl was singing. Would put this on to help me conquer formulae again.

Not really my thing

uneventful listen 2/5

Ok

i mean, it’s a cool concept, but i just didn’t really love the actual song part of it. the singing was just obnoxious

So...this is kind of a wannabe-Woody Guthrie record. Hmm. That probably is the (only) explanation for this being on a list of albums one MUST HEAR. Nothing against Billy Bragg or Wilco; I wouldn't say I'm a *fan* of either yet I've semi-enjoyed their music at times. But not this. The first two songs were dreadful but once we got to "Way Over Yonder In the Minor Key" I thought I could start to enjoy this; not to seem pedantic but the movement to the minor key in this gives me chills and is the kind of music I'm looking for, I felt this one. But it retreats back into laconic country dullness after that - I just don't feel this kind of music, for me the progressions need to go somewhere and for the most part they don't. If you're a student of lyrics and american history over musical construction there would definitely be some interest here, but I'll detour around Mermaid Avenue next time thanks. 3/10 2 stars.

Fine. 5/10

zum teil ein ziemlicher owizahrer

Howdy ...

Actually ok, considering its really country. its the voice, it is that god aweful country style, this doesnt have the twang and make me feel like im listening to an uneducated redneck telling me how he fell in love with the most beautiful beer, but chose to fuck his truck. made it through without skipping much. i dont see myself listening to it more than once, but ‘good on ya. at least a 2

Would be so much better if Bragg never opened his dumb British mouth. 4/10

I don’t think this one was very good, think I stopped listening pretty fast

Didn't know much about Bragg, but I thought I fancied Wilco and Guthrie! And to be fair, this album is fully listenable and has quite a few tunes. But it's far too indistinct and patchy to merit inclusion on the list. A pick for existing Guthrie fans, I should say.

Non c'è continuità nell'album. Non mi rimane nulla. Tipo gruppo irlandese che registra in un pub, ma il pub è nella contea. Ok, ho letto un po' di recensioni e comincio ad apprezzarlo di più, comunque non mi convince. 'One by One' interessante.

From my limited exposure to Billy Bragg, I was expecting to love this. Disappointingly, I found this album tedious. Didn't sound anything like the Billy Bragg I thought I knew.

I didn't love this album. May owe it a second a listen.

Dear lord, there are some melancholy songs on this album. I'm looking at you, "Eisler on the Go."

Paskaa

Vuodelta -98 tällasta kamaa. Mitä ihmeellistä tossa oli? Beats me

couldn't finish it

Completely forgot to write a review, but not because I didn’t enjoy it. Simply because I forgot. Like how I’ve forgotten any songs that were in here, but I know I had a good time, so let’s just call it a two - it earns its place - and be done with it.

Ok I'm at almost 400 albums now and by my estimate, somewhere between 20% and 30% of them are some kind of folk rock. There is only so much you can take of one genre before you just start giving it all 2/5. And I'm past that point. Another 5 folk albums and they'll all be getting 1. 2/5.

Back to back Wilco... the previous one got three stars from me for being pleasant background music but very unremarkable. This one somehow sounded even less remarkable. Perhaps somewhat more accessible, but less interesting. I really couldn't hear a reason why this is worth listening to.

“Mermaid Avenue” by Billy Bragg & Wilco (1998) This album presents to the listener a collection of fine folk lyrical compositions by Woody Guthrie, set to music 30 years after his death, by collaborators (Britisher) Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco, at the behest of Guthrie’s daughter Nora. On the one hand, it can be said that Guthrie was a good writer of folk songs, and these songs are good—a fitting tribute to a fine artist. On the other hand, this project could be characterized as the last (posthumous) gasp of an undeconstructed Stalinist, concocted by his daughter to wring the last few pennies out of a legacy best left in oblivion. I hold both views simultaneously. According to Bob Dylan (Chronicles, vol. 1, p. 99): “On one of my visits [to Guthrie at a New Jersey hospital in early 1961] Woody had told me about some boxes of songs and poems that he had written that had never been seen or set to melodies—that they were stored in the basement in his house in Coney Island and that I was welcome to them. He told me that if I wanted any of them to go see Margie, his wife, explain what I was there for. She’d unpack them for me.” Well, Margie Guthrie wasn’t home when Dylan got there—only the babysitter and thirteen year old son Arlo, both clueless. So the songs sat for decades until younger daughter Nora Guthrie got them produced on this album. How music history might have been different if Margie had been home that day. These songs would have been much better curated in Dylan’s hands. Guthrie’s naive, utopian, millenarian, and anachronistic (i.e., Communist) politics are occasionally on display here, but they’re not in your face. A nice anti fascist and feminist sentiment (without the perversions of pink hats and Antifa) is expressed in “She Came Along to Me”: “Never could have it been done If the women hadn't entered into the deal Like she came along to me And all creeds and kinds and colors Of us are blending Till I suppose ten million years from now We'll all be just alike Same color, same size, working together And maybe we'll have all of the fascists Out of the way by then.” But the most serious political excursion is in the left-wing “Eisler on the Go”, which prompts thoughts of the horrors of both sides of the mid-20th century left/right political construct. This song will require you to do some homework, and it’s not for amateurs. [Research hint: siblings Gerhart Eisler, Hanns Eisler, and Ruth Fischer] Now what Bragg & Wilco do musically with this set of lyrics is another matter altogether. Basically, the weak attempt at imitating folk settings for more contemporary ears is formulaic—desperately so in “Christ for President”. Some tracks (“Walt Whitman’s Niece”, “Hoodoo Voodoo”) are musically quite disappointing. Others (“California Stars”, “Birds and Ships”) aren’t bad. But sadly, Bragg and Wilco set aside the best of their talents for this project. There are none of Bragg’s good lyrics (since, obviously, they’re all Guthrie’s) and very little of Wilco’s innovative colorings are present. And Bragg still can’t sing. Sometimes (“She Came Along to Me”) there’s a gross mismatch between lyrics and musical settings. And the workers’ union rallying song “I Guess I Planted” simply cannot be sung unaccompanied by amateurs—a fatal weakness for a protest song. That slight tremor I just felt must be Guthrie cringing in his grave. On the other hand, “Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key” (with good backing vocal by Natalie Merchant and mournful violin by Eliza Carthy) would have made Guthrie proud. And “Ingrid Bergman” is a hoot, with its procreative sexual innuendo and voyeuristic reference to camera work (or am I reading too much into it? No, I don’t think so). All in all, the album falls flat, and that’s a shame. I wish Margie Guthrie had been home that cold Coney Island day. 2/5

Folk, country, fesen

I remember pretending to like Wilco in high school... I don't think it's bad. It's just not the energy I'm looking for.

Yep, again. Not bad.

couple good songs

cant get into folk

2

It's cold and I'm outside all alone on this one. But if coming inside means I'll have to listen to this, I'd gladly die of the shivers.

Boring, repetitive, a bit painful on the ears at times.

This is evidently not where I am right now.

Corbyn and Owen Jones co

All a bit self indulgent and dull really. Nice but dull.

It’s a modern indy country album featuring many well known artists from the alternate rock genre. I liked it, and even saved a couple tracks to my favourites, but it’s not a keeper. I found most of the album is fairly unmemorable. I think you will too. 2 Stars!

Not without merits and pleasant enough but really not my thing. just couldn’t get to grips with it at all. Favourite song-Hang down your head

A little too country for my taste

Ganz okay, aber über weite Strecken auch ganz langweilig. Hoher Fetischwert für Genre-Autisten. 1.5

Nope

2.5 | Con trabajos ubicaba a Woody Guthrie por lo de "This machine kills fascists." Culpa mea no conozco casi su música. Desafortunadamente este disco no creo sea la mejor manera de iniciar tomando en cuenta que solo son sus poemas que nunca hizo canción musicalizados por Billy Bragg, a quien, de nuevo, solo conozco de nombre y como activista. A pesar de que estoy seguro que no puedo considerar que ahora conozco a Guthrie o a Bragg siento que de menos fue la elección correcta para el proyecto porque las canciones de verdad se sienten como si hubieran podido haber sido hechas a fines de los 60s, tienen un sonido contemporaneo-folk-psicodélico que raya de lo retro a sentirse realmente como una grabación perdida de la época. Las letras... bien supongo, nada maravilloso, algunas incluso con un buen grado de humor pero quizá hubo una razón sobre por qué de inicio estaban olvidadas en una caja y no grabadas en un disco. La música de nuevo, bien a secas pero tampoco sobresale. Estoy seguro que un fanático pensaría que es una chingonería de disco y pensar en escuchar música de tu artista favorito que lleva décadas muerto debe haber sido muy chingona y quizá históricamente tiene su peso y sentido hacer este proyecto y eso de que Dylan había intentado encontrar las canciones y creían que se habían perdido y blablabla pero el producto final final... bien a secas para mis gustos.

No entendí. No le encontré pies ni cabeza al disco. Comienza bien con las dos primeras canciones pero es narcótico y podría haberlo escuchado 13,827 veces y sabría lo mismo que se ahora. No le pongo 1 estrella porque la música es agradable, pero nada que me haya despertado el más mínimo interés. Songs: California Stars

Meh

one good song, the last one

No pues está chingón. Si el disco fuera de dos canciones le pondría 7 estrellas.

Me suena el nombre pero no recuerdo de dónde conozco a Bragg, me gustó su Folk pero hasta ahí

Cuando leí el concepto del disco se me hizo buena idea. Medio me gusta Wilco, medio me gusta Billy Bragg y eso de tomar letras ya existentes y hacerles canciones me estaba bien. Pero no. Resultó aburrido. No sé si tal vez leyendo las letras me hubieran dado más, o si quizá en otro mood o conociendo al poeta. En fin, rescatable un poquito de la música, pero hasta ahí.

Country music could do better. Half of the songs were garbage

First two tracks were great, the rest was ok.

Didn't hate it, didn't love it

country, rien de special

Billy Bragg and Alt-Country are the perfect fit. They are both shit.

If I could make my review then sound of a very long exhaled breath in relief of this finishing, I would. It didnt even sound like Billy Bragg's voice, when did he learn to sing in tune? Ad for the source material, why bother? It wasnt even listenable. File under shit. Wilco. Over and out.

boring

Did not enjoy this

Average country music done by very unskilled musicians and some insufferable monotone singers. This list is so full to the brim of such americana mediocrity, that I'm starting to question the musical tastes of the people that made it. I would respect an aural abomination like De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem a lot more than this generic elevator music: At least that horrendous album took some courage to be released in the first place.

Incest musik

1. niece - 0 2. ztarz - 1 3. minor - 2 4. birdz - 2 5. vodoo - 0 6. came - 1 7. zad - 2 8. ingrid - 2 9. chrizt - 0 10. guezz - 0 11. one - 1 12. go - 2 13. beauty - 0 14. another - 1 15. guezt - 1

I wouldn't be Bragging

I ended up giving up on this as I wasn’t enjoying it. I like some of Billy Bragg’s own material but guess I’m not a fan of him doing covers. I don’t know, this just didn’t work for me.

It doesn't matter how good the lyrics are when the music is boring and the singer is whiny

Didn’t enjoy this album. Was folk music that I didn’t connect with

Lo escuché mientras me bañaba

I really didn't like this :(

1.5 - Bad

nope

Fuck Wilco, already... they don't have one essential song, let alone this many "must hear" albums....

Wilco for a third time?

This might be one of the more annoying albums I've ever heard. I read that this was a collection of songs based on unrecorded lyrics by Woody Guthrie, but either way it was really lame.

I cannot be bothered with this. I’m trying not to write albums off after a few tracks but this is really dull. (I did power through to the end)

Every song sounded the same

Not my thing at all

not my cup of tea

Not my thing, and worse yet, really boring.

I’d generally avoid Billy Bragg and this album reminded me why.

Limp wristed shite.

This is country. Idc. It's boring enough that I didn't even finish the first song. If I somehow missed a piece of generational art, I'll die a rube (or the opposite I suppose). Instead I listened to the amazing 2024 record "The New Sound" of Geordie Greep. An amazing record I expect with time to only ripe and become better. It mixes prog-rock, samba and elements of jazz. It's a thrilling ride following one mans descent into insanity as he loses his grip on life because falls in love with a lady of the night. It is an album with energetic highs such as the amazing "Holy, holy", but most songs will have me moving. Only "Motorbike" is a little bit meh. But by the time you reach the last three songs you might, like me, be an emotional and physical wreck. Then is the exact moment Greep hits you with the most touching songs "As if Waltz", "The Magician" & "If you are but a Dream". The first time I finished this record I felt my brain synapses make new connections and I knew my life was changed. That is the power music can have. 10/10 Of course unless its a country record which I'll give a 1.

Nah.

наче саундтрек головного героя підлітка з фільму про дорослішання, який приїхав з маленького містечка в Каліфорнію. короче зовсім не relatable

Snoozefest

Couldn't finish it

Alt det værste på ét Album. Langt, kedeligt, belærende, grim cover art.

Jeg syntes det var ret ringe folkish country lort. Så hørte jeg en sang der foreslog at gøre Jesus til Præsident. At ønske mere medmenneskelighed fra sine politikere er da et dybt sympatisk synspunkt. At personificere det ved en religion der har misbrugt, dræbt og undertrykt flere end nogen andre i verdenshistorien giver mig kvalme. Der klemmer sig et par fine melodier ind, desværre er det alt for få til at trække det her album op af sumpen.

This is simply not my musical genre. I couldn’t listen to it. The droning vocals do absolutely nothing for me. A few faster tempo songs would have been ok as instrumentals.

First listen Saved 1/15 Top track: One By One

sooooo boring

Country music sucks.