Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions

Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions
A black-and-white photo of a man building a sand castle on a beach with several children standing around him, one of whom is pointing toward the body of water. Superimposed text reads "BILLY / BRAGG / & WILCO" in orange, "MERMAID AVENUE" in blue, and "the complete sessions" in black script.
Box set by
Billy Bragg and Wilco
ReleasedApril 21, 2012 (2012-04-21)
Recorded1997–1998
StudioBoston, Chicago, and Dublin
LanguageEnglish
LabelNonesuch
ProducerWilco, Billy Bragg, Grant Showbiz
Billy Bragg chronology
Fight Songs
(2011) 		Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions
(2012) 		Tooth & Nail
(2013)
Wilco chronology
iTunes Session
(2012) 		Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions
(2012) 		Star Wars
(2015)
Billy Bragg & Wilco chronology
Mermaid Avenue Vol. II
(2000) 		Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions
(2012)

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
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
American Songwriter[2]
The A.V. ClubA−[3]
Consequence of Sound[4]
Drowned in Sound9/10[5]
The Phoenix[6]
Pitchfork Media8.1/10[7]
PopMatters[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Uncut7/10[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.TitleMusicLength
1."Walt Whitman's Niece" (Words: 1946; Music: 1997)Billy Bragg3:53
2."California Stars" (Music: 1997)Jay Bennett/Jeff Tweedy4:57
3."Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key" (Words: 1946; Music: 1997)Bragg4:06
4."Birds and Ships" (Music: 1997)Bragg2:13
5."Hoodoo Voodoo"Wilco(Tweedy/Bennett/John Stirratt/Ken Coomer)/Bragg/Corey Harris3:12
6."She Came Along to Me" (Words: 1942; Music: 1998)Bragg/Tweedy/Bennett3:26
7."At My Window Sad and Lonely" (Words: 1939; Music: 1997)Tweedy3:27
8."Ingrid Bergman" (Words: 1950; Music: 1996)Bragg1:50
9."Christ for President" (Music: 1997)Tweedy/Bennett2:39
10."I Guess I Planted" (Music: 1997)Bragg3:32
11."One by One" (Words: 1939; Music: 1997)Tweedy3:22
12."Eisler on the Go" (Music: 1997)Bragg2:56
13."Hesitating Beauty" (Words: 1949; Music: 1997)Tweedy3:04
14."Another Man's Done Gone" (Music: 1998)Bragg1:34
15."The Unwelcome Guest" (Words: 1940; Music: 1996)Bragg5:09
Disc 2: Mermaid Avenue Vol. II
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Airline to Heaven" (Words: 1939; Music: 1997)Jay Bennett/Jeff Tweedy4:50
2."My Flying Saucer" (Words: 1950; Music: 1995)Billy Bragg1:45
3."Feed of Man" (Music: 1998)Tweedy4:08
4."Hot Rod Hotel" (Words: 1949; Music: 1996)Bragg3:17
5."I Was Born" (Words: 1950; Music: 1996)Bragg1:50
6."Secret of the Sea" (Words: 1939; Music: 1999)Bennett/Tweedy2:42
7."Stetson Kennedy" (Words: 1950; Music: 1997)Bragg2:39
8."Remember the Mountain Bed" (Words: 1944; Music: 1999)Tweedy/Bennett6:26
9."Blood of the Lamb" (Words: 1955; Music: 1997)Bennett/Tweedy4:16
10."Aginst th' Law" (Words: 1947; Music: 1995)Bragg3:03
11."All You Fascists" (Words: 1942; Music: 1997)Bragg2:43
12."Joe DiMaggio Done It Again" (Words: 1949; Music: 1995)Bragg2:31
13."Meanest Man" (Words: 1945; Music: 1997)Bragg3:46
14."Black Wind Blowing" (Music: 1997)Bragg3:00
15."Someday Some Morning Sometime" (Words: 1948; Music: 2000)Tweedy2:53
Disc 3: Mermaid Avenue Vol. III
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Bugeye Jim" (Lyrics: 1946)Billy Bragg3:18
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 Tweedy4:11
3."Gotta Work" (Lyrics: 1949)Corey Harris2:16
4."My Thirty Thousand" (Lyrics: 1949)Bragg2:40
5."Ought to Be Satisfied Now" (Lyrics: 1939)Bragg3:34
6."Listening to the Wind That Blows" (Lyrics: 1939)Tweedy5:07
7."Go Down to the Water" (Lyrics: 1945)Bragg4:36
8."Chain of Broken Hearts" (Lyrics: 1939)Tweedy3:31
9."Jailcell Blues" (Lyrics: 1953)Bragg2:28
10."Don't You Marry"Bragg3:18
11."Give Me a Nail" (Lyrics: 1943)Bragg1:42
12."The Jolly Banker"Guthrie3:31
13."Union Prayer" (Lyrics: 1949)Bragg4:12
14."Be Kind to the Boy on the Road"Bragg3:46
15."Ain'ta Gonna Grieve"Tweedy/Jay Bennett4:52
16."Tea Bag Blues"Harris4:03
17."I'm Out to Get" (Lyrics: 1946)Bragg3:58

Disc 4: Man in the Sand (DVD)

Personnel

Additional musicians

See also

References

  1. ^ Allmusic link
  2. ^ Beviglia, Jim (19 April 2012). "Billy Bragg & Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". American Songwriter. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. ^ a b Hyden, Steven (17 April 2012). "Billy Bragg and Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions | Music | Music Review". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  4. ^ Gerber, Justin (27 April 2012). "Album Review: Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  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.
  6. ^ Lundy, Zeth (1 May 2012). "Billy Bragg + Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". The Phoenix. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  7. ^ Deusner, Stephen M. (27 April 2012). "Billy Bragg / Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  8. ^ Franco, Michael (27 April 2012). "Billy Bragg and Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". PopMatters. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  9. ^ Hermes, Will (24 April 2012). "Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  10. ^ McKay, Alistair (2012). "Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Uncut. Retrieved 5 June 2013.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ "Critic Reviews for Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Metacritic. Retrieved on 2012-09-20.
  12. ^ "I'll Be With You When The Roses Bloom Again". UMaine.edu. Retrieved 3 February 2022.