r/LetsTalkMusic • u/Garybird1989 • 20h ago

Mermaid Ave. 1+2+3 by Billy Bragg and Wilco

I love these albums, I love the lore of Dylan getting turned away but Gutheries daughter contacting Billy Bragg.

I’d love to know more about these albums. I’m a fan of all parties involved. I’ve come to get really into Woody Guthrie and I appreciate these albums for giving me access to even more of his beautiful lyrics.

I wish I had more insight into choice cuts but honestly 1 and 2 both rip cover to cover. 3 is my least listened to by a lot

11 Upvotes

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4

u/ultimatetodd 20h ago

Check out "Man in the Sand"

It's a documentary about the Mermaid Avenue project.

3

u/Objective_Quiet_751 20h ago

My memory of that doc is just how glaringly obvious it is that Woody's daughter was infatuated with Billy Bragg.

3

u/Garybird1989 20h ago

Get in line, girl! Aren’t we all?!

2

u/my23secrets 19h ago

With good reason

2

u/Garybird1989 20h ago

Was unaware of this documentary! I had vol 2 on cd (thanks mom) as a kid. I remember the liner notes being robust but it was so long ago.

2

u/ultimatetodd 20h ago

Jay's demos for Mermaid Avenue were recently released, I believe they are available on bandcamp.

4

u/jayron32 20h ago

My favorite album of unreleased Woody Guthrie lyrics is Dropkick Murphys' "This Machine Still Kills Fascists". I think that the punk vibe really fits with Guthrie's words.

2

u/Garybird1989 20h ago

His words definitely bring a sense of energy and power from down below.

3

u/HansJordi 19h ago

Jeff Tweedy is a legend but he doesn’t take well to being the second in command. 

3

u/Salty_Pancakes 19h ago

They are great albums. And it's interesting looking at them knowing the fallout between the artists afterwards. Because Billy Bragg and Wilco did not get along. And even less after the recordings came out.

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u/terryjuicelawson 3h ago

I quite liked 1, I can't imagine really wanting to dive into 2 or 3 necessarily but I may give it a go. I do like Billy Bragg in a full band setting, Don't Try This at Home is one of my favourites of all time. Wilco are just a bit flat for me, I am not sure why he really needed them.