Mermaid Avenue Vol. II

You probably know the story by now. Ol' Bill was asked to supply the music to a series of Woody Guthrie lyrics a couple of years back; he promptly recruited Wilco into the project; they relocated to Dublin and the rest is history.

Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and Bragg share lead vocal duties on Mermaid Avenue. Tweedy is, as usual, under-stated magnificence. Meanwhile, Bragg perfectly evokes the raw America of the 1940s on 'Meanest Man', and contrastingly, sounds happier than he has in years on the decidedly upbeat 'My Flying Saucer'.

Wilco put so much of their own stamp on 'Secret Of The Sea' that it could be an out-take from last year's Summerteeth LP, before serving up 'Joe DiMaggio Done It Again' with a whoop and a yodel from the heart. Then there's the timeless lullaby of 'I Was Born', sung beautifully here by Natalie Merchant.

Guthrie's lyrics bridge the gap between the Old Testament and Bob Dylan. There's the religious fury of 'Feed Of Man' ("Outgrow these animal kind and shapes of man/If you miss and go down/Your dust will turn up on that long hot job") and the bible-thumpin' 'Blood Of The Lamb'; the brilliant social narrative of 'Hot Rod Hotel' with "gobs of spit and condom rubbers on the windows, walls and doors", which must have caused its fair share of controversy back in 1949; and the polemic of 'All You Fascists' and 'Stetson Kennedy'.

We also get a glimpse of Guthrie's tender, personal side on tracks like the aching 'Do You Remember The Mountain Bed' or the closing 'Someday Some Morning Sometime', songs with all the winsome mythology of the classic love song, delivered with great sympathy by Jeff Tweedy.

A more than worthy successor to the first LP, Mermaid Avenue Vol. II is a testament to the brilliant songwriting of Woody Guthrie and the supreme musicianship of all involved.