Billy Bragg & Wilco: Billy Bragg (vocals, acoustic, electric & steel guitars, banjo, bouzuki); Jeff Tweedy (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica); Jay Bennett (acoustic, electric & slide guitars, banjo, bouzuki, dulcimer, piano, Clavinet, Hammond & Farfisa organs, melodica, electric bass, drums, percussion, background vocals); John Stirratt (piano, Hammond organ, acoustic & electric basses, background vocals); Ken Coomer (drums, percussion, background vocals).

Additional personnel: Natalie Merchant (vocals); Corey Harris (electric & lap steel guitars, background vocals); Bob Egan (slide & pedal steel guitars); Eliza Carthy (violin); Elizabeth Steen (accordion); Peter Yanowitz (drums); Jonathan "JP" Parker (background vocals).

Engineers include: Dave Trumfio, Mike Hagler, Matt Ellard.

Recorded at Totally Wired Studio and Windmill Lane, Dublin, Ireland; King Size Sound Laboratories, Chicago, Illinois; Fort Apache Studio, Boston, Massachusetts. Includes liner notes by Billy Bragg.

MERMAID AVENUE was nominated for a 1999 Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

Personnel: Billy Bragg (vocals, acoustic guitar); Jeff Tweedy (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonica); Natalie Merchant (vocals, background vocals); Wilco (vocals); Corey Harris (guitar, electric guitar, lap steel guitar); Bob Egan (slide guitar); Jay Bennett (bouzouki, piano, Clavinet, organ, drums, background vocals); Eliza Carthy (violin); John Stirratt (piano, acoustic bass, electric bass, background vocals); Ken Coomer (drums, percussion); Peter Yanowitz (drums).

Recording information: King Size Sound Laboratories, Chicago, IL; Totally Wired Studio, Dublin, Ireland; Windmill Lane Recording Studio, Dublin, Ireland.

During the spring of 1995, Woody Guthrie's daughter Nora contacted British urban folk troubadour Billy Bragg about writing music for a selection of completed Guthrie lyrics. This was no minor task -- Guthrie left behind over a thousand sets of complete lyrics written between 1939 and 1967 that had no music other than a vague stylistic notation. Bragg chose a number of songs to finish, as did Jeff Tweedy of the alt-country band Wilco (often with bandmate Jay Bennett). Nora Guthrie impressed a common goal upon them: Rather than recreating Guthrie tunes, they should write as if they were collaborating with Woody, creating new, vital music for the lyrics. Both artists completed more songs than could fit on Mermaid Avenue, which is neatly split between Bragg and Wilco, with Bragg taking lead on eight of the 15 songs. The results are almost entirely a delight, mainly because all involved are faithful to Guthrie's rowdy spirit -- it's a reverent project that knows how to have fun. There are many minor, irresistible gems scattered throughout the album, and most of them come from Bragg. Where Wilco's fine contributions sound inextricably tied to the '90s, both for better and for worse, Bragg's music sounds contemporary while capturing Guthrie's folk traditions. That's not to say Wilco's contributions are failures -- it's just hard to imagine Guthrie singing the plaintive "California Stars" or the plodding "Christ for President," neither of which quite fit the lyrics. Nevertheless, their hearts are in the right place; more often than not, they come close to the target, and their joyous playing invigorates Mermaid Avenue. The blend of Bragg's traditionalist sensibility and Wilco's contemporary style ultimately illustrates that Guthrie's words, ideals, and aesthetics remain alive in the '90s. It's a remarkable record that deserves a sequel. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Woody Guthrie's gift to the world of music cannot be overstated. His songwriting helped to define folk music as we know it, as an instrument not only of musical creation, but of social change. Among those troubadours who carry on his tradition, England's Billy Bragg stands proud, for his musical talent and his social awareness alike. In 1995, Nora Guthrie, Woody's daughter, approached Bragg to set to music some of the hundreds of songs that the legend had left unfinished. The result, MERMAID AVENUE, recorded by Bragg with Chicago band Wilco, is equal parts tribute and collaboration.

Joined by guest stars such as Natalie Merchant, slide guitarist Corey Harris, and violinist Eliza Carthy, Bragg more than does justice to the Guthrie legacy. From the rollicking opener, "Walt Whitman's Niece" to dreamy double-tracking of "She Came Along To Me," Bragg's gift for matching melody and lyric highlights the universality of Guthrie's music. Merchant's fragile vocal work on "Birds And Ships" is a thing of sublime beauty, while Jeff Tweedy's plaintive, rough timbre lends a particularly heart-rending quality to such tracks as "At My Window Sad And Lonely" and "Hoodoo Voodoo."