Wilco

Mermaid Avenue Volume II

Sophomoric second tribute to Guthrie is a let-down ...

Review Score:

(6/10)
They say that artists have their entire lives to record their first album, and six months to produce their second. That's the impression one gets from hearing Billy Bragg and Wilco on "Mermaid Avenue Vol. II."

As other reviewers have noticed, this release is a pale imitation of the original. There are some good songs here, and the best tunes really shine. It's hard not to like "Aginst Th' Law," "My Flying Saucer," and "Secret of the Sea"--even if the catchiest riffs are all borrowed from Buddy Holly and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Generally speaking, the material works well lyrically (Woody Guthrie's down-to-earth idealism and progressive social criticism remain as refreshing as ever), but the music just isn't equal to the words. Whereas the first "Mermaid Avenue" was clearly a labor of love in which everyone involved seemed to be taking the time to create something extraordinary, this album sounds like it was hurriedly pieced together to capitalize on the success of its predecessor.

As a fan of Billy Bragg, Wilco, and the late, great Woody Guthrie, too, I really had high expectations for this second anthology of new material from the Guthrie archives. And there are a few fine tracks on this collection. However, by and large, the populist broadsides are heavy-handed and the romantic ballads are, by turns, sketchy, silly, and/or just plain thin. For all the playful charm of "I Was Born," as sung by Natalie Merchant, "Airline to Heaven" is indeed almost incoherent with its raw, grating clamor of badly mixed instruments, and "All You Fascists" is as simple-minded as it is politically correct. One can agree 100 percent with the sentiments of the piece, and yet recognise that it's a weak protest song when compared to Guthrie's many excellent, more eloquent works.

With hundreds (if not thousands) of previously unknown Guthrie poems still waiting to be brought to light, one can only hope that the next compositions to be unveiled will prove superior to these efforts.

By all means, treat yourself to the serendipity of the initial stroll down "Mermaid Avenue." Unless you're a folk-rock die-hard or a Bragg/Wilco completist, though, don't bother with this sequel.

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