Refreshing and Literate

Review Score: (8/10)
The first time I listened to Mermaid Avenue, I was certain that I had heard this music before. After combing my collection, I discovered that Mermaid Avenue was a collection of new songs - and I hadn't heard them before. The sound of Billy Bragg and Wilco is comfortable; as comfortable as Bob Dylan, The Band circa Big Pink, Bruce Springsteen and the Cowboy Junkies' Trinity Session. The combination of 50-year old lyrics (compliments of folkie/socialist Woody Guthrie), the bare-bones sound of Wilco and the recording atmosphere of Dublin make for a cozy and perceptive 46-minutes.

Whether you consider Guthrie a socialist or an anti-capitalist, his political commentaries (Christ For President, The Unwelcome Guest) fit neatly in today's social climate. His love songs are sensitive and poetic (Way Off Yonder In The Minor Key, At My Window Sad and Lonely, One By One). Instead of the vulgar and dehumanizing lyrics of much of today's music towards women, Guthrie's sexual double entendres (Walt Whitman's Niece) are refreshing and literate. In fact, refreshing and literate is as good as any summary of Mermaid Avenue. Outside of public high schools, thinking is still considered acceptable social behavior.

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