Mermaid Avenue Vol. II

Mermaid Avenue Vol. II
File:Mermaid2.jpg
Studio album by Billy Bragg and Wilco
Released	30 May 2000
Recorded	Boston, Chicago, and Dublin
Genre	Folk rock
Length	49:47
Label	Elektra
Producer	Wilco, Billy Bragg, Grant Showbiz
Billy Bragg chronology
Reaching to the Converted (1999)Reaching to the Converted1999 Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (2000) England, Half English (2002)England, Half English2002
Wilco chronology
Summerteeth (1999) Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (2000) Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
Billy Bragg & Wilco chronology
Mermaid Avenue (1998) Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (2000) Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions (2012)

Mermaid Avenue Vol. II is a 2000 album of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, put to music written and performed by British singer Billy Bragg and American band Wilco. It continues the project originally conceived by Guthrie's daughter, Nora Guthrie which resulted in the release of Mermaid Avenue in 1998. Both volumes were collected in a 2012 box set along with volume three as Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions.

Man in the Sand, a documentary about the collaboration between Bragg and Wilco, was released in 1999.

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(82/100)
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Alternative Press
The A.V. Club	(favourable)
Chicago Tribune	(positive)
Entertainment Weekly	B+
Pitchfork Media	(6.3/10)
Q
Robert Christgau	A−
Rolling Stone
Spin	(9/10)
Wall of Sound	(82/100)

Track listing

1. "Airline to Heaven" – 4:50
   • Words: Woody Guthrie 1939. Music: Jay Bennett and Jeff Tweedy 1997.
2. "My Flying Saucer" – 1:45
   • Words: Guthrie 1950. Music: Billy Bragg 1995.
3. "Feed of Man" – 4:08
   • Words: Guthrie. Music: Tweedy 1998
4. "Hot Rod Hotel" – 3:17
   • Words: Guthrie 1949. Music: Bragg 1996.
5. "I Was Born" – 1:50
   • Words: Guthrie 1950. Music: Bragg 1996.
6. "Secret of the Sea" – 2:42
   • Words: Guthrie 1939. Music: Bennett/Tweedy 1999.
7. "Stetson Kennedy" – 2:39
   • Words: Guthrie 1950. Music: Bragg 1997.
8. "Remember the Mountain Bed" – 6:26
   • Words: Guthrie 1944. Music: Tweedy/Bennett 1999.
9. "Blood of the Lamb" – 4:16
   • Words: Guthrie 1955. Music: Tweedy/Bennett 1999.
10. "Aginst th' Law" – 3:03
    • Words: Guthrie 1947. Music: Bragg 1995.
11. "All You Fascists" – 2:43
    • Words: Guthrie 1942. Music: Bragg 1997.
12. "Joe DiMaggio Done It Again" – 2:31
    • Words: Guthrie 1949. Music: Bragg 1995.
13. "Meanest Man" – 3:46
    • Words: Guthrie 1945. Music: Bragg 1997.
14. "Black Wind Blowing" – 3:00
    • Words: Guthrie. Music: Bragg 1997.
15. "Someday Some Morning Sometime" – 2:53
    • Words: Guthrie 1948. Music: Tweedy 2000.

Personnel

• Jeff Tweedy - guitar, vocal, clapping, Mellotron, cabasa, 12 string guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, Wurlitzer
• Jay Bennett - guitar, backing vocal, slide guitar, shaker, saw, 12 string guitar, B3 organ, Leslie pedals, Farfisa organ, mandolin, piano, tambourine, electric sitar, soloing, nylon string guitar, banjo, harmonica, drums, upright bass, Delayaphone, bells
• John Stirat bass, backing vocal, claps, upright bass, baritone guitar
• Billy Bragg - guitar, vocal, resonator guitar
• Ken Coomer - drums, tape box, tambourine, percussion, backing vocal, hollering, kick drum, gas heater

Additional Musicians

• Mike Henry - backing vocal on "My Flying Saucer"
• Natalie Merchant - guest lead vocal on "I Was Born"
• Leroy Bach - piano on "Remember The Mountain Bed"
• Corey Harris - guest lead vocal and acoustic guitar on "Against Th' Law"
• Eliza Carthy - violin on "Joe DiMaggio Has Done It Again"

See also

• Woody Guthrie Foundation
• Mermaid Avenue (1998)
• Man in the Sand (1999)
• Wonder Wheel (2006)
• The Works (2008)
• Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah (2006)
• New Multitudes (2012)
• Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions (2012)

External links

• Nora Guthrie interview
• Mermaid Avenue Vol. II at Metacritic