This may be breaking the rules, but I am going to count Volume 1 and 2 of Mermaid Avenue as one record, even though they came out a year or so apart (volume 1 was so successful that they decided to keep it going). They, is Billy Bragg the great English socialist singer/songwriter and alt rockers Wilco. The what is even more interesting. Woody Guthrie's daughter found 100's of unrecorded songs in the old apartment they lived in on Mermaid Avenue and thought it would be cool to set the words to music. Enter Bragg and Wilco. They each wrote music to go with the lyrics they found as well as taking turns on lead vocals. Vol. 1 also features a couple of great guest appearances from Natalie Merchant.
I am a big Woddie Guthrie fan, but I have to admit these songs take his music to another level. It's a little like Jimi Hendrix doing a Bob Dylan song, you love the original because the man is a great writer, but everything else is so sparse you sometimes long for more. Mermaid Avenue is that more. Also, if you are a fan of Billy Bragg or Wilco, I think you will find these records are a vital addition to the collection. So again, buy these two records together. It'll save you a trip to the store.
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