In the liner notes for the first Mermaid Avenue album, Woody Guthrie Foundation co-founder Nora Guthrie mentions finding a shoe box full of her father's lyrics, dramatically expanding the largesse of his catalog. She then went searching for musicians to bring those songs to life; songs Woody Guthrie himself had never archived melodies for, and seeking sounds that could be their own with her father's lyrics
And though both Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen each said no. Billy Bragg, UK folk punk artist with little knowledge of Woody's work at the time and Wilco, who were in the throes of recording a new album, both said" yes". Together these current musicians took those lyrics, met, collaborated, and recorded in Dublin, Ireland and Chicago, Illinois to re-imagine the words of a master, and in doing so create mastery themselves across three albums and 47 tracks. These songs end up being not just an extension of Guthrie's work, but a stretching of musical muscles for both Wilco and Bragg as they also brought their talented friends along for this ride. Natalie merchant, Corey Harris, Bob Egan, and others. the album also predates all but two of Wilco's current lineup
Named for both a Guthrie song and the street he lived on in Coney island New York, the album has become sort of a phenomenon, neither of the artists involved got to tour the full album together, though each have played a selection of their contributions in live shows in the intervening years. Mermaid Avenue also was recorded and released amiss of veritable storm of other albums for the two artists involved, sending each on their own trajectories and touring schedules for ostensibly the foreseeable future.
All of which makes this particular performance extra special, in addition to hearing songs from Woody Guthrie that were outside of everyone's expectations. Getting these two musical giants on stage together has taken nearly 30 years, as many years as there are songs on the first two Mermaid Avenue albums, creating a unique live music experience for us all.
This recording is available to stream through July 9th.
