This came out in 2000 — or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
In 1998, English folk-punk Billy Bragg and Yankee alt-rootsers Wilco made one of the year’s best discs by crafting new songs from Woody Guthrie’s leftover lyrics.
Well, since the Woodman reportedly left a few thousand ditties in the vault when he went to that great labour rally in the sky, a sequel was inevitable. And while this second chapter of Mermaid Avenue — named after the Coney Island street where Guthrie lived — won’t make as many year-end best-of lists as its predecessor, it’s a better sequel than, say, Speed II. Divided between new tracks and tunes left off the first volume, these 15 recycled gems continue to explore the various facets of Guthrie’s complex personality — equal parts romantic balladeer (the gently flowing Secret Of The Sea), protest singer (the blistering boogie All You Fascists) and goofball (the Buddy Holly-ish My Flying Saucer and the hoedown Joe DiMaggio Done it Again). If you dig Woody, Wilco or Billy, you’ll dig this. If you don’t, this might just change your mind. And if not, well there’s always Vol. III (I hope).
