Mermaid Ave III - Anyone seen this?

[Wilco75]

The original Man in the sand dvd had some billy bonus tracks on it, like five i think, i'll have to check,i liked,"she came along to me demo", too bad it wasn't on disc three.

[choo-choo-charlie]

As expected, there's a Pitchfork review that says very little in a lot of words. In fact, the writer spends most of his words talking about the first two volumes. There doesn't really seem to be much of a review of the "new" material at all: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16518-the-complete-mermaid-avenue-sessions/.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

i dont think volume 3 is much to write about, personally. it seems obviously a bottom of the barrel thing, as well as something billy bragg wanted to put out more than wilco. jeff has some nice vocals, and it's not a bad collection of songs but it's far and away the worst batch of the three.

[choo-choo-charlie]

I haven't been able to give it the proper listen just yet. It just struck me as odd to slap a rating on Vol. III (albeit a good one) and spend the "ink" on its predecessors. I look forward to digging in this weekend.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

i think the review was for the box set as a whole though. and for that the score is fair. volume 3 is certainly not 8.1 material, but the entire mermaid avenue collection definitely is.

[choo-choo-charlie]

Indeed it was...just realized that. Nonetheless, I suppose I was hoping to hear some perspective on the material that hasn't already been extensively covered.

[Wild Frank]

I've just watched the Man in the Sand doc. I'm trying to put my finger on what it is about Billy Bragg that really winds me up. Watching the DVD Tweedy is far more in tune with the essence of Woody Guthrie than Bragg could ever hope to be. Not sure why that is. Maybe Bragg tries too hard. Great seeing Jay in the film. His contribution to this project was massive and reminds me of how I loved that period of the group.

[welch79]

I glanced at this on RSD, and determined that for the $40, I didn't need it partially because several of the tracks they released on Vol. III were available somewhere because I had several of them on a playlist called "Outta Print/Outta Mind." I agree that the PF review said very little in its rather wordy (par for the course) review. I was actually a bit surprised by their 8.1...not that I don't like the sessions, but that I just didn't see them giving such a high score to it.

[luke79]

This is a hard sell to anyone of us who have already purchased both the first two volumes and the dvd. Also, a considerable portion of disc 3 has been available as "Mermaid Avenue demos" on various downloading sites for over a decade. Still, I'll pick this up when used copies hit Amazon. A choice between a single disc Volume 3 or boxed set option might have made more sense.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

i would have easily bought volume 3 on its own.

 

but i havent bought the box set and it would take a pretty cheap used copy to make me do so.

[rhino4evr]

I listened to it. The 3rd disc is just ok. Some definite clunkers. I would only buy it if you like to collect. It's not much to listen to.

[Col. Hapablap]

Hey, just thought I'd give all of you and early heads up. The daily deals for www.popmarket.com are listed up on their website, and tomorrow's(Wedensday's) deal is listed as "Billy Bragg & Wilco, so i assume it'll the new box set. I check the daily deals there every day, and i can say from my experience that chances are that the price on it will be pretty darn good(usually at least cheaper than on amazon) but we don't know until they put it up tomorrow morning. Sometimes, it's up to 50% off the list price, they don't collect tax(at least not here in IL, it might be different in other states) and if you type in the code FACEBOOK10 at checkout, you get an additional 10% off! Just thought I'd post that here, for those of you that are still looking to buy the set, but only at a good, less expensive price. It'll only be on for 24 hours once it's on! Tomorrow, I'll post a direct link here when they post it.

[Col. Hapablap]

http://www.popmarket...etails/26809125

 

It's $27.99 today!. No tax, free shipping, and if you type in FACEBOOK10 at checkout, it'll take another 10& off.

[bird jam]

http://www.popmarket...etails/26809125

 

It's $27.99 today!. No tax, free shipping, and if you type in FACEBOOK10 at checkout, it'll take another 10& off.

 

Was just coming here to post that. Good deal.

[gogo]

Thanks!

[mdpoet]

http://www.popmarket...etails/26809125

 

It's $27.99 today!. No tax, free shipping, and if you type in FACEBOOK10 at checkout, it'll take another 10& off.

 

Thanks for the heads up! Was on the fence about getting this set, but couldn't pass up this deal today.

[Albert Tatlock]

Disc Three

Apart from When The Roses Bloom Again (which has always been great), Listening To The Wind That Blows has that mournful cracked voice JT that first attracted me to Mermaid Avenue in particular and Wilco in general.

Ditto Chain Of Broken Hearts. Ain'ta Gonna Grieve less so but still better than The Jolly Banker, which unfortunately I never took to.

 

As for Billy, Go Down To The Water is great, since I'm a sucker for that sad old British/Irish folk melody type thing. It's like the best blues music - you know exactly what's coming, but it still gets you inside. My Thirty Thousand, Jail Cell Blues, Don't You Marry, Give Me A Nail, Union Prayer, I'm Out To Get get a thumbs up too. Only Be Kind To The Boy On The Road throws a spaniard in the works - like the song/band sound, something about the delivery (and especially that falsetto!). With his stuff being in the majority, that might dictate your slant on this, and Billy is OK in my book.

 

So, all in all, pleasantly less bottom of barrel scraping in evidence than I was led to believe. I'd even go as far as saying that overall I prefer it to Volume 2 - though because of its obvious stand out tracks I suppose that still wins in a fight to the death.

[Magnetized]

a spaniard in the works

 

I love a good John Lennon reference!

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

listening to the wind that blows is the only one on here that i'm surprised wasn't on volumes 1 or 2. i wouldnt say its the only good song on here, but it's too good to have sat in the bottom of the barrel for so long.

[makeshift]

I know Billy isn't real popular here, but his solo, open D demos on disc 3 are great.

[lamradio]

I'm a BIlly fan.. But when he decided to do some falsetto on a couple of the tunes from vol. 3.......... Bad idea...........

[Oil Can Boyd]

I'm a BIlly fan.. But when he decided to do some falsetto on a couple of the tunes from vol. 3.......... Bad idea...........

Agreed. I like his falsetto on his song Wish You Were Her (from Don't Try This At Home) but it's not working on the MA stuff ...

[Kim Bodnia]

Billy Bragg on tour:

http://www.brooklynv...y_bragg_on.html

[HoldSteady87]

Just discovered this is on Spotify. There are some amazing songs on this. I know Billy isn't everyones favorite (I love him so ) but "Union Prayer" is just as good as anything on the other two album. The fiddle on it is so haunting. As a huge fan of both parties involved this is an unexpected treat.

[lost highway]

I have listened to 'Listening to the Wind That Blows' more than any other song on the newly unearthed stuff. That's a little piece of magic right there.