Mermaid Avenue, Vol. III

This is the third volume of the Billy Bragg–Wilco collaboration, where they use Woody Guthrie's lyrics to inspire their music. Compared to the tunes on the previous collections, these are a bit sparser and less fully orchestrated in spots. It makes sense, as these are the songs they decided not to further pursue. Despite that caveat, there's still plenty to recommend here. The gloomy beauty of "Bugeye Jim" and "Where the Roses Bloom Again" (best known in a heartbreaking version by classic retro-country's Laura Cantrell and previously available on the now out-of-print Chelsea Walls soundtrack), the full-band pulse of "Be Kind to the Boy on the Road," and the shuffling sway of "Ain't a Gonna Grieve" are sweet counterparts to material on the first two volumes of this exemplary experiment. Guthrie's daughter Nora couldn't have asked for better from these musicians in bringing new life to a man whose legacy deserves to live and breathe in the contemporary air.