# Spoil Billy Bragg and Wilco for me. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2004, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-billy-bragg-and-wilco-for-me/275032 "2004-11-16T08:59:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-billy-bragg-and-wilco-for-me/275032/1 "2004-11-16T08:59:52Z")
A while back I was in a friend’s car and he was playing the _Mermaid Ave._ CD and I really dug it so I went out to buy my own copy. (This is an album that Billy Bragg and Wilco recorded together, the source material being old Woody Guthrie lyrics the music for which Woody took with him. Billy Bragg and Wilco wrote the music as they imagined Woody would have written it.) I love this album and fully intend on buying Vol.2. What should I check out of the rest of the Billy Bragg and Wilco catalogues? ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-billy-bragg-and-wilco-for-me/275032/2 "2004-11-16T10:51:42Z")
Wilco’s being there. Great country-rockish double album, sort of a cross between Neil Young and The Replacements. Some people like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but I found it a little precious, in an over-cooked, “look how different this is from our last album” way. ---
**Author:** ![todd33rpm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@todd33rpm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/todd33rpm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-billy-bragg-and-wilco-for-me/275032/3 "2004-11-16T12:06:32Z")
Second on Wilco’s _Being There_…it’s glorious. I’ll stop short of calling it the alt.country incarnation of “the White Album,” but I’m thinking it. I also like Wilco’s first album _A.M._ a lot. For what it’s worth, you might want to explore the entire Uncle Tupelo catalog, as Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy was a member of that band. Their last album _Anodyne_ is performed by what is basically Wilco’s starting lineup, but seriously, almost anything by the band is worth it. My personal fave is _Still Feel Gone_. In Billy Bragg’s case, probably his most popular/accessible album is _Workers Playtime_, his first album with a full band…everything prior to that is solo electric guitar/vocal, and a little harder to get into for a lot of people. \*Don’t Try This At Home \* is my favorite, and has some good guest shots with members of R.E.M. in their prime as well as a great cover of Fred Neil’s “Dolphins.” ---
**Author:** ![Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ass_For_A_Hat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-billy-bragg-and-wilco-for-me/275032/4 "2004-11-16T15:22:50Z")
If you’ve never heard Billy Bragg’s “Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards”, I strongly suggest you go out and buy _Workers Playtime_ this very second. I agree with **todd33rpm** that on balance, \*Don’t Try This At Home \* is a better record, but “…Great Leap…” is an unbelievably great song. I must have listened to it 10 times a day after I first bought that record. I’ll stay out of the Wilco discussion, as I’m a Jay Farrar guy. I will say though that I don’t know any Wilco fans that think that their most recent release is among their better records. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-billy-bragg-and-wilco-for-me/275032/5 "2004-11-16T15:27:33Z")
All of Wilco’s albums are very worthwhile, often for different reasons. _Being There_ and _Yankee Hotel Foxtrot_ are at the top of the heap, but I would personally consider them all essential. Same goes for Uncle Tupelo, even though Tweedy was by far the weaker half of the Farrar/Tweedy duo. I’m not as familiar with Billy Bragg, unfortunately, though like you I enjoyed both “Mermaid Ave.” albums. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-billy-bragg-and-wilco-for-me/275032/6 "2004-11-16T19:31:59Z")
> [@Middlecase](#): > > Wilco’s being there. Great country-rockish double album, sort of a cross between Neil Young and The Replacements. Some people like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but I found it a little precious, in an over-cooked, “look how different this is from our last album” way. Mad props for _Yankee Hotel Foxtrot_, but no love for _Summerteeth_? IMHO (not that this is the forum for it), it’s certainly as good as _Being There_. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-billy-bragg-and-wilco-for-me/275032/7 "2004-11-16T19:39:06Z")
I absolutely adore _Summerteeth_. I think it sounds very heavily influenced by The Beatles (though I know someone on this board thinks it sounds more like Pet Sounds, yet another hears The Traveling Wilburies in the songs). Whatever influenced them, it’s brilliant. High re-play value. I must have listened to it a million times on my drive to and back from Utah. Their latest album, _A Ghost is Born_ is different from their other work–much darker, I think. But it’s my third favorite (behind Summerteeth and Mermaid Ave). Another album with wonderful re-play value. I’m going to go see Wilco on Friday at the Wilturn in L.A. I’m very, very excited! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![professor\_folk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df788c/32.png) [@professor\_folk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/professor_folk)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-billy-bragg-and-wilco-for-me/275032/8 "2004-11-16T19:43:53Z")
get the dvd Man in the Sand, which is a documentary about the making of the Mermaid Avenue cds. Also, Billy Bragg’s Talking with the Taxman about Poetry, Worker’s Playtime, and there’s a great one of B-Sides, which I had and then lost. Can’t remember the name of it, but it has an orange cover and has the song Don’t Walk Away Renee on it. Killer! ---
**Author:** ![colour\_wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@colour\_wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colour_wolf)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-billy-bragg-and-wilco-for-me/275032/9 "2004-11-17T02:14:27Z")
> [@professor folk](#): > > get the dvd Man in the Sand, which is a documentary about the making of the Mermaid Avenue cds. > Also, Billy Bragg’s Talking with the Taxman about Poetry, Worker’s Playtime, and there’s a great one of B-Sides, which I had and then lost. Can’t remember the name of it, but it has an orange cover and has the song Don’t Walk Away Renee on it. Killer! I think you mean **Reaching to the Converted.** Unlike most of the other people who’ve posted, I am a much bigger Billy Bragg than Wilco fan. By far his best album, in my opinion, is **Talking with the Taxman about Poetry** , followed by **Don’t Try this at Home**. I personally think that **Worker’s Playtime** is his weakest album, except for the absolutely brilliant **Great Leap Forwards**. If you’re looking for a decent Billy Bragg Compilation, his double album **Must I paint you a picture?** has a pretty good tracklist. Also, try to get your hands on his version of **My Youngest Son Came Home Today** with Micheal Stipe and **A New England** with Kirsty MacColl. Both are great! Man, do I ever love Billy! ---
**Author:** ![theoldman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@theoldman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theoldman)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-billy-bragg-and-wilco-for-me/275032/10 "2004-11-17T03:09:47Z")
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is seriously the best album I have heard in ages - and it gets better with every spin. they often have free tunes to download from \<[http://www.wilcoweb.com](http://www.wilcoweb.com)\> cheers ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-billy-bragg-and-wilco-for-me/275032/11 "2004-11-17T03:15:03Z")
I’ve heard volume 2 of Mermaid Avenue isn’t as good as the first. Does anyone here like it? I have Billy Bragg’s album “Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg”. It has two discs, with a third for rarities. It’s good.