The best artists and thinkers have more creative bursts than could ever fit into a single life. Such was the case with folk legend Woody Guthrie. Even after recording a fair share of albums and being subject to countless re-releases, it turned out Guthrie had one thousand lyrics written for never recorded songs. Years after Guthrie's death, his daughter, Nora, summoned Billy Bragg and the members of the band, Wilco, to sift through these papers to pull out the diamonds in the rough.

Billy Bragg is often described as having the spirit of a modern day Woody Guthrie mixed with punk leanings and a thirst for biting political songs. Wilco, on the other hand, started out as a folksier band with a country tinge to their music. Over the years, however, the band has morphed into an Indie rock machine that churns out one catchy rock song after another.

You might think that two famous artists attempting to collaborate over a dead man's pile of lyrics would turn out to be a lackluster project, at best. Sure, there have been collaborative successes in music history, like Queen and David Bowie's hit, "Under Pressure," and the Mother Love Bone album, which featured nearly every major figure in the Seattle music scene. Yet, for whatever reason, when great artists collaborate, the result usually seems to be a diminished sound camouflaged in star power.

"Mermaid Avenue" is all of these things. At its best, Guthrie's lyrics seem to spark the creativity in both artists. At its worst, the artists seem like they are merely amateur ventriloquists, trying to find a slot for Guthrie's massive ghost.

More often than not, it's Billy Bragg who seems more comfortable in this setting. He writes more of the songs on this album than Wilco and his tracks definitely are more in line with Guthrie's spirit. Bragg is responsible for three of the standout tracks on the album. "Walt Whitman's Niece," a playful tune describing a drunken night when he may or may not have met Walt Whitman's niece. The narrator is very evasive and refuses to offer too many details. Then there's "Ingrid Bergman," a short ballad to the famous actress, and "Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key," about a boy who can sing a tune almost as sad and beautiful as he is ugly looking. Bragg sings all of these with a mix of good humor and earnestness.

Wilco, on the other hand, do put forth a good effort, but their best songs on this album are the ones that sound like familiar Wilco tracks. These include two of the album's highlights, "California Stars" and "At My Window Sad and Lonely." Yet, on songs like "Hoodoo Voodoo" and "Christ for President," Jeff Tweedy, the singer, just sounds like he's trying hard to keep up at karaoke night.

Still, even with its occasional flaws, the record is a wonderful effort that makes these old songs sound surprisingly new and may go some way towards reuniting another generation with an American legend.