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Billy Bragg And Wilco DVD Due As Wilco Parts Ways With Drummer
02/08/2001 6:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Brett Atwood
2/8/01, 6 p.m. ET) -- The songs of Woody Guthrie will again get the spotlight with the release of Man In The Sand, a DVD and VHS about the making of Mermaid Avenue, the Billy Bragg/Wilco collaboration from 1998 based on unused lyrics of the American folk legend. The effort will arrive in stores on March 27.
The behind-the-scenes release captures the creative process behind the one-of-a-kind project, as well as performance footage of several songs. Also featured is Natalie Merchant, who added vocals to parts of the album.
The DVD version features five bonus audio tracks of demos Bragg cut for the project, among other enhancements.
"Guthrie was the greatest lyrical poet 20th-century America has ever produced," says Bragg. [Bob] Dylan may be a better songwriter and John Steinbeck a better narrative writer; but, to me, Woody belongs up there with Mark Twain and Walt Whitman as an American literary icon."
As fate would have it, the Wilco seen in Man In The Sand is no longer. The Chicago group has parted ways with co-founding member, drummer Ken Coomer. However, there has been no comment from the band's spokesperson regarding the reason for the departure. The move comes as the band finishes recording the follow-up to its critically acclaimed third album, 1999's Summerteeth. The yet-to-be-titled album is due from Warner Bros. in July.
A replacement for Coomer in Wilco is expected to be announced shortly.
Coomer can currently be found playing with Swag, a pop-rock side project featuring Cheap Trick's Tom Petersson and the Mavericks' Robert Reynolds. That group's debut full-length, Catchall, arrives from Yep Roc Records on March 13.
-- Neal Weiss, Los Angeles
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