While there seems to be a never-ending parade of musicians and bands worthy of tribute CDs (at least in the mind of record companies and hardcore fans), two recent releases have raised the ante a bit higher by tackling the tribute concept with different approaches and markedly different results. While it is great to hear well-known songs tackled by contemporary artists, what happens when lyric notebooks by long-diseased and legendary musicians see the light of day? This is exactly what has happened to Woody Guthrie and Gram Parsons.

In 1998, Billy Bragg and Wilco first tackled Woody Guthrie’s voluminous, unpublished lyrics for the Mermaid Avenue. Guthrie’s daughter, Nora, approached Bragg, an Englishman whose own playing and lyrics could best be described by the sticker Guthrie regulary displayed on his guitar — This Machine Kills Fascists. Bragg brought Wilco and guests like Natalie Merchant on board, and the first Mermaid Avenue project was a striking success.

Working from lyrics, both Wilco frontman, Jeff Tweedy (along with Jay Bennett) and Bragg crafted new songs around Guthrie’s lyrical ideas. When Mermaid Avenue was complete, there were numerous reports of many songs that didn’t make the final product, and immediately, word got out that a follow-up project would take place — hence, the birth of Mermaid Avenue Volume II.

While Volume II might be seen as the scraps of the initial project, the opposite is true. The songs on Volume II were not included because they didn’t fit the feel of the first record — which seemed to have an almost religious quality to it, as Bragg and Tweedy worshipped at the altar of Guthrie. Volume II is looser, more diverse and literally jumps out of the speakers; and while Wilco backed Bragg on Volume I as well as Volume II, the second CD has a more cohesive feel and definite tightness to the band.

In retrospect, neither of the Mermaid Avenue releases is a true tribute record. These records rest squarely on the shoulders of Bragg and Wilco; they feature a big box of letters that haven’t seen the light of day since the 1940s. The final results prove that Guthrie was as talented a writer as Bragg and Wilco are musicians.

Comparing Gram Parsons to Woody Guthrie is a tough proposition. True, Parsons was a tremendous songwriter, and the legend surrounding his life and death are too numerous to discuss, but his brief musical output was a hit and miss collection of classics and not-so-classics that suffer from marginal production and technical snafus.

Gram Parsons Songbook became a reality, because of a notebook former bandmate John Neuse received from Parsons’ sister Polly in 1973. Neuse hid the notebook for 24 years, before he started delving into it in 1994; Neuce didn’t find a lot of completed song, but in the musical and lyrical snippets — mixed with miscellaneous items like grocery lists — Neuce realized the potential of Parsons’ undone work.

With some songs generated with as little as a single line and others coming from near-complete songs, the results might seem muddy. But Neuce’s cohorts — Carl Jackson, Mike Ward, Eddie Cunningham, Ed Bergoff, Eddie Dunbar, and Jim Lauderdale — really do Parsons’ memory a great deal of justice. The rewrites are sincere, and seem to capture the simplicity and casual conversation that Parsons could always bring to a song. "L.A. Custom Blues, "The Button," and "Blessing for Being" have that Parsons feel all over them; while "A Song for You," one of the only complete Parsons songs found in the notebook, might be one of his most beautiful pieces.

Even with the quality of songs, Gram Parsons Songbook fails on other levels — mainly the instrumentation and the choice of cover tunes. This records reeks of a polished present-day Nashville sound that does little justice to the feel of his music. When living, Parsons was never warmly embraced by a traditional country audience; and if he were still alive today, he would more than likely be seen as a godfather of fringe country much in the same way Neil Young is embraced by alt-rockers. Musically Gram Parsons Songbook does not capture that spirit. Also, disappointing are the weak covers of "Cash on the Barrelhead" and "Dead Flowers," where vocalist Mike Ward goes so far as to change lyrics that must be offensive to him — that would have been offensive to Parsons.

On the positive cover side, Gram Parsons Songbook closes with a stirring rendition of "Hickory Wind" featuring Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart and Leslie Satcher. It was Parsons’ best-known song, and it still illustrates his tremendous songwriting. If this peek into the private Parsons is any indication of unknown works to still be unearthed, Parsons’ legend will continue to grow, and one day, the Parsons legend might be seen on the same level as Woody Guthrie.