- Audio CD (31 Oct 2000)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Cooking Vinyl
- ASIN: B000024VL8
- Other Editions: MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 74,946 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
This collection of feisty early recordings (the Between the Wars EP and the Brewing Up LP) features England's loudest socialist folkie, usually armed only with an electric guitar and a millennium's worth of outrage, attacking those in power (lazy journalists in "It Says Here", the eternal mining aristocracy in "The World Turned Upside Down") with precision and enough energy to make even the most dogmatic lyrics sound colloquial and persuasive. Bragg is a one-man Clash here, seeking to demolish all he can and then build a better world with his electric guitar and his righteousness as the only tools he'll need. --Jimmy Guterman
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
'Back to Basics' is Billy Bragg's first two LP's, 'Lifes a Riot with Spy vs Spy', and 'Brewing up with Billy Bragg', 17 and 16 years old respectively, plus the 'Between the Wars' EP. It has to be said that Billy's sound is unique, and has never been copied despite the successful formula of 'one man and his guitar'. The songs are a cross between folk and punk, with hard cutting riffs, witty lyrics and accompanied by Billy's obvious vocals. A timeless classic for sure. You really must buy, steal or borrow a copy.
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Why should you buy this? The first reason is simply that it is outstanding value for money - two albums and an EP lumped onto one low price CD. Older fans will remember that Billy Bragg used to put "Pay no more than ......" messages on the front of his LPs so this generosity is no surprise.
For the uninitiated, Billy Bragg is unique (as far as I know) in that he plays songs with only an ELECTRIC guitar as accompaniment. The result is stark and powerful, for people who like their music that way. Of course his lyrical strengths and ear for a good tune also add to this.
Bragg is known for his militant political stance and songs such as "To have and have not", "Between the Wars" and the strident "Which side are you on?" are some of the highlights of this CD, but perhaps underestimated in the face of this is his ability to write strong songs about love and relationships. The charming "The milkman of human kindness" , the regretful "Saturday Boy" and "The Myth of Trust" are all strong players, but perhaps the strongest track of all is "The Man in the Iron Mask" about a man who puts up with his girlfriend's affairs, presumably because he has no choice but to stay with her.
And then of course, there's also the original version of "A New England" which Kirsty McColl took into the charts. All in all, Billy Bragg made some of the most beautifully honest and perhaps most underestimated music of the early 80's. Nick Drake meets The Jam here. Buy it.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"Billy Bragg? He's that lefty bloke who can't sing" is the usual reaction by people who've never listened to him. The whole point of Billy Bragg is that he is an absolute genius of a songwriter, the best that this country has produced in the last 25 years without question. Equally heartfelt whether he is writing about love, politics or everyday life, the fact that countless people have covered his material is a testament to his songwriting ability. "Back to Basics" stunningly demonstrates this. Billy demonstrates brilliant mastery of dynamics and structure on this album, despite the fact that it is just him, an electric guitar and pretty basic production. This is one of the most evocative, thought provoking and witty albums I have ever heard, as fresh and relevant now as when the original albums were released in the early 1980's.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The right title
Having seen the excellent Mr Bragg at this year's Beverley Folk Festival, where he played a good few of his old songs (and crowd-pleasing favourites to sing along to) I though it... Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2009 by Mr. Stephen C. Boxshall
Socialism Sells (Out)
What I like best about Billy Bragg is his wonderful, quirky sense of irony. While he croons on about his working class `identity,' social justice, and the wonders of... Read more
Published on 8 July 2007 by Captain Cook
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This is one of those spinetingly albums that musicians live for. The overwhelming starkness of the production only serves to accentuate Billy Bragg's outstanding talent at writing... Read more
Published on 3 April 2004 by "hewligan"
A Timeless Classic - Agreed
Mathew Parkinson above is right. I bought this album on the strength of his review and the theme song to the BBC's "Soldiers to be" fly on the wall documentary -... Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2000
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