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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Billy Bragg's last studio project had been the `Mermaid Avenue' albums which had been recorded as a collaboration with Americano band Wilco. The final mixing and sequencing of the first album had been completed by Bragg and long time producer Grant Showbiz ; Wilco unhappy with the results, left Bragg to promote the album alone. And so The Blokes were assembled, taking their name from Bragg album William Bloke, as a touring band, featuring Ian McLagan of Faces fame. I can't help but think Red Faces might have been a good band name, The Faces were one of the bands that inspired Billy to pick up a guitar in the first place.
Despite the experience with Wilco, on returning to the studio, Bragg decided to collaborate again and handed the lyrics to the Blokes to compose the music with. The first track is the most obvious collaboration with `St Monday' sounding like a Faces classic, but with better lyrics.
The title of the album, although taken from a Colin MacInnes essay, is more closely aligned to the George Orwell pamphlet `The Lion and The Unicorn' which is quoted on the sleeve. The search for an inclusive national identity which does not alienate left wing intellectuals with obvious jingoism is continued by Bragg through not only the title track but also `Take Down the Union Jack', the most fully realised track on the album and deserved single choice. Released in the Queens Golden jubilee it created an alternative national celebration when Billy performed it on Top of the Pops, still England's flagship music programme despite being in its death throws.
Other classic Bragg compositions pepper the album notably `Jane Allen', NPWA' and `Another Kind of Judy'. Even the albums coda, `Tears of my Tracks', a song about Billy selling his record collection is still a fantastic song and allot better than I've made it sound.
The bonus tracks here are also worth hearing most tellingly the cover version of Faces `Glad and Sorry' and the Woody Guthrie children's songs `1, 2, 3, 4' and `Dry Bed'. Blokes, Half Faces.
Despite the experience with Wilco, on returning to the studio, Bragg decided to collaborate again and handed the lyrics to the Blokes to compose the music with. The first track is the most obvious collaboration with `St Monday' sounding like a Faces classic, but with better lyrics.
The title of the album, although taken from a Colin MacInnes essay, is more closely aligned to the George Orwell pamphlet `The Lion and The Unicorn' which is quoted on the sleeve. The search for an inclusive national identity which does not alienate left wing intellectuals with obvious jingoism is continued by Bragg through not only the title track but also `Take Down the Union Jack', the most fully realised track on the album and deserved single choice. Released in the Queens Golden jubilee it created an alternative national celebration when Billy performed it on Top of the Pops, still England's flagship music programme despite being in its death throws.
Other classic Bragg compositions pepper the album notably `Jane Allen', NPWA' and `Another Kind of Judy'. Even the albums coda, `Tears of my Tracks', a song about Billy selling his record collection is still a fantastic song and allot better than I've made it sound.
The bonus tracks here are also worth hearing most tellingly the cover version of Faces `Glad and Sorry' and the Woody Guthrie children's songs `1, 2, 3, 4' and `Dry Bed'. Blokes, Half Faces.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Billy Bragg is a national treasure; at his best an absolute songwriting genius.
Take the best bits of 'Don't try this at home', 'Talking to the Taxman about poetry', 'Workers Playtime' and 'William Bloke' for instance, and you'd have one of the greatest albums of songs of all time. No, really! The only problem is one of consitency. Each on it's own is a good album, if not uniformly great (the closest to that I reckon is 'Workers Playtime').
I'm sorry to say that his can't match any of them. Most disappointing is the title track which is almost criminally over-produced; Billy's version of this on the BBC's Folk Britannia with just an accoustic guitar was vastly superior.
Take the best bits of 'Don't try this at home', 'Talking to the Taxman about poetry', 'Workers Playtime' and 'William Bloke' for instance, and you'd have one of the greatest albums of songs of all time. No, really! The only problem is one of consitency. Each on it's own is a good album, if not uniformly great (the closest to that I reckon is 'Workers Playtime').
I'm sorry to say that his can't match any of them. Most disappointing is the title track which is almost criminally over-produced; Billy's version of this on the BBC's Folk Britannia with just an accoustic guitar was vastly superior.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The most disappointing Bragg album I've heard so far. The music is the albums biggest weakness with only about two tracks that really caught my ear: St. Monday and Take Down The Union Jack. NPWA has some brilliant lyrics but is let down entirely by a backing/melody that is not at all inviting just quite boring. I've enjoyed Billy solo and with band but this album was a real disappointment. There is some bad language on this album so you might want to be careful if playing it in front of your kids - or your gran.
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