Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
22 used & new from £5.99

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Must I Paint You a Picture - The Essential Billy Bragg
 
See larger image
 

Must I Paint You a Picture - The Essential Billy Bragg

~ Billy Bragg
4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
Price: £7.48 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Saturday, July 11? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
16 new from £7.07 6 used from £5.99

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this with That's Proper Folk ~ Various Artists

Must I Paint You a Picture - The Essential Billy Bragg + That's Proper Folk
  • This item: Must I Paint You a Picture - The Essential Billy Bragg ~ Billy Bragg

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • That's Proper Folk ~ Various Artists

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

That's Proper Folk

That's Proper Folk

~ Various Artists
4.1 out of 5 stars (33)  £1.98
Mr. Love & Justice

Mr. Love & Justice

~ Billy Bragg
4.1 out of 5 stars (14)  £8.88
Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes

~ Fleet Foxes
3.9 out of 5 stars (141)  £4.98
The Imagined Village

The Imagined Village

~ The Imagined Village
4.6 out of 5 stars (27)  £8.98
The Seldom Seen Kid

The Seldom Seen Kid

~ Elbow
4.4 out of 5 stars (170)  £4.98
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Audio CD (6 Oct 2003)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Cooking Vinyl
  • ASIN: B0000BVM01
  • Other Editions: MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 5,692 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

    Popular in these categories:

    #76 in  Music > World & Folk > English Folk
    #96 in  Music > World & Folk > Contemporary Folk

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
Billy Bragg Music
   www.muzu.tv/billybragg    Free High Quality Music Video To Watch Or Share From MUZU.TV. 
Billybragg
   www.Ask.com    Find the Best Results for Billybragg. Ask Us! 
Billy Bragg Info
   www.info.co.uk/BillyBragg    Find Info On Billy Bragg Access 6 Search Engines At Once. 
  
 

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Must I Paint You a Picture is a generous, two-disc, 40-track survey of Bragg's career to date. The tracklisting was apparently assembled with the help of Bragg's fans, who were asked to vote for their favourites on Bragg's website, but this democratic initiative has only been taken so far: while "Little Time Bomb", for example, was a more popular choice than, say, "The Boy Done Good", the latter is included and the former isn't. It would, of course, be uncharitable to suggest that this is reflective of the authoritarian instincts that lurk inside most socialists.

At any rate, though Bragg has always been chiefly characterised as a political songwriter, his best work has always been that which deals with the politics of the personal: there are few more acute summations of the eternal failure of the male and female to make sense to each other than his "How can you lie there and think of England when you don't even know who's in the team?" Bragg's superb love songs and love-gone-wrong songs are well represented here, from the angry, naive scratchings of "The Milkman of Human Kindness" to such older, if no wiser, musings as "Moving the Goalposts" and "Sulk". Curiously, his older, politically motivated songs now feel like they've reacquired an urgency they lacked during a 1990s largely devoid of stark ideological boundaries, when they sounded rather like quaint period pieces. The so-called war on terror and the increasing discomfort about global trade both have ready made soundtracks in "Between the Wars" and "There is Power in a Union". --Andrew Mueller

CD Description
"Essential" collection from staunch left-wing punk-folk stalwart well known for his support of trade unions and anti-racist groups. Whilst none of these songs can really be calleda "hit" - except 'A New England' which was a top ten singlefor Kirsty MacColl - this presents a selection of his best tracks including 'Sexuality', 'The Saturday Boy', 'Moving The Goalposts', 'Help Save The Youth Of America', 'The World Turned Upside Down' and the vitriolic 'Take Down The Union Jack'.


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Billy is the bloke, 19 Jan 2006
He has inspired me with his fresh approach to guitar, more so than punk....i am 41 this year....his lyrics inspired me to write better. A gem of an album.
Listen to tank park salute or his cover of walk away renee truly underrated. My favourites and in itself is the moving levi stubbs tears and greetings to the new brunette....what a title.....just wish i'd wrote it.
Billy really is the bloke!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive!, 24 Oct 2004
Like the Blurb in the CD says, it really is the definitive Portrait of Billy Bragg. From the earlier dark days of Thatcher and Reagan, to the similarly poor days we experienced recently, it's all there! A great collection of satire, and passion from a great Singer/Songwriter. And it's not just politics, is it! Buy it if you like any fun and passion in your music! Great entertainment and at a great price! Can't give it enough praise.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
20 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars All of Bragg's best (and too much of the rest), 16 Mar 2005
By Patrick Neylan "Patrick Neylan" (Orpington, Kent, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
Like so many politically committed acts (the Pink Fairies, Edgar Broughton, The Crass), Billy Bragg is sometimes better imagined than heard. Of course, when he's good he's fabulous - Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards is one of the finest songs ever - but it really does stand out from some of this excessive collection.

Bragg made his name in the era of vinyl, and this collection is the equivalent of four vinyl albums. That's not a 'Best Of'; it's the 'Collected Works', slightly edited.

CD1 opens with another classic: New England, which is followed by a fine selection of minimalist busks. The hand of a producer would have improved some of them but they're still pretty good, from gentle personal paeans (Man In The Iron Mask) to sharp political anthems (Between The Wars).

There's nothing really wrong with any of them (except of course the unlistenable spoken-word love song 'Walk Away Renee'), but there is just too little variation to sustain a whole 60 minutes of listening.

The second CD starts with 'Sexuality', which has the hallmark of a song written to please the right-ons. And as the music grows in maturity, the naivety and awkwardness of some of the lyrics seems less forgiveable (notably 'Boy Done Good'). As he becomes more and more a member of the establishment, Bragg is less and less dangerous and so less interesting. But he can still move you with the beautiful 'Tank Park Salute' and 'Brickbat', while his versions of Woody Guthrie's unrecorded songs are among his (and Guthrie's!) best.

The real criticism here is that anyone who wants over two hours of Billy Bragg probably has it already. This should have been a single CD, because it simply goes on too long. Rather like this review.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential purchase.
If you don't have any Billy Bragg in your collection this is the one for you.
Published 1 day ago by Demon Drummer

5.0 out of 5 stars For those who aren't sure if they'll like this....
When I saw Billy Bragg on tour recently he described himself as a 'Marmite artist', ie, you either love him or hate him. I don't know that is necessarily true. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Queen of the High Teas

4.0 out of 5 stars Something there for us all
As well as the politcal stuff, there are some great, grounded love songs that are so real.

Great diction, lovely accent that you have to imitate when you sing along... Read more
Published 20 months ago by A. Henderson

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring
Billy Bragg has to be one of the best songwriters ever bad sadly very unheard of. This is a fantastic album and makes me want to get up and solve the world's inequalities at a... Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2006 by Ewan the third

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
Slade's Dave Hill's Prog album went where? 12 1 hour ago
One Artist Collection 20 1 hour ago
Call and Response game ;o) 1088 2 hours ago
Song Title Q&A Tag 2275 2 hours ago
Sacrelige!!! Music's worst covers 17 3 hours ago
Best alternative guitarist 63 5 days ago
Is It Folk? 19 6 days ago
   
Related forums


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Must I Paint You a Picture - The Essential Billy Bragg
91% buy the item featured on this page:
Must I Paint You a Picture - The Essential Billy Bragg 4.6 out of 5 stars (7)
£7.48
Talking with the Taxman About Poetry
3% buy
Talking with the Taxman About Poetry 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£7.48
Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy
2% buy
Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy 4.5 out of 5 stars (4)
£7.48
Brewing Up with Billy Bragg
2% buy
Brewing Up with Billy Bragg 4.2 out of 5 stars (5)
£7.48

Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

Discover Health & Beauty

 

More From Billy Bragg

Mr. Love...

Mr. Love & Justice ~ Billy Bragg

You'll be hard pressed to find good reason to call Billy Bragg a... Read more
£8.88

 

We've Got Converse

Converse
Stock up on your favourite styles with great deals on Converse shoes.

Shop Converse

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates