Of all the international acts I've seen Billy Bragg would have to be the one I've seen most. The first time I saw him was at the National Theatre in St. Kilda. Just him and an electric guitar. It was marvellous. A year later I saw him at some beach pub in Sydney when again he was solo and this gig still remains the top one for me. Maybe because I wasn't on home turf. Maybe because our names were supposed to be on the door and they weren't so we had to frantically call the acquaintance in Melbourne who promised us (big in radio) and get him to ring the management. But we did it. And he was just great. Never thought he captured the same magic when he brought out a band though.
It was also about the stories told on stage too. Probably the best raconteur since Bruce Springsteen. The stories were almost as good the songs. Almost. With the band the stories were slightly curtailed. actually one year I saw him two nights in a row and I couldn't believe it was quite scripted because he came out with all the same stories.
After the Spy versus Spy EP I was eager for this album to come out and it didn't disappoint. " It Says Here" comes over like a micro Clash. A band he alluded to on stage when discussing his style. But it's some of the slower numbers that got me. St. Swithin's Day and The Saturday Boy have that English melancholy feel. But so raw with just that electric guitar.
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