This is throwing up all sorts of surprises - I was sure the first BB would be Back To Basics, the compilation containing this album and the Life’s A Riot EP, but I can’t seem to find that. Either my memory is escaping me, or my CD collection is in need of serious sorting out.
I’ve been a fan of Billy’s (and at one with his politics) from the very early days, but it’s a while since I actually listened to this, his first proper album. Life’s A Riot was a great introduction but lacked production, and this album combines the space in the songs expected from early Bragg, with a sound you can properly hear, and first forays in something more than one man and guitar (backing vocals on Love Gets Dangerous, second guitar on From A Vauxhall Velox, organ on A Lover Sings, even a trumpet on The Saturday Girl). And, as we would come to expect from Bragg, it’s a mixture of young love and angry politics, done in his unique style. And it’s a great debut, which sounds of its time without sounding dated. Subsequent albums would be more polished and ‘full band’, and this is an interesting bridge from Life’s A Riot and those. The bonus CD starts with four tracks which wouldn’t have been missed had they never seen the light of day, but livens up with a cover of the Rolling Stones’ The Last Time. An alternative version of A Lover Sings with Johnny Marr recycling the guitar riff from This Charming Man is interesting, and Which Side Are You On, Between The Wars and The World Turned Upside Down are collected for posterity.
4* - a great album, with lots still to enjoy
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