| 4.5 superb | tom79 | January 13th 07 |
Simply one of the best 'one man and his guitar approach' albums I've heard. "Back To Basics" compiles most of Billy Bragg's early work onto one convienient album. Strongly opinionated and politically outspoken, Bragg's lyrics are the focal point of his music as he sings about his far left views and anything socially unjust in his eyes with intelect and meaning but can also churn out poetic love songs, including The Man in the Iron Mask, one of his finest tunes. And his raw, unpolished acoustic guitar is also unique and excellent. Other highlights include: To Have and To Have Not, St. Swithin's Day and The Milkman Of Human Kindness.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 5.0 classic | morrissey EMERITUS | June 27th 06 |
Though it a compilation album, like the Smiths' release Hatful of Hollow it is in my top 3 favourite albums ever. It must be stated that this isn't a compilation record in the "greatest hits", "singles" or "best of..." sense. Rather, it compiles Bragg's first two EPs and LP in complete form, and organises them chronologically. It is almost like a boxset of his early career but on one CD, if that makes sense. You can clearly notice the progression from bare-bones, unrefined music to music where more care is paid to arrangment and instrumentation, but the lyrics and passion remains intense throughout. Everyone needs to hear this quite simply. Bragg is a knowledgeable, opinionated, learned individual who possesses the rare talent of being able to turn matter-of-fact wordings into beautiful songs. He's folk but he's punk; he's indie but he's pop. He's a barrel of contradictions and he needs to be heard.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.5 great | DrReg | June 6th 09 |
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