Thursday, March 26, 2020

Day 0571 - Talking With the Taxman About Poetry

Billy Bragg "Talking With the Taxman About Poetry" (1986)


The book talks about Bragg's ability to find the personal in politics and the political in the personal.  As is often the case, I didn't really pay much attention to the lyrics so I didn't really pick up on that so much, but I did enjoy the album musically.

Bragg's reverb drenched guitar manages to accentuate a variety of styles, from rockabilly, folk, pop and country.  I didn't even realise the first time I listened to the album, but there's little-to-no drumming in it, and the songs don't suffer at all as a result.  One or two tracks have limited percussion but that's it.

The album also features contributions from the Smiths' Johnny Marr, and Kirsty MacColl (of 'fairytale of New York' fame.

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