Billy Bragg - Billy Bragg Volume 1 (Cooking Vinyl) By Steve Rudd

An essential purchase for hardcore BB fans as well as those people who might have heard just a few of his songs but who dare to delve further into the life and times of Billy Bragg, this release is a box set comprising seven CDs and a couple of DVDs. In and amongst Billy Bragg Volume 1 there are four of Billy's earliest and greatest albums, which are Life's A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy, Brewing Up With Billy Bragg, Talking To The Taxman About Poetry and Internationale/ Live & Dubious. Billy Bragg scorched his way through the Eighties and Nineties with his unique brand of Punk-Folk music, and he's still going strong, given his latest 2006 Hope Not Hate tour.

An impassioned protest singer - and lyrical genius - at heart, Billy has always possessed a sincere, soulful and genuinely distinctive singing voice, while his earliest releases are dominated by his awesome electric guitar playing.

The breathtaking Richard number, along with A New England, both from the Life's A Riot... album perfectly showcase how all he needs is his guitar and voice to conceive wonderful songs that are quite unlike anything that had preceded their release, and quite unlike anything that has been released since they originally were. Tunes such as Like Soldiers Do and the crisp acoustic rawness of Talking Wag Club Blues (both from Brewing Up With Billy Bragg) are also highlights to listen out for amidst the many pleasures that this box set offers up, which hail from a time quite removed from the sound of the songs that make up the more commercial sounding Talking To The Taxman... record, given the uber-melodic Greetings To The New Brunette song that's to be found on there.

Still, Departees proved that Billy had a thing for dabbling in Country-styled music, a truth further proved by the bluegrass twang of Joe Hill on the Internationale/ Live & Dubious release. In fits and starts some people might be reminded of Joe Strummer once Billy opens his mouth, and there is indeed something about the sound of Billy Bragg that is imbued with Clash-esque style, substance and spirit. Still, fundamentally, Billy Bragg is a breed apart, and he sings from the heart with a rare kind of soul. So, if you're not already familiar with his work, this box set naturally provides the best excuse for you to become better acquainted. www.billybragg.co.uk

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