Brewing Up with Billy Bragg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brewing Up with Billy Bragg
Studio album by Billy Bragg
Released	4 October 1984
Recorded	???
Genre	Indie, Singer-songwriter, Anti-folk
Length	33:49
Label	Go! Discs; 2006 reissue on Yep Roc Records
Producer(s)	???
Professional reviews
All Music Guide (4.5/5) link
Billy Bragg chronology
Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy 1983	Brewing Up with Billy Bragg 1984	Talking with the Taxman About Poetry 1986

Brewing Up with Billy Bragg is the second album by Billy Bragg, released in 1984.

While debut EP Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy was performed by Bragg accompanied only by his guitar, Brewing Up with Billy Bragg began to use subtle overdubs: backing vocals on "Love Gets Dangerous", trumpet on "The Saturday Boy", organ on "A Lover Sings".

The album also continued Bragg's legacy of political songs, à la Woody Guthrie. "It Says Here" is a bitingly satirical attack on the British tabloid press, and "Island of No Return" is a concise anti-war anthem.

In 2000 Q magazine placed Brewing Up at number 87 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.

In 2006, as part of a planned series of reissues of albums in his back catalog, Bragg re-released Brewing Up with Billy Bragg for the first time on CD on Yep Roc Records with a number of bonus tracks. These tracks included covers of "Back to the Old House" by The Smiths (with Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr playing guitar) and "The Last Time" by The Rolling Stones. The bonus tracks also include Between the Wars, an EP released after Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy.

[edit] Track listing

(all songs written by Billy Bragg, except where noted)

1. It Says Here – 4:18
2. Love Gets Dangerous – 2:23
3. The Myth Of Trust – 2:54
4. From A Vauxhall Velox – 2:31
5. The Saturday Boy – 3:30
6. Island Of No Return – 3:37
7. St. Swithin's Day – 3:54
8. Like Soldiers Do – 2:39
9. This Guitar Says Sorry – 2:31
10. Strange Things Happen – 2:38
11. A Lover Sings – 3:54

[edit] Bonus tracks (2006 reissue)

1. It Must Be a River – 2:19
2. I Won't Talk About It – 5:06
3. Talking Wag Club Blues – 2:59
4. You Got the Power (Brown) – 3:10
5. The Last Time (Jagger/Richards) – 2:55
6. Back to the Old House (Marr/Morrissey) – 2:53
7. A Lover Sings [alt. take] – 3:58
8. Which Side Are You On? (Bragg/Reese) (2;34)
9. It Says Here (Between the Wars version) – 2:36
10. Between the Wars – 2:30
11. The World Turned Upside Down (Rosselson) – 2:35