A British musician, the stereotypical "one angry man and a guitar," with the twist that his music is at once passionately delivered and intellectually challenging.
Back to Basics is a collection of some of his earliest songs, though it is probably the earliest thing you can get on
CD. This compilation combines three earlier works: the first album, "
Life's a Riot with Spy vs. Spy"; an
EP entitled "
Between the Wars"; and a second album called "
Brewing Up With Billy Bragg." I am a big fan of this material, which can be described as "one angry,
angry man with a
guitar." He speaks about two topics here:
socialism and
failed romances.
Later works include:
BTW, the recent "lost tracks" collection Reaching to the Converted is a definite buy in my book, if for nothing else than the monologuish "Walk Away Renee."
If you think you can get into a style that takes equal elements from punk and folk, combines them with a left-leaning social consciousness, and spits them out as well-written gems, then Billy Bragg is your man. Calling him a poet simply doesn't do him justice.
Song lyrics I've found/posted here on E2: