Released November 1984 Artist Billy Bragg Producer Edward de Bono | Length 33:49 Release date November 1984 Label Go! Discs | |
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Recorded July 1984
Berry Street Studio, London Brewing Up with Billy Bragg
1984 Talking with the Taxman About Poetry
1986 Genres Anti-folk, Independent music Similar Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy, Back to Basics, Talking with the Taxman, Don't Try This at Home, Workers Playtime | ||
Billy bragg it says here
Brewing Up with Billy Bragg is the second album by Billy Bragg, released in 1984.
Contents
- Billy bragg it says here
- It says here
- Versions
- Track listing
- Disc one
- Disc two 2006 reissue
- Musicians
- Production
- Songs
- References
While his debut album Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy (1983) was performed by Bragg accompanied only by his guitar, Brewing Up with Billy Bragg began to use subtle overdubs, such as backing vocals on "Love Gets Dangerous", trumpet on "The Saturday Boy" and organ on "A Lover Sings".
The album also continued Bragg's legacy of political songs. "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 with Billy Bragg at number 87 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
The album reached number 16 in the UK albums chart.
The cover of the original album has the subtitle "A Puckish Satire On Contemporary Mores," a quote from the Woody Allen film Love and Death, in which Allen's character reviews an army play presented to Russian soldiers to prevent them from becoming infected with venereal diseases while at war.
It says here
Versions
The album was originally released on vinyl in 1984 with 11 tracks. In 1987 the album was again released along with the album Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy (1983) and the EP Between the Wars (1985) and titled Back to Basics. Back to Basics was reissued in 1990. Brewing Up with Billy Bragg was reissued on its own in 1997.[1]
In 2006, as part of a planned series of reissues of albums in his back catalogue, Brewing Up with Billy Bragg was remastered and reissued for the first time on CD 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 the Between the Wars EP.
Track listing
All songs written by Billy Bragg, except where noted
Disc one
- "It Says Here" – 4:18
- "Love Gets Dangerous" – 2:23
- "The Myth of Trust" – 2:54
- "From a Vauxhall Velox" – 2:31
- "The Saturday Boy" – 3:30
- "Island of No Return" – 3:37
- "St Swithin's Day" – 3:54
- "Like Soldiers Do" – 2:39
- "This Guitar Says Sorry" – 2:31
- "Strange Things Happen" – 2:38
- "A Lover Sings" – 3:54
Disc two (2006 reissue)
- "It Must Be a River" – 2:19
- "I Won't Talk About It" – 5:06
- "Talking Wag Club Blues" – 2:59
- "You Got the Power" (James Brown, George Terry) – 3:10
- "The Last Time" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 2:55
- "Back to the Old House" (Morrissey, Johnny Marr) – 2:53
- "A Lover Sings" (alternative version) – 3:58
- "Which Side Are You On?" (Florence Reece, Bragg) – 2:34
- "It Says Here" (alternate version) – 2:36
- "Between the Wars" – 2:30
- "The World Turned Upside Down" (Leon Rosselson) – 2:35
Musicians
Production
Songs
1It Says Here4:18
2Love Gets Dangerous2:24
3The Myth of Trust2:30