Hey can somebody help me and tell me what this review stuff is all about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey can somebody help me and tell me what this review stuff is all about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Member since:23.07.2007
Reviews:14
This seven track mini album feels like a car that passes inconsequentially in the dead of night. The songs do not gel into a memorable record, which adds to the impression that it was something created to fill the time between William Bloke (1996) and Mermaid Avenue (1998). It is likely to be only passionate Bragg fans that will be happy to pay for this, whereas the casual fan might enjoy a quick listen to the stand out tracks.
The EP kicks off with a poppy single which has Johnny Marr from the Smiths playing guitar and 'other instruments'. On 'The Boy Done Good' (3:23) Bragg tells the story of his love life using football related analogies: "Taking you to the pictures, was a regular fixture." This epitomises Bragg's 'street-cred' humour and is the stand out track of the album- one that is well worth listening to but not worth buying the album that most people will sing along too. (check out the video for it on youtube)
From here the album goes down hill. Track 2 'Qualifications' (1:45) is catchy with a valid social message about intelligent people who somehow end up working at supermarkets and fast food outlets. So it is dissapointing that he doesn't make more of a meal out of this track because it has real potential.
'Sugardaddy' (4:30) and 'Sugardubby' (5:10) appear to be musical siblings that notch up almost ten minutes of filler between them. They have an unfamiliar ambient sound which is interesting to hear but they are not memorable and the convenent label of 'experimental' can be attached to them.
In between these tracks is a cover of 'Never Had No One Ever' (3:35) by The Smiths. Bragg is brave to attempt this song but it only highlights the inadequacies of his vocal emotion in comparison to Morrissey's ineffable talent. The interesting point here is that Morrissey is a typically depressing singer as Bragg can be, but the two styles are incompatible.
Bragg acheives his own graceful melancholy on track 6, 'Rule Nor Reason' (3:09). Splendid to listen to and genuinely moving, it is on a par with the first track. Together the two songs hold the directionless album together with their contast between happiness and sadness. This is a ying and yang formula that Bragg has used throughout his musical career.
Bringing up the rear is 'Thatherites' (4:05), a vehemently militant song about Margaret Thatcher. "You privatise away what is ours", sneers Bragg. "We'll take it back some day" he croons. The sharp guitar riff works well with Bragg's harsh voice to create something fairly incendiary, but listeing to it in 2007 the song now sounds empty.
Overall there are a couple good invidual songs on here but the rest are irrelevant. The album lacks the power to make it something that can be listened to one or two years later. Instead it'll porbably just provide a nice decoration on someone's CD rack.
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