Billy Bragg's music certainly doesn't fit his name. Not one note of his music, old or new, possesses an air of arrogance although it holds some bitterness about politics. He is barely known in the States but deserves to hold a place in the realm of Woodie Guthrie and other folk staples.
The vocals on his new album, Mr. Love and Justice, bear striking resemblance to a young Johnny Cash with the moody twinge of Joe Strummer. Somehow, through this heavy vocal line, Bragg brings music that can be folkie, funky or sometimes both.
His music is the traditional singer plus accompaniment, with a touch of alt-country coming in for songs, such as I Keep Faith.
The Englishman crosses the border for a few songs, breaking into a Celtic jig for I Almost Killed You and The Beach is Free.
Though he tests out his electric chops for a few songs (Something Happened might very well be one of the best rock songs of the year), most of the album is sedate and acoustic.
The main focus of Mr. Love and Justice is Bragg's vocals. The amazing thing is, the lyrics deserve to be heard, something rarely seen this year among the guttural moans and sexual innuendos. Not once will Bragg ask you to touch his body.
In fact, Bragg would rather you go out and fight against the authorities that are making this world go down the proverbial toilet. Sing Their Souls Back Home is a song Americans can relate to about withdrawing the troops. We have the Dixie Chicks for these songs, but Bragg has the organic, Guthrie sound that makes protest songs classic.
The Johnny Carcinogenic Show
the song of the album, is possibly a jab at American advertisers. Listeners can almost hear Joe Strummer's sneer through the lyrics of this song, because he was such a major influence to Bragg.
Mr. Love and Justice doesn't have the homey quality of Mermaid Avenue, the 1998 album Bragg did with Wilco. The downright fun of Hoodoo Voodoo from that album is replaced by determination and focus on the message.
Mr. Love and Justice leaves Bragg very much isolated, made to carry entire songs on his own. Luckily, through years of political activism and fighting to get his music heard, he seems to be used to it, even embracing of it. Now it's time for the rest of the world to embrace it as well.
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Susan Tebben
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