I Paint You a Picture: The Essential Billy Bragg [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Subtitled - The Essential Billy Bragg. 2003 compilation celebrates 20 years of Billy Bragg recordings & features all his best-known & most popular songs. 50 digitally remastered tracks including a bonus 10 track rarities CD (of covers, except for 2 tracks) packaged in a paper sleeve, 'A13, Trunk Road To The Sea' (a rewrite with British directions of 'Route 66' by Bobby Troupe), 'Fear Is A Man's Best Friend' (John Cale), 'Cold & Bitter Tears' (Ted Hawkins), 'Seven & Seven Is' (Love), 'When Will I see You Again' (Gamble & Huff), 'Rule Nor Reason' (B. Bragg), 'Debris' (Ronnie Lane), 'Dry Bed' (Woody Guthrie), 'She Smiled Sweetly' (Stones) & 'Take Down The Union Jack' (King Normal & The Rug Remix). Standard single jewel case & paper sleeve packaged in a slipcase. Festival.

I Paint You a Picture: The Essential Billy Bragg, Music, Billy Bragg, Pop, Rock, Rock/Pop
Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • The best of Billy Bragg is pretty good!
  • A welcome mat for everyone
  • A POOR MAN's WOODY GUTHRIE.
  • Essential in deed - a truly great English songwriter
  • An excellent compilation, as well as three excellent independent discs.
 Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000DD53H
Release Date: 2003-10-28

Tracks:

  1. A New England
  2. The Man In The Iron Mask
  3. THe Milkman Of Human Kindness
  4. To Have And To Have Not
  5. A Lover Sings
  6. St Swithin's Day
  7. The Saturday Boy
  8. Between The Wars
  9. The World Turned Upside Down
  10. Levi Stubbs' Tears
  11. Walk Away Renee
  12. Greetings To The New Brunette
  13. There Is Power In A Union
  14. Help Save The Youth Of America
  15. The Warmest Room
  16. Must I Paint You A Picture
  17. She's Got A New Spell
  18. The Price I Pay
  19. Valentine's Day Is Over
  20. Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards

Tracks:

  1. Sexuality
  2. Cindy Of 1000 Lives
  3. Moving The Goalposts
  4. Tank Park Salute
  5. You Woke Up My Neighbourhood
  6. Accident Waiting To Happen (Red Stars Version)
  7. Sulk
  8. Upfield
  9. The Fourteenth Of February
  10. Brickbat
  11. The Space Race Is Over
  12. The Boy Done Good
  13. Ingrid Bergman
  14. Way Over Yonder In The Morning Key
  15. My Flying Saucer
  16. All You Fascists Bound To Lose (Blokes Version)
  17. NPWA
  18. St. Monday
  19. Somedays I See The Point
  20. Take Down The Union Jack (Band Version)

From Amazon.co.uk

Must I Paint You a Picture is a generous, two-disc, 40-track survey of Bragg's career to date. The tracklisting was apparently assembled with the help of Bragg's fans, who were asked to vote for their favourites on Bragg's website, but this democratic initiative has only been taken so far: while "Little Time Bomb", for example, was a more popular choice than, say, "The Boy Done Good", the latter is included and the former isn't. It would, of course, be uncharitable to suggest that this is reflective of the authoritarian instincts that lurk inside most socialists.

At any rate, though Bragg has always been chiefly characterised as a political songwriter, his best work has always been that which deals with the politics of the personal: there are few more acute summations of the eternal failure of the male and female to make sense to each other than his "How can you lie there and think of England when you don't even know who's in the team?" Bragg's superb love songs and love-gone-wrong songs are well represented here, from the angry, naive scratchings of "The Milkman of Human Kindness" to such older, if no wiser, musings as "Moving the Goalposts" and "Sulk". Curiously, his older, politically motivated songs now feel like they've reacquired an urgency they lacked during a 1990s largely devoid of stark ideological boundaries, when they sounded rather like quaint period pieces. The so-called war on terror and the increasing discomfort about global trade both have ready made soundtracks in "Between the Wars" and "There is Power in a Union". --Andrew Mueller

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars The best of Billy Bragg is pretty good!.......2006-08-23

I love Billy Bragg's lefty politics, his rough, un-taught voice and his tremendous guitar playing, but most I just love his courage. He's a good, at times clever song writer - "Walk Away Renee" was a nice surprise, and you just should have him in your catalog.

5 out of 5 stars A welcome mat for everyone.......2006-06-19

Now there's a way for people unfmailiar with Billy get an overview of his music from above. I've loved his lyrical abilities and evocative music that fuses both a folkie sensibility and a gritty modern edge for a long time. Very few other present day bands can do this well. Outgrabe is one of the most successful, and they've clearly been influenced by Billy, the grand old man of this genre. I wish Billy all the luck in the world, and I'm sure this CD will draw new fans into his musical space.

1 out of 5 stars A POOR MAN's WOODY GUTHRIE........2006-04-18

Billy Bragg thinks he's a modern day Woody Guthrie, championing the poor working class. Unfortunately he is not.Not only is he a hypocrite by writing for the right wing press when it suits him, but i find his 'right on' attitude rather nauseating. This is a man that supports a certain Mr Blair and is proud to do so. Therefore i fine his music rather patronising to people that (unlike him) are really struggling. Mr Bragg wouldn't know real suffering if it crawled up and bit him. At least Steve Earle walks it like he talks it! Beware of songwriters who claim to be working class they invariably aren't!

5 out of 5 stars Essential in deed - a truly great English songwriter.......2005-12-06

Listening to Billy Bragg is a very English thing to do. Perhaps British, but definitely English. His Essex consonants, largely unreconstructed by the passing years, his wonderfully vernacular use of the language (he even mentions Marmite, food of the gods, on "England, Half English"), songs about God-bothering footballers, unrequited boyhood lust at the school disco, and best of all, his withering political polemics laced with laugh out loud humour ("trapped in a hairstyle he no longer believes in").

Politics is what most people associate Billy with, and for sure he did his share in the eighties ("I was doing about 300 gigs a year and only got paid for half of them - why should I be nostalgic for the eighties?") and still cares now. He still backs fair unions against bad bosses, supports hospices and fair trade campaigns, and believes that a better world is actually possible - only some kind of idiot thinks that is a bad thing, surely.

But let's not forget that Billy has written some great songs about love and life as real people live it. "St Swithins" day is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard, aching in its sense of loss and grimy ordinariness. "Tank Park Salute" is a gorgeous and brave song about Billy's relationship with his father. There are many more in his canon. Like Dylan, like Guthrie, Bragg is not a "protest" singer to the exclusion of all else.

Perhaps "New England", written early in his career, still sums up a lot of what Billy is about. It's a cracking tune, with a great chorus, which cheerfully pokes gentle English fun at his own political interests ("I'm not looking for a new England, I'm just looking for another girl") whilst being ostensibly a break-up song, and still manages to deliver one of the funniest lines in rock music - "I saw two shooting stars last night / I wished on them, but they were only satellites / Is it wrong to wish on space hardware?".

A great English songwriter, who is increasingly a great contributor to modern debates on the nature of Englishness and the future of our nation. A national treasure in fact.

Long may he reign.

And another thing: in concert he is very good and very, very funny. He has an apparently bottomless fund of great stories and witty one-liners, fuelled by his ever present cup of tea, and even manages to make political discourses a laugh.

5 out of 5 stars An excellent compilation, as well as three excellent independent discs........2005-11-07

Based upon the fact that I only knew two songs ("New England" and "To Have and Have Not"), buying these CD's was a huge gamble. Not only did I find out upon purchasing it that I like Billy Bragg, but I discovered I LOVE Billy Bragg. This collection is not only a comprehensive and fairly complete sampling of his work, it is also a set of three albums, astounding unto themselves.
The first disc is more bare-bones than the other two (and my favorite) featuring Bragg's characteristically clever songwriting and sparse musical accompaniment. This is of course, not without exception, most notable the fuller sounding "Great Leap Forwards", among several others.
The second disc is a slight departure from the aforementioned sound, without deviating completely from Bragg's traditional style. More instruments, more production. My personal favorite from this one is "Way Over Yonder In the Minor Key", which features backing vocals from a woman who sounds uncannily like Natalie Merchant to me...however, I could easily be mistaken.
The third disc is the shortest, however, nonetheless amazing as well.
I constantly find myself reaching for this cd, and the only disappointment I have is that Billy Bragg is such an underrated artist here in America.
Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg
    Billy Bragg
    Manufacturer: Festival Records
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
    BritpopBritpop | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
    Urban FolkUrban Folk | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
    British FolkBritish Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
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    GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
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    RockRock | Imports | Stores | Music
    ASIN: B0000DBPHE
    Release Date: 2003-10-27

    Tracks:

    1. New England
    2. Man in the Iron Mask
    3. Milkman of Human Kindness
    4. To Have and to Have Not
    5. Lover Sings
    6. St. Swithin's Day
    7. Saturday Boy
    8. Between the Wars
    9. World Turned Upside Down
    10. Levi Stubbs' Tears
    11. Walk Away Renee
    12. Greetings to the New Brunette
    13. There Is Power in a Union
    14. Help Save the Youth of America
    15. Warmest Room
    16. Must I Paint You a Picture?
    17. She's Got a New Spell
    18. Price I Pay
    19. Valentine's Day Is Over
    20. Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards

    Tracks:

    1. Sexuality
    2. Cindy of a Thousand Lives
    3. Moving the Goalposts
    4. Tank Park Salute
    5. You Woke Up My Neighbourhood
    6. Accident Waiting to Happen (Red Stars Version)
    7. Sulk
    8. Upfield
    9. Fourteenth of February
    10. Brickbat
    11. Space Race Is Over
    12. Boy Done Good
    13. Ingrid Bergman - Billy Bragg, Wilco
    14. Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key - Billy Bragg, Wilco
    15. My Flying Saucer - Billy Bragg, Wilco
    16. All You Fascists Bound to Lose (Blokes Version) - Billy Bragg & the Blokes
    17. NPWA - Billy Bragg & the Blokes
    18. St. Monday - Billy Bragg & the Blokes
    19. Some Days I See the Point - Billy Bragg & the Blokes
    20. Take Down the Union Jack (Band Version) - Billy Bragg & the Blokes

    Tracks:

    1. A13, Trunk Road to the Sea [#][*]
    2. Fear Is a Man's Best Friend [*]
    3. Cold and Bitter Tears [Live][#][*] - Billy Bragg, Ted Hawkins
    4. Seven and Seven Is [#][*]
    5. When Will I See You Again? [#][*]
    6. Rule nor Reason [Live][#][*]
    7. Debris [Live][#][*]
    8. Dry Bed [#][*][Demo Version]
    9. She Smiled Sweetly [#][*]
    10. Take Down the Union Jack [King Normal & The Rug Remix][#][*]

    Album Description

    Subtitled - The Essential Billy Bragg. 2003 compilation celebrates 20 years of Billy Bragg recordings & features all his best-known & most popular songs. 50 digitally remastered tracks including a bonus 10 track rarities CD (of covers, except for 2 tracks) packaged in a paper sleeve, 'A13, Trunk Road To The Sea' (a rewrite with British directions of 'Route 66' by Bobby Troupe), 'Fear Is A Man's Best Friend' (John Cale), 'Cold & Bitter Tears' (Ted Hawkins), 'Seven & Seven Is' (Love), 'When Will I see You Again' (Gamble & Huff), 'Rule Nor Reason' (B. Bragg), 'Debris' (Ronnie Lane), 'Dry Bed' (Woody Guthrie), 'She Smiled Sweetly' (Stones) & 'Take Down The Union Jack' (King Normal & The Rug Remix). Standard single jewel case & paper sleeve packaged in a slipcase. Festival.

    Album Details

    20 Years of Billy Bragg Recordings and features his Best-known and Most Popular Songs, from his Debut Album "Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy", Released in 1983 Through to Tunes Taken from 2002's "England, Half English".
    Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg
      Billy Bragg
      Manufacturer: Cooking Vinyl
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
      BritpopBritpop | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
      Urban FolkUrban Folk | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
      British FolkBritish Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
      Alternative FolkAlternative Folk | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
      Singer-SongwritersSinger-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music
      Folk RockFolk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music
      Alternative RockAlternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
      RockRock | Imports | Stores | Music
      ASIN: B0000BVM01
      Release Date: 2003-12-18

      Tracks:

      1. New England
      2. Man in the Iron Mask
      3. Milkman of Human Kindness
      4. To Have and to Have Not
      5. Lover Sings
      6. St. Swithin's Day
      7. Saturday Boy
      8. Between the Wars
      9. World Turned Upside Down
      10. Levi Stubbs' Tears
      11. Walk Away Renee
      12. Greetings to the New Brunette
      13. There Is Power in a Union
      14. Help Save the Youth of America
      15. Warmest Room
      16. Must I Paint You a Picture?
      17. She's Got a New Spell
      18. Price I Pay
      19. Valentine's Day Is Over
      20. Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards

      Tracks:

      1. Sexuality
      2. Cindy of a Thousand Lives
      3. Moving the Goalposts
      4. Tank Park Salute
      5. You Woke Up My Neighbourhood
      6. Accident Waiting to Happen (Red Stars Version)
      7. Sulk
      8. Upfield
      9. Fourteenth of February
      10. Brickbat
      11. Space Race Is Over
      12. Boy Done Good
      13. Ingrid Bergman - Billy Bragg, Wilco
      14. Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key - Billy Bragg, Wilco
      15. My Flying Saucer - Billy Bragg, Wilco
      16. All You Fascists Bound to Lose (Blokes Version) - Billy Bragg & the Blokes
      17. NPWA - Billy Bragg & the Blokes
      18. St. Monday - Billy Bragg & the Blokes
      19. Some Days I See the Point - Billy Bragg & the Blokes
      20. Take Down the Union Jack (Band Version) - Billy Bragg & the Blokes

      Tracks:

      1. A13, Trunk Road to the Sea [#][*]
      2. Fear Is a Man's Best Friend [*]
      3. Cold and Bitter Tears [Live][#][*] - Billy Bragg, Ted Hawkins
      4. Seven and Seven Is [#][*]
      5. When Will I See You Again? [#][*]
      6. Rule nor Reason [Live][#][*]
      7. Debris [Live][#][*]
      8. Dry Bed [#][*][Demo Version]
      9. She Smiled Sweetly [#][*]
      10. Take Down the Union Jack [King Normal & The Rug Remix][#][*]
      Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg
      Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
      • Passion, brains, integrity, humor...
      		 Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg
      Billy Bragg
      Manufacturer: Cooking Vinyl
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
      BritpopBritpop | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
      Urban FolkUrban Folk | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
      British FolkBritish Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
      Alternative FolkAlternative Folk | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
      Singer-SongwritersSinger-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music
      Folk RockFolk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music
      Alternative StylesAlternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Box Sets | Stores | Music
      Alternative RockAlternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
      ASIN: B0000BVM02
      Release Date: 2003-11-26

      Tracks:

      1. New England
      2. Man in the Iron Mask
      3. Milkman of Human Kindness
      4. To Have and to Have Not
      5. Lover Sings
      6. St. Swithin's Day
      7. Saturday Boy
      8. Between the Wars
      9. World Turned Upside Down
      10. Levi Stubbs' Tears
      11. Walk Away Renee
      12. Greetings to the New Brunette
      13. There Is Power in a Union
      14. Help Save the Youth of America
      15. Warmest Room
      16. Must I Paint You a Picture?
      17. She's Got a New Spell
      18. Price I Pay
      19. Valentine's Day Is Over
      20. Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards

      Tracks:

      1. Sexuality
      2. Cindy of a Thousand Lives
      3. Moving the Goalposts
      4. Tank Park Salute
      5. You Woke Up My Neighbourhood
      6. Accident Waiting to Happen (Red Stars Version)
      7. Sulk
      8. Upfield
      9. Fourteenth of February
      10. Brickbat
      11. Space Race Is Over
      12. Boy Done Good
      13. Ingrid Bergman - Billy Bragg, Wilco
      14. Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key - Billy Bragg, Wilco
      15. My Flying Saucer - Billy Bragg, Wilco
      16. All You Fascists Bound to Lose (Blokes Version) - Billy Bragg & the Blokes
      17. NPWA - Billy Bragg & the Blokes
      18. St. Monday - Billy Bragg & the Blokes
      19. Some Days I See the Point - Billy Bragg & the Blokes
      20. Take Down the Union Jack (Band Version) - Billy Bragg & the Blokes

      Tracks:

      1. A13, Trunk Road to the Sea [#][*]
      2. Fear Is a Man's Best Friend [*]
      3. Cold and Bitter Tears [Live][#][*] - Billy Bragg, Ted Hawkins
      4. Seven and Seven Is [#][*]
      5. When Will I See You Again? [#][*]
      6. Rule nor Reason [Live][#][*]
      7. Debris [Live][#][*]
      8. Dry Bed [#][*][Demo Version]
      9. She Smiled Sweetly [#][*]
      10. Take Down the Union Jack [King Normal & The Rug Remix][#][*]

      Album Details

      2003 Double Disc 40 Track Retrospective of the Punk Poet's Recorded Output. The Selections were Assembled with the Help of Fans Via Bragg's Website who Voted for their Favorite Tracks. This Initial Edition Includes a Bonus Disc with 10 Track Rarities, So Get Yours as Soon as You Can.

      Customer Reviews:

      4 out of 5 stars Passion, brains, integrity, humor..........2004-01-25

      Billy Bragg has spent most of his career flying kind of low on the radar screen, but he rarely disappoints. This set (2 20-song disks plus a 10-song extra disk of mostly covers) is a good career highlight collection that should please his fans.

      Bragg has always been a champion of liberal and working class causes and makes no apologies for his point of view, but he's one of those rare artists who can be political without resorting to tiresome, humorless dogma. Early material was a bit more topical, but over time he's covered more universal themes. His best songs address the politics of relationships, blending the tragic ("Levi Stubbs' Tears") with the light-hearted ("Greetings to the New Brunette"). Many of the most celebrated songwriters of our time have never approached the simple beauty of his "Between the Wars."

      Musically and spiritually a cross between the Clash and Woody Guthrie, he has recorded with folks such as Wilco, Johnny Marr and the late Kirsty MacColl (who covered his "A New England," the opening track here), but his roots are as a solo busker, and much of his best material is just his guitar and his thick Cockney accent. The first two disks are essentially a greatest hits/non-hits run-through, and the third disk is mostly covers. His up-tempo take on John Cale's "Fear Is a Man's Best Friend" and a carbon-copy version of Love's "Seven and Seven Is" (even sung with an American accent) both stand out.

      Bragg's fans won't be disappointed, nor will those who'd like a large scale introduction to his work.

      Music:

      1. In the Pursuit of Leisure
      2. Ingathering of Exiles
      3. Just a Few Things That I Ain't, Vol. 1 [CD-single] [Import]
      4. Just a Few Things That Pt. 2 [CD-single]
      5. Just Hold Still
      6. L L L L L [Explicit Lyrics]
      7. Laurell
      8. Life, Love & Worship
      9. Live at Shepperton 1980 [Import] [Live]
      10. Live N Sleazy [Import] [Live]

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