Reaching to the Converted

Reaching to the Converted

Though his album output kept at a modest dependable pace throughout two decades, electric British folk singer Billy Bragg accumulated enough stray tracks over his decades of service to put together this surprisingly cohesive collection of b-sides, rarities, and covers. A demo version of “Greetings to the New Brunette” (here called “Shirley”) is tougher and denser than the proper album version from 1986’s Talking with the Taxman About Poetry, with Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr substituting his jangle with power chords. “Sulk” hardly deserved its obscure b-side status. “Accident Waiting to Happen” motors along with greater ease than the official version. “Wishing the Days Away” sounds even grimmer and starker in this alternate take. Most fun are the eclectic covers. The Left Banke’s “Walk Away Renee,” The Smiths’ “Jeane," and The Beatles’ “She’s Leaving Home” are among the reinterpreted, given a special Bragg twist (“Renee” receives a narrative unlike any other that only delivers the melody instrumentally). Bragg’s exceedingly pronounced British accent often reveals different emotional points for American ears.

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