Talking With the Taxman About Poetry

6/10

Non-toxic masculinity

Don’t like lead singer’s voice

I actually really liked the sound of this album, considering I've never heard of this guy. No recognized songs

Very folksy. On the right side of history but the music sucks

Not something I would ever return to or could enjoy

good english singer/songwriter. activist and romantic to a point. really enjoyed and could see myself being inspired by.

This isn't particularly my style of music, but Bragg is certainly engaging as a performer. This isn't an album I see myself coming back to, but it's certainly much more of an interesting listen than it would be in the hands of a less charismatic performer 4/5

Rock pop

yes yes I quite like this

Funny how some writers are drawn to their central concept like a magnet. In this dude's case, he seems pretty goddamn passionate about politics, a topic which I've always maintained zero interest in. So, between that and his not-quite-musical-but-almooooost-there voice, we were never going to be a suitable match between artist and listener. Sorry Billy, but you ain't for me matey.

Lekker, krijg toch weer zin om ouderwets de straat op te gaan om te protesteren.

Billy is naast zanger ook 'campaigner' lees ik in zijn bio. Vermoeiend!

Wel aardig, maar ook hier trekt de stem me te weinig.

Begon aardig maar na een paar nummers werd het voor de derde dag op rij iets waar ik echt niet tegen kon. Lekkere reeks zijn we aan het maken!

Niet heel spannend maar goed uit te zitten.

Enjoyed the Tracks of my Tears cover. Don’t mind Bragg’s voice, but I don’t care enough to go here again. Neutral.

Not my cup of tea - made it half way thru- no more…

This album never really stuck with me. It felt long and the British style was difficult at times to grasp. The guitar playing was decent and rhythmically it was ok, but it didn’t feel like anything special to me. 3.7/10

4.0 - Someday I’ll make the good choice to tour the English countryside. One evening I’ll duck into an ancient pub. The local barflies will eye me suspiciously as I order my pint. I’ll walk to the jukebox, attempting to appear unconcerned, and see this album. I’ll remember vaguely having listened to it way back in 2021 but won’t remember any specific track, so I’ll choose one at random. At that moment, a drunk hunched over the bar will suddenly break into a clear, steady tenor. Another bloke will join in, then another and another and soon the whole bar will be singing along full-throatedly. By song’s end, I’ll get a few smiling pats on the back and one geezer might even stand me my second pint.

Well the music was shit. Probably a societally meaningful piece of art based on it's lyrics, for some people at a certain point of time. But that has gone and passed. Album should not be on this list.

Usual political balladry - voice and electric guitar - but with addition of full band in a few other songs. A good representation of Billy Bragg.

Such a blast from the past.

Like being in the hippy fields at Glasto

I love the folky, new age-tinged sound this album has. I'm especially a fan of "Levi Stubbs' Tears"!

geen al te speciaal album. Wat folky/country sound

A bit 80s but solo electric folk really works.

Another meh... for future versions of the list they should look into other language records more than keeping fillers like this

Typical Bragg

Billy Braggs vocals are absolutely infuriating to listen to.

Eh. Thought I’d like this more than I did

First listen, good sound. 2/5

The voice ground me down to a fine, lubricant grade powder

It feels like this album jumps genre a lot, but he doesn't do it very well. All the songs feel like they have something missing in them. His voice isn't suited for most of the songs he sings, and the backing track feels somewhat hollow. Favorite track: Train Train

Looking at some of the stuff around this album, a lot of them refer to this album as intelligent and rocking like punk. This album is neither. I will not be listening to the second disc, and I could've done without listening to the first. This is like listening to The Clash's singer sing over Bruce Springsteen songs. The only song that I even find tolerable is "Train Train".

Really admirable the way he storefronts his voice throughout the album. There's no hiding from your lyrics in this context, and the lyrics hold up. The electric guitar really holds its own too.

Can't think of a finer example of a person who carries on in the spirit of Woody Guthrie. He does so with the appropriate modern flair so as not to sound like a retro/nostalgia act. The fact that he is very politically active and backs his words in that way is a rare and admirable quality in a modern musician.

Something about this just kind of annoys me. It might just be me and my mind right now but I couldn’t get through it.

Wzl oke maar niet wauw

3,8 Ja dit is nog wel eens een leuke vibe, maar wel lang, maar kzou miss af en toe een nummerke opzetten.

Dit is prachtig the track of my tears is een geweldige cover Levi stubbs tears... damn Nog geen 5 na eerste listen maar wel heel close

This was incredible. A real gem I didn’t know about.

Pretty forgettable if you ask me…

I’m sure I’ll be shown to brag gibly, but this was a tough listen. Can respect the messages, but what a slog

No me gustó

A good album that I didn’t think I would enjoy, but ended up liking. Songs of oppression and strength in unity and unionizing. Not something I would expect out of the mid eighties, but not unwelcome.

Wow, brings back memories. I hadn't thought of Billy Bragg in a mighty long time. I remember hearing his music during college at parties, on college radio stations, etc. It was okay, but I remember back then it didn't take long for his songs to feel kind of the same to me and even bordering on parody (as in, is he mocking singer-songwriters with some of his songs? I honestly can't tell...and I am sure his fans would tell me I don't "get" Billy Bragg, and they wouldn't be wrong). Listening to this album now gives me a similar experience. It's not bad at all, just not very interesting to me.

Alright is billy. Some good tunes

Didn’t mind it, the album was just a bit too long.

Love

Hmmm... Don't know what to say about this one except it seemed like the background noise when you go to a pub for a pint. I'm sure there's some cultural significance to this and may be stronger if I were aware of British politics of the '80s (I couldn't listen to Morrissey cover this stuff either). This isn't terrible and I did enjoy some of the rich Gibson, but I'm not gonna brag about Billy's album on my weekend readout.

Oito. A vida são três minutos e 31 segundos. O meu Carnaval dura pouco mais que isso. Atenção à distância entre as portas e a plataforma, que a perna é curta. MotA: "Shirley, It's quite exciting to be sleeping here in this new room"

It’s like the La’s meets the Clash, with a little Neil Young for ‘flavour’. I kinda dig it. It’s the accent throwing me off. Like it’s just country/folk, but I typically imagine those genres as Americana. But this guy is CLEARLY from Essex, and it sounds weirdly dissonant. Whether that’s fair or not, I dunno, “It’s just how I feel”, as Mike Birbiglia might say. But it’s not bad, not at all. Songs are melodic and would sound amazing sung drunkenly in a large crowd pissed on pints.

Good. Great songwriter.

Great songwriting and I love the minimal guitar tones; usually clean with a tad bit of chorus. Regional melody influences give a real sense of "folk". May have to add this to the rotation.

A pleasant surprise. I never realised he was so melodic.

4/5 - British James Taylor; the accent is a little off-putting

did not enjoy it, but it's not horrible

That’s longer than I want to talk with the Taxman about anything. And little of the conversation was about poetry. It was about politics, and a girl leaving because she wasn’t respected, but not a lot of analysis of Robert Frost. This is described as folk punk, but I’m not getting too much punk (except for the aforementioned raging at the political machine). Instead, it veers between overly British singer-songwriter and American folk. Some of it was witty and charming, but not enough.

An interesting listen. The album sounds a bit like if The Clash did 60s protest folk. And I kinda like it! His voice is interesting and I can see how it might turn some off, but it works for me in much the way that Dylan's does. It's not about the the sound of his singing, but about the message he brings in the lyrics. Those lyrics are pretty political, but in more of a poetic, Woody Guthrie/Dylan way than, say, the hit-em-over-the-head messaging of The Kinks' ARTHUR album. Still, I'm not sure I'd put this album in my rotation. Rather, if I heard him playing at a festival or rally, I'd appreciate him being there and sharing his viewpoint with us.

This one is mixed for me, I like some of the music but I think I would like it more with a different lead singer.

The Tracks Of My Tears was my favorite song. I’m a sucker for harmony, so I also enjoyed Hold The Fort. I do not care for the lead singer’s voice. I would prefer this album be turned off if it were on.

pretty enjoyable, would be interesting to hear these songs with a full band. Would like to listen again sometime and really focus more on the lyrics.

https://1001albumsgenerator.com/kyleb

I didn't know quite to expect from this - I've not listened to much 1980s indie, but I'm a fan of stuff in the vague orbit of it, so I was curious. I'm sad to say I had a strong negative reaction to this album. Bragg's voice was an immediate turn-off, and this simplistic acoustic sound lives and dies on the quality of its singer. It's just so overblown and grating. Beyond that, any attempts at more complex instrumentation felt gimmicky. I'm loathe to use the word \"preachy\" - I usually don't mind artists being political, in and of itself - but this was really it. It just oozes this tone of smug condescension (even though my political views probably aren't a world away from his). Similarly, any attempts at romance or sentimentality rang hollow.

Nah

Like the riffs and the guitar. Not a fan of the singing.

I put Greetings to the New Brunette on an infinite number of mix tapes, and if I were still attempting to woo women with mix tapes I would be putting There is Power in a Union on there. I generally enjoy Billy Bragg, yet his records are not typically ones I reach for often. This was very pleasant to revisit, but I completely undrstand why some find it off putting. 3.5*

There is a direct line from Billy Bragg to the type of music I normally listen to (decemberists, fleet foxes, Courtney Barnett). That being said I appreciate the album but a lot of it sounds very samey. There is just not a ton of variety.

More my tempo

Never really liked acoustic music, I heard Bragg referenced and covered in high school a lot but never listened. The first half of this album is really fun and not what I expected, up to Help Save the Youth of America I really enjoyed. It was all punk unplugged. From Wishing the Days Away was a boring mix of folk and country, just not something I like. Would love to hear more of his stuff that sounds like the first half of this!

This style of folksy music isn't usually my thing, and this album was listenable but a lot of variations on the same thing. Sin City is my favorite off the album. Overall the vocals and forgettable melodies make this an alright but stale experience.

really enjoyed this one. finally vocals I can deal with. lots of great instrumentation. the overall sound doesn't get old like many other albums. enjoyed it the whole way through 4.0

So, I wasn't sure what I was expecting prior to giving this album a listen. I'm not a punk fan, but I really enjoyed this album. It does sound a lot like other music within this genre that I've heard before, though. Highlights were Greetings To The New Brunette, Train Train, The Marriage, Levi Stubbs' Tears and Wishing The Days Away, but I liked every song. 4/5 stars.

great album - big fan of Billy Bragg

This was another ok album. Not really anything to say though. Worth a listen without the extended instrumentals, covers, and alternate versions.

A quandary of needing to give two albums the same score even though I clearly like one more than the other. I liked it more than the previous Bragg album but not good enough for a 4 to show that preference in the ratings.

Our greatest ever lyricist. Genius. His first 4 albums are all sensational. With some rare artists you can remember exactly where you were when you first heard them and Billy Bragg is one of those. But Train Train is an aberration - it must have been included on the album by mistake!

Despite broadly sharing the same politics as Bragg, he's never done anything for me at all. This didn't change my mind.

Love a bit of Billy Bragg. Simple, but very effective. He is a great wordsmith

Young

Iznenadilo me odmah prve četiri pjesme, da su sve dost dobre i to zaredom. Nikad čuo za Billya, ali eto drago mi je da je bio kvalitetan što čujem iz ovog albuma.

To the union, to the revolution!

it was alright, didn't make it thru the entire thing but sounded too country ish

Boring - all tracks sounded the same

Lofi protest folk/punk. Love it!

My impression of Billy Bragg's folk-punk music has always been that it's straightforward, blunt and effective in it's political messages and "Talking With the Taxman About Poetry" is all those things and more. With some horn accompaniment and harmonies chiming in here and there, a more fleshed out version takes shape. Charming and purposeful lyrics sung with a commanding voice, I find myself returning to this album. Fav Tracks: There is Power in a Union, Greetings from the New Brunette, Help Save the Youth of America, Levi Stubb's Tears

This record has some special alchemy. Between Billy Bragg's passionate street poet lyrics about romance and politics and the sparse, but purposeful arrangements, I was captivated throughout. With lines like, "Woops there goes another year/Woops there goes another pint of beer" how could you not be charmed? Not to mention the tasteful Johnny Marr and Kristy McColl features on "Greetings to the New Brunette". I feel like his message--equal parts cynicism and collectivism--is as relevant as ever in 2021. Really appreciated this opportunity to get to know Billy Bragg a little further than his Mermaid Avenue collaboration with Wilco. Favourite tracks: "Greetings to the New Brunette", "Levi Stubbs' Tears", "There is Power in a Union" and "Help Save the Youth of America"

Sounds like an old British punk frontman has done his own more folky acoustic album. It's OK, I think it needs more time to appreciate. Sounds like it was probably quite popular back in the day. 2/5

Andere Sachen von ihm finde ich besser.

Nur kurz reingehört, bisschen anstrengend.

First part is ok, second cd is full of alternate versions and half-finished songs, which quite ruins the deluxe edition

Crudo, a solas con su guitarra y poco más. Alcanza cimas muy altas en algunos temas pero no termina de ser el disco redondo que podía llegar a ser. Muy bueno.

The first thing to know about Talking With The Taxman About Poetry is that it's a folk album. The primary instrument in these songs is electric guitar, adorned with the occasional violin, trumpet or organ. The arrangements are sparse, but effective and varied. As an instrument, Billy Bragg's voice is humble and plain, well-suited to the folk idiom. The point of this music is the songs themselves, which while simple, are tuneful, with thoughtful lyrics about a variety of topics. Still, I don't understand why this album is on this list. I cannot imagine this LP rocking anyone's world. It breaks no new ground, in fact, it's defiantly retro. That said, on its own terms, Talking With the Taxman About Poetry is pretty much perfection. How to rate? I cannot in good conscience give this any higher than a 3. 3/5

british, political, idk. kinda repetitive

That's totally not my bag baby

Nothing I liked about it

Some good jaunty tunes

It's great that he's not afraid to be relentlessly political and socially conscious. "Idealogy" is a song still relevant, especially the day after the US anaugaration. "Levi Stubbs Tears " is a classic. Billy's voice can wear on you after a while and the production is sparce, I prefer the piano arrangements to the guitar whcih I find harsh at times. Thoughtfully crafted lyrics. It would be nice if some of these got covered (as Dylan's have)

Bei aller Sympathie, das war leider nicht so gut in meinen Ohren.

Billy hat eine treue, langjährige Gefolgschaft, die ich mir vorstelle, wie das mit dem Kaugummirhizom unter der Theke und dem Klo-Sticker Palimpsest mitwachsende/kleben gebliebene Stereo Wonderland Stamm-Publikum. Verzottelt sympa, streitlustig, politisch generell auf der tiefroten Seite. Ich will aber Musik und alles, was sie kann. Bitte keinen Stammtisch Philosophen, der hier den besten JuSo-Parteitag ever untermalt. Für die Haltung extra points.

Tranquilo. Guitarra acústica. Buena voz

“Talking with the Taxman about Poetry” by Billy Bragg (1986) Stylistically, this is the closest thing to Dylanesque that I’ve ever heard coming out of England. Not in the same league, but headed in that direction. Some very good art on this album. I would have bought this album, but iTunes jacked the price by adding a bunch of bonus crap. Not playing that game. Now, Billy Bragg simply can’t sing. And musically, there’s little to compensate for this weakness. His vocal flubs alternate between distractingly irritating and irritatingly distracting. He needs a little backup. Lyrics, however, are very well crafted, with some true flashes of brilliance. And, there are some seriously engaging musical arrangements in his love songs. But sadly, when he gets into politics (“Ideology”, “Power in a Union”, Help Save the Youth of America”), his verse becomes clunky, shallow, and preachy, with canned melodies and chord structures pulled out of the vertical file marked “Recycle Bin”. And by the way, Mr. Bragg (“Help Save the Youth of America”), we’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: We don’t need the British telling us how to do our politics. The “Youth of America” can hold their fire until they see the whites of British eyes. But the next time you need to invade Normandy, give us a call. 4/5

NEEEEEWWWW WWWWAAAAVE. I like his ridiculous accent. I like how loose and shambolic this album feels

Primer apropament a Billy Brag i el seu antifolk protesta de so cru. Hi ha algun tema interessant, com el primer tall, però en general se m'ha ennuegat una mica.

2

Mostly a dude with a comically heavy English accent playing guitar and yammer-singing with, maybe, some political message I don't care to hear.

a boring swamp thing

quite fun :)

He reminded me I have to do my taxes...

It's kind of a British folk rock type thing. It tries very hard to make political points, to the point that it sacrifices the idea of making enjoyable music.

Always love the punk + folk genre, and pretty sure BB is iconic for this sound.

I guess this record is important, for some reason? I liked a couple of the songs, most was just background music.

Pretty British. The wiki says "punk folk" and that makes a ton of sense. It took a while for me to get into it but I eventually started to vibe with it... won't revisit but I guess I'll say 2.5.

2.5 | Pues no hay mucho que decir. Creo que su manera de cantar era muy acertada la descripción que leí; es una mezcla de folk con punk que parece extraño pero en efecto tiene el sonsonete como si fueran los ramones pero con letras más hacia el folk y aunque tiene una guitarra eléctrica los arreglos son más hacia lo acústico. Me agradó pero no me apantalló, creo el problema principal que tengo es que aunque me agradó mucho su manera de cantar sus canciones siempre se escuchan como vacías; me gustan sus letras, esa mezcla de cantar es buena pero siento que hace falta una banda y ese es el problema con el disco. Me hace falta una percusión, no hay bajo, su idea de armar las canciones me deja una sensación incompleta. Algunas llegan a tener el bajo ocasional o alguna percusión (aunque nunca una bateria formal) y pareciera que siempre te quedas esperando que empiece a tocar la banda. A falta de una banda si fuera realmente en arreglos meramente acústicos cuadraría mejor, ese punto medio es interesante pero extraño. Siento que las canciones en sí son buenas y en otra configuración hasta podrían haber pegado comercialmente.

Billy Bragg is folk-punk. He sings a lot about left-wing politics. This is one of his less well-known albums. Apparently he played with Wilco for a while?

Creo que las letras están bastante bien. No conocía este género, folk punk, que a decir verdad no me encantó. Quizá escuchando canciones aisladas le pueda dar mayor valor a su obra, porque un disco completo me resultó demasiado aunque no estoy muy seguro del por qué. Podría ser únicamente su voz. 2.5 estrellas que suben a 3 como reconocimiento del mérito de esta música, aunque no es muy probable que me vuelva fan del género ni que vuelva a escuchar este disco completo en la vida. Songs: Train, Train, Wishing the Days Away

I do enjoy a good brit. Great tunes

Early British indie. Not for me

Interesting album. Kind of reminds me of an old Irish folk album. Don't think I'll rush back to this one, but it wasn't bad either.

Solid album, i liked the more upbeat songs the best, cover of the tracks of my tears was amazing.

Not it chief

Meh

Such a fun album.

Boring

1.5| le voy a poner el 2 solo por qué no sabía que existía el folk punk. Cuando piensas que la rola va a despegar te quedas esperando y esperando hasta que fin y comienza otra vez a despegar y pues nada

Quizá no sea un disco muy sorprendente pero sí es música que me agrada. Ya conocía a Billy Bragg (aunque no lo recordé de primera instancia) porque canta con Frank Turner, que me late mucho. De hecho Turner invita a Bragg por ser de los pioneros de este sonido mezcla de punk y folk que tiene letras como de todos los días pero con tintes políticos y de molestia social. En fin, me gusta el estilo de voz y la simpleza musical, que le dan para llegar a la tercera estrella.

Great, great album.

Wasn't expecting to like it that much, but there's a great mix of catchy songs and different sounds here.

Enjoyed the 2nd half a whole lot more. Seemed more unique and interesting. First half seemed a bit generic. Not bad may give it another go

yoooooo. so good.

I have never listened to Billy Brag before, but I am digging this. I am adding a couple of these tunes to my regular rotation

Surprised, much better than I expected

Not bad. Nothing memorable.

Not my cup of tea.

An interesting album, almost entirely the artist and singular or simple instrumentation. Not every tune did it for me, but it's definitely something I could play in the background. As such, it's in 3 star territory.

Nothing stands out. Decent songs and decent feel. Lyrics are forced.

BRI'ISH INNIT

This was a fun listen and a cool English punk/80s vibe

Great album, but i still love the Back to Basics stuff best.

Goofy but harmless

I bit preachy but I like the sound. Reminds me of frank turner

Had no idea there was a genre called folk-punk. Not for me though, sorry.

3.5 stars, if I could

Pretty good, Closer to a 3.5

Terrible

This man can write a politically/romantically charged tune, no doubting. Top record!