For non-subscribers, much of the material can be purchased for very little cost by downloading the Vol 1&2 box sets along with the complete Mermaid Avenue sessions. Below the playlist there are links to a number of other playlists charting what I think are the essential Billy Bragg, along with a best of the Mermaid Avenue albums he did with Wilco, for which they wrote the music to go with lyrics left by the great Woody Guthrie. Then there is the likes of Must I Paint you a Picture which one of the greatest fans of Dame Shirley Bassey declared, on first listen, that it could be one for the Dame. To me these songs are just as, or more relevant now, then when they were first released. I don't think all his protest songs work, but when they do they are brilliant - such as the barnstorming live version of To Have and to Have Not in the playlist below, and the more recent We're Following the Wrong Star. Many of his best are just great love songs with brilliant and often emotionally raw lyrics, or some that are just very funny. To me, he is simply a great songwriter who has produced brilliant songs for the last 30odd years. Archdale Drill Manual Of The Los Angeles.
There has always been a lot more to Mr Bragg than his general image as a socialist protest singer.
