Music

Average customer rating:

Classic Billy.
Pretty darned coherent for the most illegible bachelor in town...
Great career-spanning CD
Good for a sample of Billy Bragg's varying styles
Glad we've got that cleared up....

Reaching to the Converted
Billy Bragg
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Talking With The Taxman About Poetry
Brewing Up with Billy Bragg
England, Half English
William Bloke
Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg

ASIN: B00000JZAK
Release Date: 1999-08-31

Tracks:

Shirley
Sulk
Accident Waiting To Happen (Red Star Version)
The Boy Done Good
Heart like A Wheel
Bad Penny
Ontario, Quebec And Me
Walk Away Renee (Version)
Rule Nor Reason
Days Like These (U.K. Version)
Think Again
Scholarship Is The Enemy Of Romance
Wishing The Days Away (Ballad Version)
The Tatler
Jeane
She's Leaving Home
I Don't Need This Pressure Ron

Amazon.com

Consider this something of a garage sale for Billy Bragg. On the heels of one of his career highs, Mermaid Avenue, the plugged-in folkie has dived into the hodgepodge he hoarded between 1985 and 1997 and compiled a surprisingly beguiling and cohesive collection of B-sides and bonus tracks. With nine selections from the '80s and eight from the '90s, Reaching offers considerable expanse while making a strong case for Bragg as one of the most productive and consistent post-punk performers to come out of Britain. Highlights here include a previously unreleased version of "Shirley," with the Smiths' Johnny Marr providing the instrumental backing, and a slew of savvy covers that includes the McGarrigles' "Heart Like a Wheel," the Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee," the Beatles' "She's Leaving Home," and Ry Cooder's "Tattler." Reaching to the Converted holds considerable appeal for Bragg partisans, but it's appealing enough to win over nonconverts, too. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews:

Classic Billy........2007-03-25

Irreverent, creative, and exploding with energy, Reaching to the Converted is one of my favorite Billy Bragg CDs. I still listen to it quite often even though I bought it in 1999. It contains, "Walk Away Renee," which is among the finest songs of his oeuvre. I also like the Rickenbacker sound of this version of "Shirley" which is quite beautiful. "Bad Penny" and "The Boy Done Good" are outstanding tracks as well. The time Johnny Marr spent with Bragg is on display here, and practically anything that man ever touched turned to gold.

Pretty darned coherent for the most illegible bachelor in town..........2005-08-02

Billy Bragg's socialist politics, expressed both in his image and some of his more laborious music, have done a lot to obscure just how sublime a pop singer he can be. On this compilation of b-sides, Bragg fans find an engaging mix of covers, alternate takes, and invaluable originals. Bragg demonstrates not just his songwriting chops but also a real knack for interpreting - primarily evidenced by his gorgeous cover of the folkie chestnut Heart Like a Wheel. The Bragg original Ontario Quebec and Me may just be one of the most achingly beautiful love songs ever written (although for my money Mary Lou Lord's version - an obscure b-side itself - is the definitive reading, even if she can's seem to recall recording it in the first place).

I'm not sure what this says about Bragg, but I really think this compilation of leftovers is his most consistent album. Perhaps despite the title, it's certainly one of the only cases I can think of where a rarities collection is an ideal starting place for the uninitiated.

Great career-spanning CD.......2004-02-08

... as a fan of Billy's since the release of 'Talking with the Taxman...', I bought this thinking it was exactly as titled, something for us 'Billy' fans, and it did NOT dissapoint... those of us in the 'States' had missed out on alot of what was released in England... that being said... the original of 'Accident Waiting to Happen' has much more power as a song, and 'Greetings...', in it's original version is also much better... the rest of this LP is fantastic throughout (including those re-made songs)... I've put songs from this LP on mix-tapes for friends, and they're never disappointed... it's wonderful how you can tell in each stage of Billy's career that 'this song' was an outtake from this album, and 'that song', was an outtake from this... and then there are his hits from England that we never got to hear until now.... amazing that one of my favorite artists ever could come out with the most 'essential' B-Sides LP ever... why couldn't XTC have done this?

Good for a sample of Billy Bragg's varying styles.......2003-01-26

Billy Bragg is not only a political activist, but the guy can sing a good ballad too.
There is a sampling of both here; from the beautiful heart-wrenching cover "A Heart is a Wheel" to the politically infused "Days Like These" to the purely pop hit "Shirley" this CD has it all.
A fine introductory collection of Bragg's differing musical stylings.

Glad we've got that cleared up...........2000-10-06

Good to hear the new version of 'Greetings to the New Brunette' - retitled 'Shirley' here, it's got a heavier sound than the original, and both are, in their different ways, excellent. Even better to get a lyric sheet for the song, where Bragg sings "I'm more impressionable when my _cement_ is wet". I always thought that instead of 'cement' he sang about something more...uhh...biological...Well, it certainly makes a lot more sense than 'cement'.

Best of all though is his version of 'Walk Away Renee'. The tune itself is always a heartbreaker, and on this recording guitarist Johnny Marr picks it out while Bragg talks about a funny/pathetic failed love affair ("The first time she spoke to me, my nose started to bleed. She guessed the rest"). Used to have this on the B side of one of his singles, now sadly long lost. At the time it seemed painfully accurate, presumably because I was going through a funny/pathetic failed love affair...It's a classic. Worth the price of admission alone.

The rest - there's some new stuff (to me, anyway) like 'Sulk' which is excellent; and a ballad version of 'Wishing the Days Away' which isn't bad though not up to the original. I'm not all that keen on Bragg's political rants, and this is not just political bias speaking. Unfortunately, when he gets on his soapbox he loses his delicacy of touch, not to mention his humour (when he keeps both, as on the 'Workers Playtime' album, he is great).

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