Customer Reviews

Internationale

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Whether you agree with Billy's politics or not, you can't help but be impressed with the emotion of "My Youngest Some Came Home Today" or the sharp lyrics of "Marching Song of the Covert Battalions." It seems that musicians just don't record this sort of gutsy material anymore. Nowadays, "taking a chance" means offending as many people as possible with obscenities or lewd behavior, but there was a time when musicians believed that taking a chance had to do with performing intellectually bold content that had real social value. Billy Bragg is one of those people. Steve Earle is another. It's a shame there aren't more like them anymore. If you want a stellar example of a talented musician performing gutsy, meaty songs, then listen to this cd.

This is a great album. There is a breadth of tone and subject matter, though all the songs come from Billy Bragg's perspective, and are quite political in nature. To specifically address one criticism on this site, Billy did not write a new tune for 'The Red Flag', he states that he is returning the lyrics to their ORIGINAL tune, which is a lively Irish reel; the effect is to give the song the energy and enthusiam it requires.

Hey, I'm a socialist, do you really expect me to give this CD a bad review? *chuckle* Great stuff. Bragg's "The Red Flag" is fun to dance to, I might add. And just did. Heh!

Was this review helpful to you? Probably not. Sorry.

Billy Bragg has always managed to mix "pop and politics" in his words, but on this EP, he focuses on the latter. Sure the album may be short, but he put's his heart into each and every word. Sure he takes some liberties, but that's what makes this album interesting. I know of several versions of "Joe Hill" (Paddy Reilly, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, etc.) and while a contribution by Bragg would have been welcome, it was more exciting for me to hear it sung about the late, great Phil Ochs. His version of The Internationale might not be the same as the original, but times have changed, and for the worker's to be able to have a song that represents them, it would be foolish to sing about things that aren't relevant anymore.

So if you want traditional communist/socialist/anarcho songs, there's many places you can find them. If you want a contemporary album with a bit of humor, and a lot of topics (that you can still feel passionate about), get this EP.

"How many times have I wonderedif it really is possible to forge links with a mass of people when one has never had strong feelings for anyone, not even ones own parents; if it is possible to have a collectivity when one has not been deeply loved oneself by individual human creatures. Hasn't this had some effect on my life as a militant - has it not tended to make me sterile and reduce my quality as a revolutionary by making everything a matter of pure intellect, of pure mathematical calculation?" Antonio Gramsci, 1929. Bragg is not willing or able to make the same error.

Some people need to learn to comprehend what they read. The previous poster had writen that what we know as "Tannenbaum" was originaly "The Red Flag." What the liner notes actualy state (an you can learn if you pick up allmost any book of labour songs) is that "The Red Flag" was orginaly set to the Jacbite tune, "The White Cockade." The version sung today by the Englis Labour Party however is set to the tune of "Tannenbaum." The poster also writes that Pete Seeger asked Billy Bragg to rewrite the lyrics to "The International," where Billy clearly states that when Pete asked Billy to sing "The International" with him at the Vancouver Folk Festival that Billy replied that he thought the lyrics were archaic, to which Pete agreed and suggested he rewite the lyrics.

This short recording has been one of my favorites since it came out eight years ago. It contains several stirring versions of socialist movement classics. The title track is grand and weighty - fitting for a national anthem. Bragg's version of "The Red Flag" is spare and strident; one has to respect the courage of any musician who would promise "when cowards cringe and traitors sneer/we'll keep the red flag flying here." At the other end of the affective spectrum, Bragg shows us the price to be paid for political activism in "My youngest son came home today," about the death in battle of the speaker's son. The tracks on this album will leave you with the urge to cut barbed wire and organize a union.

Something for the latent communist in us all. Billy Bragg brings us deep insights into his political consciousness, entertaining and informing all the while. Some of my favorite tracks include Bragg's updated and moving version of "The Internationale" as well as a very different take on Blake's "Jerusalem." My four-star review is more a function of this CD's length (sadly only seven tracks) rather than its quality. A must for all true Bragg fans, but certainly not the best introduction to his creative corpus.

To be able to write this, I replayed this long-deleted 1990 Utility Records CD a few minutes ago; choked @ Bragg & Cara Tivey's duet of "Blake's Jerusalem" & wept @ "The Red Flag" (with Dick Gaughan backing Bragg uP in the chorus.) I'm proud to have this CD; you will be, too.

On this release, comprised mostly of covers, Billy gives what equates to an eye opening history lesson. Yet this lesson is undeniably musical. High-points can be found in The Red Flag, and My Youngest Son Came Home Today.