Reaching To The Converted (Minding The Gaps)

Billy Bragg | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 31, 1999)
• Original Release Date: August 31, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00000JZAK
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,507 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Shirley [#]

2. Sulk

3. Accident Waiting to Happen [Red Star Version]

4. The Boy Done Good

5. Heart Like a Wheel

6. Bad Penny

7. Ontario, Quebec and Me

8. Walk Away Renee [Version]

9. Rule nor Reason

10. Days Like These [UK Version]

11. Think Again

12. Scholarship Is the Enemy of Romance

13. Wishing the Days Away [Ballad Version]

14. The Tatler

15. Jeane

16. She's Leaving Home

17. I Don't Need This Pressure Ron

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential CD for Bragg fans, November 23, 1999

By 

David K. (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reaching To The Converted (Minding The Gaps) (Audio CD)

Billy's version of Walk Away Renee (accompanied by Johnny Marr) alone makes this CD worth the cost. After seeing this song performed live in 1988 I've been searching through second hand record stores for years trying to find this track. I love the line "I told her I'm the most illegible bachelor in town, and she said yeah that's why I never understood any of those silly letters you keep sending". Cracks me up every time! Another highlight is a very beautiful rendition of She's Leaving Home with backup vocals from Cara Tivy. Very memorable. There are many other gems amongst this collection of B-sides. Essential CD for all Bragg fans.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Glad we've got that cleared up...., October 6, 2000

By 

Rob Hosking - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reaching To The Converted (Minding The Gaps) (Audio CD)

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).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant Compilation, September 14, 2000

By 

Ziggy, the Last of the Space Cowboys (Pig Island) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reaching To The Converted (Minding The Gaps) (Audio CD)

Billy Bragg is undoubtedly the exponent of modern British folk music. Spanning Billy's 17 year carreer, this collection of B-sides and rarities is an awesome addition to any Bragg fan's collection. The songs, coming from different stages in Bragg's carrer, are pretty diverse musically, ranging from just guitar and vocals to the more produced, full-band sound of his recent work.

Whereras most other artists record B-sides just for the sake of backing up a single, Billy seemed to put as much effort into a B-side as any of his singles or album tracks. There are so many excellent tracks here that I don't know where to begin. There are some biting political rants in the good-ole Bragg tradition - the superb "Think Again" and "Days Like These"; some beautifully sparse love songs - "Ontario, Quebec and Me" and my personal favourite "Scholarship Is The Enemy Of Romance"; some poppy full-band tunes - the sublime "Sulk" and "Bad Penny"; and some inspired covers - "Jeanne" [The Smiths], "She's Leaving Home" [The Beatles], "The Tatler" [Ry Cooder] and "Heart Like A Wheel [Kate and Anna McGarrigle]. A few other songs worth mentioning are "Shirly", a remake of "Greetings To The New Brunette" on which Johnny Marr plays all the instruments; "Walk Away Renee", a love poem read by Billy accompanied again by Johnny Marr; and a nice sleepy folk song, "Rule Nor Reason".

If you are a die-hard Bragg fan this is a must have, but if you are unfamiliar with Bragg or are just getting into him, don't start here - instead start with "Back To Basics" - it's a marvellous introduction to this much overlooked talent that is Billy Bragg.