Lifes a Riot Between the Wars

Lifes a Riot Between the Wars, a compilation of Billy Billy Braggs releases, Lifes a Riot With Spy Vs Spy and the Between The Wars EP. Theses will also pop up on the Back to Basics album at some point.
I used to work at Pontins and a colleague there assumed that I liked Billy Bragg, in 1988 I liked only one Billy Bragg song, his reinterpretation of Walk Away Renee, the colleague assumed though due to my political and musical stance that I was a fan. On telling him I wasn’t he lent me a tape of his music, it did nothing for me. Some years later I saw him at Glastonbury Festival and the rest they say is history.
These 11 tracks were short to the point of abruptness and the shouting was all over by the time I was passing Rugeley cooling towers. The songs themselves were all very familiar to me and on the whole, actually without exception I enjoyed them. You see the criticism I had yesterday, the authenticity could not be levelled at this release, its Billy, it is with the odd exception, his words, his experiences, be it love, or be it politics, you get that he means this and it isn’t from the hand of someone else.
What is from the hand of someone else are the songs Which Side Are You On and The World Turned Upside Down, the latter being my favourite song sung by Billy, and in A New England, my favourite lyric, in I saw two shooting stars last night, I wished on them but they were only satellites, its wrong to wish on space hardware. I don’t think those lines have ever been bettered by anyone, Tony Asher comes close though.
So that’s the album, enjoyable, to say the least, not Billys best, as it’s a compilation, but certainly good. 8 out of 10.



A New England by Billy Bragg