Amidst the glamour and glitter of eighties pop music, Billy Bragg, aka the Bard of Barking, stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb. He was a genuine protest singer, in the mould of Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, wearing his left wing, socialist colours proudly and defiantly. An ardent believer that pop music could be used as a weapon to agitate for real and meaningful change in society, Bragg was a prominent and vocal critic of the Thatcher government of the time. His appearance on Top of the Pops in 1985 was something of a landmark in British popular culture; as the bitterly divisive Miner's Strike raged across Britain, a fresh faced Bragg took to the stage in the plain clothes of the working man, a renouncement of the shallow glitz of the 80s pop star, to deliver a defiant and poignant rendition of 'Between the Wars'. Just one man, an electric guitar, and passion by the bucket load. Bragg went on to pen hit songs such as 'A New England' and 'Levi Stubs Tears', and has continued to write and record with varying degrees of success for the last two and a half decades.
Tooth and Nail, his first studio album in five years, will come as something of a surprise to those fans of Bragg who lost touch with his music as the eighties drew to a close. Anyone expecting a reprise of the angry young protest singer routine may be in for a disappointment - the days of the Billy Bragg of old, belting out punky, agit-pop rallying cries in his defiantly unique accent, are long gone. Tooth and Nail is a likeable, laid back collection of songs that wears its folky Americana influences on its sleeve. Largely acoustic based, with tasteful slide guitar and simple arrangements, Tooth and Nail lacks the bite of his earlier work; it is the sound of a man growing old with considerable grace, but still with something to say about the world around him. 'No One Knows Nothing Anymore' encapsulates Bragg's bewilderment at an ever-changing society while the theme of displacement and change continues on the beautifully downbeat 'I Ain't Got No Home'. There is a brief flicker of the fiery Bragg of old on 'There Will Be A Reckoning' but throughout the album, it is difficult to get away from the fact that this is Bragg with all the edges smoothed out by the middle of the road production and session musician perfection.
Tooth and Nail is a bittersweet affair - at a time when we are crying out for the burning passion of a young Stephen William Bragg, he has given us weary and resigned, and there is something sadly poignant about that.
Review by Paul Page
