There's just no ignoring - you're pretty but you're boring

Continuing my journey across the output of The Bard Of Barking...

William Bloke (1996)

He took a bit of a break after DTTAH, but I continued to listen to it so I was pleased to see the follow-up finally come out and bought it - I think I listened to it a couple of times and never tried again. Which is a bit odd, because it's got one of my favourite songs of his on it...

A Side

1. From Red To Blue
This is quite a mournful song - it sounds like a lament and I assume that it is really, for some of his friends who have "faded from red to blue". I mean - imagining being mates with Billy and telling him you voted Conservative!

2. Upfield
I knew this one and I like it - it's nicely jaunty, but listening back to it, it's maybe not the best produced, being a bit of a mess really.

3. Everyone Loves You Babe
I vaguely recognised this one - I think I might have heard him play it live a couple of times. It's a most peculiar song lyrically and not his best vocal performance ever - which is quite saying something given this is Billy we're talking about here!

4. Sugardaddy
This is a pretty odd song lyrically and vocally as well - I'm really not sure about the falsetto la-la-las.

5. A Pict Song
This is back to classic Billy with just him and his guitar ranting about injustice - it's a pleasure to have you back, sir! It's also our second song recently based around a Rudyard Kipling poem (after one on this album) - he gets everywhere, that boy!

6. Brickbat
This is a nice song where he recognises that he's changed (with his relationship and parenthood obviously having played a big part) and he half-heartedly rails against it ("I used to want to plant bombs at the Last Night of the Proms but now you'll find me with the baby, in the bathroom") whilst also baldly stating that he loves it ("I stayed in bed, alone, uncertain then I met you, you drew the curtain - the sun came up, the trees began to sing, the light shone in on everything. I love you"). Awww.

B Side

1. The Space Race Is Over
I liked this, but I've absolutely no idea what it's about - I did find a whole article on the internet about it but it was far too long!

2. Northern Industrial Town
This is a lovely song - it tells of a town which displays various stereotypes with everyone trying to get along as best they can ("and on payday they tear the place down, with a pint in your hand and a bash 'em out band - sure they'd dance to the rhythm of the rain falling down") inviting you to guess where he's talking about. And at the end he explains "but it's not Leeds or Manchester. Liverpool, Sheffield nor Glasgow. It's not Newcastle-on-Tyne - It's Belfast". And yes, it is simplifying matters somewhat but it's closer to the truth than a lot of other things you hear about the place.

3. The Fourteenth Of February
Fine, but nothing more than that for me - I didn't know what it was about, but I didn't care enough to find out.

4. King James Version
"He was trapped in a haircut he no longer believed in" - what a great start! This is another song that seems to be about the world changing and finding your place - the internet is very unclear about any more detail than that.

5. Goalhanger
Unlike many tracks on this album, it's very clear what it's about describing someone who has no convictions and is all veneer and bluster - which, in case you don't know, isn't the sort of person Billy likes. There are some top lyrics on it - "he's got the natural arrogance of an exclamation mark and he wishes his bite was a big as his bark" and "his lack of humility defies imagination and he hangs round like a fart in a Russian space station" are amongst many great couplets throughout.

6. Qualifications
A bonus track on the LP version which adds exactly nothing to the equation.

Having made my way through it again, I don't really know why it didn't take to it at that time. Yes, it has some somewhat unusual tracks on it, but they're not horrible - and it has some great tracks on it. Looking at the playlist, "Northern Industrial Town" was always going to make it whilst other tracks are being picked on the basis of one listen, so I'm going for lyrics that jumped out at me which gives us "A Pict Song", "Brickbat" and "Goalhanger" with "King James Version" being unlucky to miss out.

Wikipedia tells us that it's five years since DTTAH and in the intervening period Billy had, somewhat unsurprisingly having listened to the songs, become a father - this, and his increasingly less certain political views (I think he was missing Maggie!) played into the album. He's still got the usual team involved though with Cara Tivey and Dave Woodhead popping up and Grant Showbiz on production duties. The critics were mostly nice enough about it (although Rolling Stone were not fans, which doesn't surprise me) and commercially it spent three weeks in the charts, peaking at #16.

I liked this more than I was expecting - I think I'd have to listen to it a few more times for it to fully work its way into my affections and it's a bit weird in places, but it's got a bit of a different vibe to it and he doesn't sound quite as bitter/rueful as he has been from time to time on the last few albums. They say having kids changes you - and it certainly seemed to change Mr Bragg.

Don't Try This At Home - A fine album