Living on logic sounds real good but people never act the way you think they should

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

The Million Things That Never Happened (2021)

This is one I've definitely listened to - I remember quite liking most of it. I also went to one of the shows on the tour and there were some nice stories attached to some of then - he sounded older, wiser and more mellow. I guess it had to happen sometime...

1. Should Have Seen It Coming
Yeah, he's definitely older, wiser and more mellow on this one. It's a decent track without being great.

2. Mid-Century Modern
He's definitely sounding older here but still trying to keep up - "the kids who pulled the statues down - they challenged me to see, the gap between the man I am and the man I want to be". It's all got a nice folky-blues sound to it.

3. Lonesome Ocean
A nicely mellow and melancholic track.

4. Good Days And Bad Days
"Boring old normal - how attractive it seems" - I seem to remember from the gig that this was a post-lockdown song. He's singing too low again though...

5. Freedom Doesn't Come for Free
This is very Americana including banjo and fiddle, but I quite liked it

6. Reflections On The Mirth Of Creativity
He's back this side of the Atlantic with some twee folky flute - it's nicely floaty and not at all what you'd expect from the man.

7. The Million Things That Never Happened
This is another post-lockdown song - a lament for the million things that never happened because of Covid. I imagine for a lot of people this cuts very deep - "a hug for the crying, a kiss for the dying". It's very nicely done.

8. The Buck Doesn't Stop Here No More
Well doesn't that title sound prescient these days? And the lyrics are pretty on the money too - this feels like a lament for the US, but it's nicely done.

9. I Believe In You
A simple song with a lovely message - I like this.

10. Pass It On
This is a slightly more complex song (backing singers and everything!) but still a lovely message and another decent track.

11. I Will Be Your Shield
And we're back to a simple song - it's mostly just him and the piano, which works really well (and his singing is surprisingly decent here as well). The message is still lovely though - I really liked this one.

12. Ten Mysterious Photos That Can't Be Explained
And we're finishing on an upbeat note - I really like this one too. It also has some very valid things to say about the internet...

Now the world wide web is a wonderful thing
You're just a click away from all of the facts
But there's a downside if you've a curious mind
It's like heroin for autodidacts

Now the new breed of know nothings are flooding my screen
How they scare me, they're so goddam sure
They look like reasonable folks but the next thing you know
Is they're screaming "I don't want your cure!"

Well, I think the first thing to say is that this is a very decent album indeed. It feels like he's got the mix of love and politics back to his glory days, but he's sounding a lot older and wiser than he did back then. He knows he doesn't have the fire of his youth any more and part of that makes him sad and there's definitely an element of world-weary wisdom in plenty of places. But part of it makes him happy that he can just sit back from time to time and he knows that at least some people still care - and maybe they'll have more success in changing the world than he did. 

The use of other musicians is also handled well here - this is soooo much better than his efforts with The Blokes. Picking the tracks for the playlist, "I Will Be Your Shield" and "Ten Mysterious Photos That Can't Be Explained" are stand-outs for me and I'm going to add "Mid-Century Modern" and "The Million Things That Never Happened" because they provide a good summary of the album.

Wikipedia has more on this album than it had on the last - we learn it was produced by Romeo Stodart from The Magic Numbers (and I think he did a good job) and Billy described the album as the "first pandemic blues album of our times but also a heartfelt paean to human resilience". We also learn that "Ten Mysterious Photos That Can't Be Explained", was co-written with Bragg's son, Jack Valero. The critics were very nice about the album, with one of them describing the album as "reflective not raw, rueful not raging, an honest evolution from scrappy youth into elder" - which is what I was trying to say, but phrased slightly better. Commercially, the album spent two weeks on the chart getting to #44 in '21 and #83 in '22, with it also getting to the dizzy heights of #98 in Australia.

And with that, we reach (for the time being) the end of his studio albums - and what a varied trip it's been! His first four albums are his first phase, starting from bare bones and building things up, but keeping a similar vibe with some very clever lyrics - I'd struggle to pick a favourite but there are some classic tracks across them all. He then took a bit of swerve with a fully political album before selling out with Don't Try This At Home (which is possibly my favourite album of his).  I then lost touch with him whilst he faffed around with Wilco and The Blokes - I didn't like his Woody Guthrie albums, but at least I could see what he was trying to do which wasn't the case at all for his albums with The Blokes, but they did get there in the end on Mr Love & Justice. But he's had (for me) a creative rejuvenation recently and this album is really rather good and deserved more attention than it received.

Don't worry - we're not finished yet though because we've still got some live albums, compilations and EPs to consider.

Tooth & Nail - Too downbeat for me
Live albums - An interesting mix, most of which I couldn't find