Billy Bragg
Mr Love and Justice
Album Review
Something of a dual celebration is marked by this release, coinciding as it does with Bragg's fiftieth birthday and him reaching the milestone of twenty-five years as a performer. That's some feat in today's currency - for many different reasons, I can't imagine many of today's pop heroes achieving that kind of longevity. Once again Billy Bragg is joined by his band The Blokes, and perhaps that's where this album falls short. Bragg's always been a decent songwriter, but I've always had the nagging doubt that sometimes he doesn't do his own songs justice - look at Kirsty MacColl's treatment of ‘A New England’ or Dubstar's reworking of ‘St Swithin's Day’, for example. Both versions (in my mind at least) take the starkness of the originals and build and develop them into something quite beautiful.
With The Blokes in tow, however, it's a bit of a different story. There's something essentially coffee-table about the music on this record. It's very unchallenging. I don't know whether it quite descends into the realms of the cheesy, but it is very formulaic, country-esque soul that feels a bit lazy. There are lyrical highlights, of course - we'd expect that, wouldn't we? He takes on tobacco companies on ‘The Johnny Carcinogenic Show’ and New Labour's frightening attacks on civil liberties on ‘O Freedom’, and ‘M For Me’ is certainly clever lyrically (even if it has an unforgiveable trombone solo).
Sadly, not even a guest appearance from Robert Wyatt (a kindred spirit in many ways, but a significantly more inventive one) or producing duties from frequent Fall knob-twiddler Grant Showbiz can rescue this record, I'm afraid. Now more than ever - since young people have entirely lost interest in politics and the very idea of political music seems risible to them - we need people like Billy Bragg to be making better records than this. He's still got a lot to say and a great deal contribute, but this album will convert no-one and excite no-one. There is, apparently, a bonus second disc (which wasn't included in the promo copy I was sent), on which Bragg performs the same set of songs acoustically. To contradict entirely what I wrote in the first paragraph, that might in some ways be a better listen: certainly the songs on display here might benefit from a more stripped-down treatment.
Jon Watson
The Wombats have spoken about their amazement at Sir Paul McCartney's offer to produce the band's new material.
The former Beatle said in an interview recently that the prospect of working with the Liverpool band was “very tempting”, adding: “I'm not sure they would want me."
Speaking to the BBC, the Wombats drummer Dan Haggis said it was “ridiculously flattering to have a Beatle like Sir Paul even mentioning us in a sentence."
"We were laughing about it, like it would be an interesting collaboration. I think we'd be up for doing a demo and seeing what it was like.
"Imagine kicking back with Sir Paul? Like, 'Yeah, I think we need a bit more hi-hat there Paul,'" Haggis joked.
Sir Paul's comments came ahead of his recent show at Anfield football stadium in support of Liverpool's reign as the European Capital of Culture for 2008.
What do you think about the idea of the former Beatle producing The Wombats music? Let us know by posting a comment below.
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Alicia Keys wants to make it clear � don't expect her to join the ever-swelling list of celebs having babies. And when she does, the singer says she's likely to go the Angelina Jolie route and adopt.
"I'm not ready to be a mom," Alicia admitted at a NYC screening for the HBO documentary We Are Together. But the soulful songstress says that adoption is, "important to consider. That's what I really admire about Angelina. I think it's beautiful the way she embraces the children of the world."
Alicia is of course referring to the fact that, in addition to 2-year-old baby girl Shiloh and the twins due any day now, Angelina has adopted three other children, Maddox, Zahara and Pax, from around the globe (Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam, respectively).
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Rocker RICK PARFITT secretly despises his STATUS QUO bandmates, especially FRANCIS ROSSI - the star's ex-wife PATTY PARFITT has claimed.
Patty insists the friendly banter the guitarist shares with frontman Rossi on stage is just for show - because deep down, Parfitt can't stand him.
She tells Britain's The Mail on Sunday newspaper, "The other members of the band are sick of Rick and the feeling's mutual.
"He and Francis are like an old married couple. Francis knows Rick is like an old woman, always complaining about everything, but he tolerates him and has a real affection for him.
"But Rick can't stand Francis. Francis came to visit Rick in hospital after he'd had a heart bypass in 1998. Later Rick told me, 'Bloody Rossi, he's the last person I'd want to see if I was dying.'"
Parfitt and Patty met in 1968. They eventually married in 1988 and had an on/off relationship before splitting for good in 2006.
Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole is expected to be announced as Sharon Osbourne's replacement on the X Factor, it emerged today.
The 'No Good Advice' singer, 24, will join Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue to decide who will become the next X Factor champion, according to Holy Moly.
Fiery Osbourne, 55, last week quit the show, with reports surfacing it was due to her rift with Dannii.
Cheryl has been given the thumbs up by Sharon, who yesterday said she hoped the singer would be her replacement on the ITV talent show. Sharon also denied reports she ended her X Factor tenure because TV bosses would not meet her pay demands.
She said of her decision to quit, "It's just time to move on.
"I love the show, I love everybody there, the producers, Simon (Cowell). But it's just time to move on."
Ozzy Osbourne's wife, who is now tipped to become a contestant on rival BBC show Strictly Come Dancing, added, "I've heard that they're asking certain people (to be the new judge).
"I think they're asking Cheryl (Cole) who I love. They're asking Mel B.
"It'll be interesting, it'll take the show to a different place, it'll be probably even better than it has been if that's possible."
Asked if there was one person she would prefer, she said, "I think Cheryl."
Osbourne said it was "not true" that she asked for more money and was turned down.
But she added, "Yes, I was negotiating and I asked for a ridiculous amount of money and they offered me an obscene amount of money and it just doesn't change the way I feel.
"I think I've done my best and that's it."
Asked whether ridiculous was more than obscene or obscene more than ridiculous, she said, "It's all ridiculous in this industry, we're all bloody overpaid.
"We all get paid too much that's why we're all drama queens. That's why we're all spoiled brats."
