I have heard the songs that are rated as its best and I didnt think they were that good.........
Despite taking five years off to marry and have a son, which should've given him plenty of time to write, Bragg gives listeners half an album of "B" material. Four of the lesser songs regress to Bragg's mid-'80s beginnings, when he bellowed like a foghorn in a thick cockney accent over a scratchy guitar. "From Red to Blue," "Brickbat," "Northern Industrial Town," and especially his setting of Rudyard Kipling's fiery "A Pict Song" to music revisit Spy Vs. Spy, Brewing Up, and Talking to the Taxman About Poetry, ignoring the stylistic advances he's shown since (except for clearer singing). However, even those rough days bore close listening thanks to Bragg's lyrical wit, conviction, and knack for punky hooks. Likewise, William Bloke's other tracks fall short of his best but remain hugely entertaining and thought-provoking. "Goalhanger" is a hilarious, clever roasting of conniving, manipulating jerks who use others set to a ska beat and an organ out of Henry Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk." "Sugardaddy" is a similar lighthearted soul homage that barely obfuscates Bragg's long-standing, wrathful contempt for capitalism's caste system and greed. "The Space Race Is Over" and "The 14th of February" recall the more tender moments of Don't Try This, as does the bemused yet hopeful "King James Version." Better, "Everybody Loves You Babe" is a piano and vocal delight, turning a torch love song on its ear, while the single "Upfield" echoes Don't Try This' highs: the barking brass, insistent Motown choruses, and Bragg's soul-searching about socialism when so many of his old compadres have sold out like Jerry Rubins all add up to a gripping single from an LP that reminds listeners that the well-missed Bragg is super valuable, even when firing flowers instead of bullets. -- Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover
