Bragg burst onto the music scene in the early eighties with an electric guitar, a socialist agenda, and an uncanny knack for writing simple, narrative love songs. His first two albums offer several classics, such as "A New England" and "The Saturday Boy," but it's Talking With the Taxman... that is perhaps Bragg's most compelling musical creation. From the heartbreaking "Levi Stubbs' Tears" to the anthemic "Help Save the Youth of America," the entire album marries beautifully Bragg's lyrical gifts, musical energy, and philosophical soul.

Harold Check