Billy Bragg - 'Mr. Love & Justice' (Cooking Vinyl) Released 03/03/08

If ever anyone should crave someone’s established reputation, it should be of Billy Bragg. His works from the last few decades have boosted recognition, popularity and people genuinely love the man. Deservedly so, too and the likes of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly are clearly looking up to him in respect. Recently performing with Kate Nash at the NME Awards outlines the fact that his praise comes from all sides of the musical spectrum, previously working with Johnny Marr, Wilco, he has one of the finest musical CV’s of all time. Since 1983, the man has made 12 records, without any distanced breaks which could annoy certain fans. He’s a hard worker and a fighter for cause, and this all builds up to give him this flawless reputation.

The problem is this makes for the biggest flaw on the 12th album, ‘Mr. Love & Justice’. Naturally, fans will adore it and call it a return to form but from a neutral point of view, an awful lot of this album sounds heartless and discontent – maybe Bragg feels he doesn’t have to work excessively anymore. There are moments on the record that are energetic, fruitful and fun, ‘O Freedom’ is acoustic bliss at its finest, a chorus as memorable as any other you’ll hear this year, it’s when Bragg isn’t necessarily himself that he’s at his best on this album. ‘The Beach Is Free’ is the ultimate Bragg sing-a-long, “just turn around, and come on down, the beach is free”, rampant and racy, the backing band certainly sound like they’re enjoying themselves.

But a lot of ‘Mr. Love & Justice’ wares you down, and doesn’t boost you to do something you wouldn’t normally do, which surely isn’t what Bragg intended. Every song has it’s own message of course, ‘Sing Their Souls Back Home’ having the most obvious one – almost definitely based on the soldiers in Iraq. Only Bragg can really pull it off without sounding desperately cheesy. It’s a shame that much else on the record isn’t nearly as inspiring and intelligent, and even though it was never Billy’s intention to make a ground-breaking record that’ll open people’s eyes, that lack of originality lets a lot of these genuinely well-written songs down.

Where the album survives is in its variety. This is strictly speaking, a show-off record for Bragg to display all his talents. Every song is altered from one another, ‘Mr. Love & Justice’ is boasting by the end of its span. But it’s the moments like the title-track that make you tired and essentially, bored. And despite Bragg’s status, even that won’t get you to salute this record as a fantastic one.