This Mountain Stage show was my first exposure to Billy Bragg, and I was slightly disappointed to find out later that the commercially-available lyrics of "Marching Song of the Covert Battalions" and "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards" weren't the same as these versions, which are funnier, edgier and more Gulf-War-1 topical than the mass-produced recorded ones. What's ironic fifteen years later is how applicable many of his comments and lyrics are to the second Gulf War and to the son as well as the father. However, Bragg's charm and political bent come out beautifully, and anyone who is interested in the works of this self-declared British Socialist and brilliant songwriter owes it to themselves to hear these versions of some of his best early work. Subversive and brilliant British artist at his early best jonathan_smillie 2007-06-08 18:31:21 2007-06-08 18:31:21 5 1 5.00