The dirty little secret of the rise of British punk and new wave in the mid- to late 70s was that the era saw the return of the singer/songwriters movement. After the Sex Pistols dropped the F-word on live television, hundreds of clever young men and women suddenly traded their acoustic guitars for cheap electric instruments and sang what was on their mind with an extra portion of piss and vinegar. They finally found an audience they never would have reached, even after years of playing the coffeehouse circuit. While Elvis Costello was the first and best example of this strategy in action, a few years down the line Billy Bragg put a fresh and exciting spin on the formula, singing witty, emotionally compelling stories of love and everyday life alongside smart, impassioned political broadsides, accompanied by just his buzzy electric guitar and his thick Barking accent on early releases like Lifes a Riot with Spy vs. Spy (1983) and Brewing Up with Billy Bragg (1984). Few people could imagine fusing Bob Dylan and Joe Strummer the way Bragg did, and fewer still would have guessed he could grow and mature into one of Englands most well-respected tunesmiths and activists a few decades on from his beginnings as a cheeky noisemaker. 2023s The Roaring 40 1983-2023 isnt the first attempt to sum up the flow of Braggs career in a single release, but if you want to show someone why he made such an impact in the 80s, and how he evolved into an unpretentious eminence grise four decades later, this set will do the job better than any other Bragg anthology. The sequence replicates Braggs journey as a musician and spokesman very well, from his days as a one-man-Clash to his contemporary position of one of the U.K.s last great pub rockers. Nearly all of his best and best-known songs are on board, including a few choice rarities (such as the cracking "Red Star Version" of "Accident Waiting to Happen," a live recording of "California Stars" with a funky New Orleans groove, and "Old Clash Fan Fight Song," an anthemic rant for aging punks). If 21st century Bragg seems mellower than the guy who came up in the 80s, "King Tide and the Sunny Day Flood" and "I Will Be Your Shield" show that his principles and his heart have changed very little. If youve somehow managed to avoid hearing Billy Braggs work, The Roaring 40 1983-2023 is an ideal starting point, and if youre already a fan, this is a top-shelf mixtape of the songs that made him a legend. Either way, its great music with heart, soul, and a conscience. ~ Mark Deming

Rovi