By the time Billy Bragg began recording Workers Playtime in the fall of 1987, he'd gone from a rabble-rousing leftist songwriter and D.I.Y. one-man punk band to a bona fide pop star in the U.K., and had won a sizable cult following (and a major-label recording contract) in the United States. In addition, Bragg had begun expanding the stark sound of his early recordings on his 1986 album Talking with the Taxman About Poetry, and the sessions for Workers Playtime found Bragg and producer Joe Boyd building actual arrangements ...
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By the time Billy Bragg began recording Workers Playtime in the fall of 1987, he'd gone from a rabble-rousing leftist songwriter and D.I.Y. one-man punk band to a bona fide pop star in the U.K., and had won a sizable cult following (and a major-label recording contract) in the United States. In addition, Bragg had begun expanding the stark sound of his early recordings on his 1986 album Talking with the Taxman About Poetry, and the sessions for Workers Playtime found Bragg and producer Joe Boyd building actual arrangements around his tunes as he struggled to balance a broader and more eclectic musical approach with the small-p politics that were his stock in trade. This struggle is practically audible on Workers Playtime, and this time out Bragg's songs about the ups and downs of relationships outnumber (and are more satisfying than) his polemics, and he seems torn between the comfort of the spartan simplicity of numbers like "The Only One," "Valentine's Day Is Over," and "Must I Paint You a Picture" and the more expansive approach of the rollicking "Life with the Lions" and the appropriately mysterious "She's Got a New Spell." Significantly, two of the album's most explicitly political numbers, "Rotting on Remand" and "Tender Comrade," are also the least satisfying tracks here, and the album reaches its finest moment when Bragg musically and lyrically faces the contradictions of this turning point in his career head on with the splendid final number, "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards." Workers Playtime has a number of pearly moments, but it was also Bragg's first genuine disappointment, and was the first step in the uncertain second act of his recording career. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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Add this copy of Workers Playtime to cart. $3.00, good condition, Sold by HPB-Red rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Elektra / Wea.
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Good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Cases may show some wear. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Workers Playtime to cart. $3.00, very good condition, Sold by Half Price Books Inc rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Elektra / Wea.
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Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Cases may show some wear. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Workers Playtime to cart. $3.00, good condition, Sold by Bookmans rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tucson, AZ, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Elektra / Wea.
Add this copy of Workers Playtime to cart. $3.19, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Ruby rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Elektra / Wea.
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Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Cases may show some wear. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Workers Playtime to cart. $3.39, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brooklyn Park, MN, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Go! Discs.
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Fair. Disc(s) have been resurfaced using a professional-grade machine. Case shows moderate wear and tear. All items include the original case and artwork. All items ship Mon-Fri.
Add this copy of Workers Playtime to cart. $7.88, like new condition, Sold by Streetlight_Records rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Cruz, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Elektra / Wea.
Add this copy of Workers Playtime to cart. $9.74, very good condition, Sold by Salzer's Records rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from ventura, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Elektra / Wea.
Add this copy of Workers Playtime to cart. $22.75, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2013 by Cooking Vinyl.
