Personnel inlcudes: Billy Bragg, Wiggy, Cara Tivey, Dave Woodhead, Johnny Marr, Kirsty MacColl, John Porter, Kenny Craddock, Danny Thompson, Simon Moreton, Tony Maronie, Bruce Thomas, Mickey Waller, Martin Belmont, Jayne Creamer, Kaya Jenner, Michelle Shocked, The Blokes, Wilco.

Producers includes: Grant Showbiz, Oliver Hitch, Edward de Bono, John Porter, Kenny Jones.

Compilation producer: Grant Showbiz.

Recorded between 1983 & 2001. Includes liner notes by Andrew Collins.

In 1983, Billy Bragg was a guy with a cheap electric guitar, a rough but passionate voice, and a knack for writing and singing straight from the heart whether he was discussing leftist political concerns or the mysterious interactions between men and women. The guy has a band and the political issues that have caught his attention are trickier 20 years later, but he's still enchanted and puzzled by love, and hasn't stopped writing worthwhile songs about it. Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg is a two-disc, 40-song compilation that does an admirable job of capturing the hills and valleys of Bragg's recording career, opening up with "A New England" from his debut EP, Life's a Riot With Spy vs. Spy, and closing with a cut from 2002's England, Half English. A spin through this set suggests that Bragg's best (or at least most affecting) work arrived in the early stages of his career, as disc one (which follows Bragg through Worker's Playtime) is a decidedly more solid and absorbing listen than disc two (the material from the disappointing William Bloke in particular weighs down the collection's second act), and his love songs have stood the test of time a shade better than his political material (the miners' strike may be over, but broken hearts are timeless). But there are plenty of gems to be found throughout this collection, and Must I Paint You a Picture? serves as a potent reminder that in the grand tradition of Bob Dylan, even Bragg's lesser albums contain a handful of truly memorable songs worth hearing; if this isn't the ideal Billy Bragg collection, it's an excellent introduction, a solid career overview, and a lovely reminder of how much he has to say about the heart and the mind. Initial pressings come with a ten-song bonus disc that adds several hard to find selections, including Bragg's Anglophile rewrite of "Route 66," a telling duet with the late Ted Hawkins, and a bootleg remix that merges Bragg with the Hives. ~ Mark Deming

MUST I PAINT YOU A PICTURE, a double-disc, 40-song retrospective, covers the first 20 years of this extraordinary troubadour's career. A smart, sensitive anti-hero armed with a guitar, Bragg sings alternately about political issues and lost love with a startlingly literate wit. He recalls the early-'60s folk of Bob Dylan in his stark, solo sound and biting lyrics about social injustice, and also the legacy of punk in his passionate delivery, uncompromising stance, and aggressive phrasing (complemented by a pronounced accent that lets him chew words distinctively).

But the clincher is Bragg's songwriting. Lyrically and melodically, Bragg is a superior craftsman, as Disc One makes plain. Accompanied only by electric guitar, Bragg addresses economic inequalities ("To Have and To Have Not"), organized labor ("There Is Power in a Union"), and the trials of heartbreak (the achingly poignant "Valentine's Day is Over"). Disc Two, which features tracks from Bragg's '90s releases, finds the artist working a more pop-oriented sound with a full band. (Also included here are tracks from MERMAID AVENUE, Bragg's collaboration with Wilco on Woody Guthrie songs). A 10-song bonus disc adds to the value of this stellar compilation, a perfect introduction to the work of this brilliant performer.