Where Are the Barricades? (CD)

Best known for his song “The World Turned Upside Down” as performed and made into a top 10 hit by Billy Bragg, Leon Rosselson has blessed us with songs for nearly six full decades. The Guardian has called his compositions “fierce, funny, cynical, outraged, blasphemous, challenging, and anarchic,” and Folk Roots called him “a superb integrator of words and music.” Now at 81 years old, Rosselson leaves us with his swan song and final recording, Where Are the Barricades? A collection of all-new songs, Where Are the Barricades? culminates a triumphant career, and firmly solidifies Rosselson’s reputation as one of England’s most prolific and respected songwriters.

“And that’s it. At eighty-one, after some sixty years of songwriting, trying to find the story, to avoid the obvious, to shun the predictable, after hundreds of songs, numerous records and CDs, this is my final recording. Thanks for listening.” —Leon Rosselson

Track listing:
1. Full Marks for Charlie (2:46)
2. Where are the Barricades? (3:42)
3. Looters (4:06)
4. Benefits (4:17)
5. Sixty Quid a Week (4:33)
6. I’m Going Where the Suits Will Shine My Shoes (6:36)
7. Let’s Give Thanks (2:41)
8. Marital Diaries (3:00)
9. Rejoice (2:46)
10. Fair’s Fair (2:56)
11. Active Ageing (2:47)
12. Paris in the Rain (2:48)
13. The Ballad of Rivka & Mohammed (3:05)
14. Four Degrees Celsius (2:44)
15. At Dawn (3:48)

Praise:

“Some of the most literate and well-made songs now being written.”
—New York Times

“His songs are fierce, funny, cynical, outraged, blasphemous, challenging and anarchic. And the tunes are good, too.”
—Guardian (UK)

“With dazzling lyrical technique, deftly woven inter-rhymes, a powerful understanding of image, irony and narrative verse, he paints vivid portraits of sadly displaced lives, fools in high places, the absurdities and the occasional graces of modern life.”
—Boston Globe

About the Author:

Leon Rosselson has been at the forefront of songwriting in England for 50 years. His songs range from the lyrical to the satirical, from the personal to the political, from the humorous to the poignant. His best known song, The World Turned Upside Down, has been recorded by, amongst others, Dick Gaughan, John McCutcheon, and Billy Bragg (who took it into the pop charts in 1985) and has been sung on numerous demonstrations in Britain and the U.S.

See and hear interviews and other news on Leon Rosselson's page HERE

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