About the Album
Talking with the Taxman About Poetry is the third album by Billy Bragg, released in 1986. With production by John Porter and Kenney Jones, Talking with the Taxman About Poetry featured more musicians than Bragg’s previous works, which were generally little more than Bragg himself and a guitar. There were two singles released from the album. While “Levi Stubbs’ Tears” peaked at No. 29 in the UK, the follow-up “Greetings to the New Brunette” fell short, only managing No. 58 a few months later.
The album’s title is also the title of a Vladimir Mayakovsky poem, which appears as part of the liner notes.
The song “There Is Power in a Union” is based on the song “Battle Cry of Freedom”.
“Levi Stubbs’ Tears” refers to songwriter Barrett Strong, producer Norman Whitfield, the members of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting and production team as well as Levi Stubbs and the Four Tops.
The original album cover has the subtitle “The Difficult Third Album”.
