Various Artists/ Breaking Rocks

Various Artists
Breaking Rocks
(Silverdoor Records)

There are over 72,000 people in prison in the UK at the moment - roughly the population of Wembley Stadium when Muse or U2 are in town. Some of them are obviously dangerous morons, but others are a bit like you after the wrong girlfriend, the wrong buddies, and the right drink. That's right: you're only three steps away from being incarcerated. Sweet dreams!
Breaking Rocks is a charity set up by Billy Bragg to fund gigs in UK prisons - and yes, it's a bit like that Johnny Cash story, except this time the gigs are being played by ex-cellmates who've gone on to form bands themselves.
By this point in the review you'll either be thinking 'YEAH!' or 'HUH?' - so let's do us all a favour and review the music. Televised Crimewave get things off to an excellent start with 'Objects of Desire', an Egyptian flavoured artrock boogie. The satirical femmes from Violet Violet add some corporate piss-take with 'Company Man' , while Castrovalva sound frankly ridiculous - and all the better for it - providing some falsetto hardcore on 'Triceratops'.
LR Rockets spray their psychedelic guitars over 'High Tide' while keeping the dancefloor in sight, and Billy Bragg himself adds some genuinely soulful encouragement on 'I Keep Faith'.
Without meaning to sound like a wet wipe, it's easy to see how Bragg's idea might send a reconciliation - hell, even an apology - to the humans that other humans have decided to lock up. Whichever way you look at it, the prison population is an absolute joke - and it's good to see 32 bands who agree enough to make some noise.

Buy 'Breaking Rocks' from iTunes by clicking here.