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4.0 out of 5 stars
career-spanning retrospective of seminal UK "pub-rock" band, September 4, 2009
This review is from: Looking Back (Audio CD)
The double CD set "25 Years of Dr Feelgood" provides a good introduction to the band but for those who want to dig a little deeper, this 5 CD set will give you all the Dr Feelgood you will ever need.
Formed in the town of Southend in Essex (UK), the Feelgoods were different from the pack right from the start. In early 1970s, the peace and love idealism of the previous decade had largely dispersed and left a void to be filled by assorted singer-songwriters, folkies and purveyors of what became known as "progressive rock". In the midst of this maelstrom of introspective mediocrity, Dr Feelgood stood out like a sore thumb. In the decade of loon pants, velvet flares and platform soles, the Feelgoods wore suits with narrow lapels and drainpipe trousers. It was a sharper, more aggressive look than many of their contemporaries and it complemented the sound they made. Most agree that it was Wilko Johnson's staccato guitar sound which made the early sound of Dr Feelgood really memorable.
Their repertoire mixed original tunes (predominantly composed by Wilko Johnson) with a tasteful selection of blues and early rock & roll classics such as Johnny Guitar Watson's "Looking Back" (which gives this collection its title), Solomon Burke's "Stupidity" and Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man".
Also included here is their cover of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates "I Can Tell", an appropriate choice given that the Pirates were the Feelgoods most obvious UK antecedents and a post-Johnny Kidd Pirates led by Mick Green were about the only other UK-based band that could give the Feelgoods a run for their money on the rhythm and booze circuit back in the mid-70s.
Personal and musical differences between Wilko and the rest of the group led to his departure in 1977 to be replaced by John "Gypie" Mayo. Without wanting to criticise Mayo's playing in any way, I find the post-Wilko material to be less satisfying and less distinctive.
Wilko's playing is all over disc one of this set and it is disc one which I find myself returning to most frequently. Disc Two is mostly material from 1977-1980 when the band were at the peak of their popularity in the UK (and they really were popular, with tunes such as "Milk & Alcohol" and "Down at the Doctors" doing serious business in the UK singles charts). Hugely enjoyable stuff but lacking the edginess of their earlier work. Discs 3 and 4 mostly feature later incarnations of the group with Lee Brilleaux as the only original member. By then they had ceased trying to be a pop group and returned to the first principles of rhythm and blues. Though recordings were sporadic, they continued to enjoy success as a live act right through the 1980s and into the 90s. Sadly, Lee Brilleaux passed away in 1994.
Disc 5 is a bonus disc consisting of some rare B-sides and live tracks along with interview material (mostly Brilleaux but there is a brief segment of Wilko talking about the circumstances of his departure from the band). Overall, this is the definitive retrospective of a seminal UK rhythm and blues band.
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