DR. FEELGOOD
''TWENTY FIVE YEARS OF DR FEELGOOD 1972-1997, DISC ONE''
FEBRUARY 9 1999
140:34
1/She Does It Right
Wilko Johnson/3:22
2/I Don't Mind
Wilko Johnson/2:35
3/All Through The City
Wilko Johnson/3:01
4/Keep It Out Of Sight
Wilko Johnson/3:00
5/Roxette
Wilko Johnson/2:52
6/I Can Tell
Ellas McDaniel / Huey "Piano" Smith/2:43
7/Sneakin' Suspicion
Wilko Johnson/3:50
8/Back In The Night
Wilko Johnson/3:08
9/Going Back Home
P.A. Green / Wilko Johnson/3:40
10/Riot In Cell Block #9
Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller/3:49
11/She's A Wind Up
John Martin / John Mayo / John B. Sparks/1:59
12/That's It I Quit
Nick Lowe/2:35
13/Nighttime
Bob Feldman / Jerry Goldstein / Richard Gottehrer/5:25
14/Milk And Alcohol
Nick Lowe / John Mayo/2:51
15/Put Him Out Of Your Mind
John Mayo / Mike Vernon/3:49
16/Shotgun Blues
Lee Brilleaux / John Martin / John Mayo/5:51
17/No Mo Do Yakamo
Tim Krekel/2:14
18/Jumping From Love To Love
Lee Brilleaux / John Mayo/2:51
19/Violent Love
Otis Rush/2:21
20/Rat Race
Lee Brilleaux / Johnny Guitar/2:43
21/Crazy 'bout Girls
Johnny Guitar/3:05
DISC TWO
1/Dangerous
Lee Brilleaux / Kevin Morris / Gordon Russell / Larry Wallis/4:08
2/Madman Blues
John Lee Hooker/2:24
3/Dimples
John Lee Hooker/2:58
4/Hunting Shooting Fishing
Will Birch / Gordon Russell/3:16
5/See You Later Alligator
Robert Guidry/4:00
6/King For A Day
Lee Brilleaux / John Martin / John Mayo / John B. Sparks / Larry Wallis/2:10
7/Baby Jane
Jay Davis / Alan Wilson/2:44
8/Sugar Turns To Alcohol
Will Birch / Dr. Feelgood/4:43
9/Down By The Jetty Blues
Will Birch / Dr. Feelgood/5:51
10/Double Crossed
Steve Walwyn/3:32
11/Wolfman Callin'
Dave Bronze / Kevin Morris/5:51
12/One Step Forward
Dave Bronze/4:45
13/Roadrunner
Lamont Dozier / Eddie Holland/3:48
14/Down At The Doctors
Lamont Dozier/3:50
15/Heart Of The City
Nick Lowe/3:35
16/World Keeps Turning
Peter Green/3:47
17/Instinct To Survive
Steve Walwyn/3:21
18/Goin' Out West
Tom Waits/3:21
19/You Got Me
John Brim/4:46
REVIEW
by Dave Thompson
Distilled from the five-CD Looking Back box set, 25 Years is basically everything you want to know about Dr. Feelgood before you take the major step which we all know is inevitable -- discovering everything you need to know about them. 40 tracks pursue the band from start to finish and beyond -- the final rush of cuts includes material from vocalist Lee Brilleaux's last ever live show (the full concert appears on the Down at the Doctors album), together with four more from On the Road Again, the reborn Doctor's first album with new vocalist Pete Gage. It's stirring, sterling stuff throughout. With only the occasional lapse, the Feelgoods quality control never lapsed for more than a song or two, none of which are included. Rather, this is the Feelgoods for perfectionists, the story of what could have been the most righteous firestorm ever to explode out of mid-'70s Britain. It begins with a clutch of songs drawn from the Wilco Johnson heyday, which put the band on the map and made punk rock a reality. No surprises, no shocks, no disappointments -- "Roxette," "She Does It Right," "Back in the Night," "I Can Tell," you can guess the rest. From there, album by album is raised up for inspection, milked of its might and then placed gently down again -- only the self-confessedly dire Classic is given anything resembling short shrift. Only occasionally do you listen to one song and wish another had taken its place. In fact, the only regret in the whole blessed package is that we will never hear their like again. But at least we heard it once.
BIOGRAPHY
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Dr. Feelgood was the ultimate working band. From their formation in 1971 to lead vocalist Lee Brilleaux's untimely death in 1994, the band never left the road, playing hundreds of gigs every year. Throughout their entire career, Dr. Feelgood never left simple, hard-driving rock & roll behind, and their devotion to the blues and R&B earned them a devoted fan base. That following first emerged in the mid-'70s, when Dr. Feelgood became the leader of the second wave of pub rockers. Unlike Brinsley Schwarz, the laid-back leaders of the pub rock scene, Dr. Feelgood was devoted to edgy, Stonesy rock & roll, and their sweaty live shows -- powered by Brilleaux's intense singing and guitarist Wilko Johnson's muscular leads -- became legendary. While the group's stripped-down, energetic sound paved the way for English punk rock in the late '70s, their back-to-basics style was overshadowed by the dominance of punk and new wave, and the group had retreated to cult status by the early '80s.
Brilleaux (vocals, harmonica), Johnson (guitar), and John B. Sparks (bass) had all played in several blues-based bar bands around Canvey Island, England before forming Dr. Feelgood in 1971. Taking their name from a Johnny Kidd & the Pirates song, the group was dedicated to playing old-fashioned R&B and rock & roll, including both covers and originals by Johnson. John Martin (drums), a former member of Finian's Rainbow, was added to the lineup, and the group began playing the pub rock circuit. By the end of 1973, Dr. Feelgood's dynamic live act had made them the most popular group on the pub rock circuit, and several labels were interested in signing them. They settled for United Artists, and they released their debut album, Down by the Jetty, in 1974.
According to legend, Down by the Jetty was recorded in mono and consisted almost entirely of first takes. While it was in fact recorded in stereo, the rumor added significantly to Dr. Feelgood's purist image, and the album became a cult hit. The following year, the group released Malpractice -- also their first U.S. release -- which climbed into the U.K. Top 20 on the strength of the band's live performances and positive reviews. In 1976, the band released the live album Stupidity, which became a smash hit in Britain, topping the album charts. Despite its thriving British success, Dr. Feelgood was unable to find an audience in the States. One other American album, Sneakin' Suspicion, followed in 1977 before the band gave up on the States; they never released another record in the U.S.
Sneakin' Suspicion didn't replicate the success of Stupidity, partially because of its slick production, but mainly because the flourishing punk rock movement overshadowed Dr. Feelgood's edgy roots rock. Wilko Johnson left the band at the end of 1977 to form the Solid Senders; he later joined Ian Dury's Blockheads. Henry McCullough played on Feelgood's 1977 tour before John "Gypie" Mayo became the group's full-time lead guitarist. Nick Lowe produced 1978's Be Seeing You, Mayo's full-length debut with Dr. Feelgood. The album generated the 1979 Top Ten hit "Milk and Alcohol," as well as the Top 40 hit "As Long as the Price Is Right." Two albums, As It Happens and Let It Roll, followed in 1979, and Mayo left the band in 1980. He was replaced by Johnny Guitar in 1980, who debuted on A Case of the Shakes, which was also produced by Nick Lowe.
During their first decade together, Dr. Feelgood never left the road, which was part of the reason founding members John Martin and John Sparks left the band in 1982. Lee Brilleaux replaced them with Buzz Barwell and Pat McMullen, and continued touring. Throughout the '80s, Brilleaux continued to lead various incarnations of Dr. Feelgood, settling on the rhythm section of bassist Phil Mitchell and drummer Kevin Morris in the mid-'80s. The band occasionally made records -- including Brilleaux, one of the last albums on Stiff Records, in 1976 -- but concentrated primarily on live performances. Dr. Feelgood continued to perform to large audiences into the early '90s, when Brilleaux was struck by cancer. He died in April of 1994, three months after he recorded the band's final album, Down at the Doctor's. The remaining members of Dr. Feelgood hired vocalist Pete Gage and continued to tour under the band's name. Former Feelgoods Gypie Mayo, John Sparks, and John Martin formed the Practice in the mid-'80s, and they occasionally performed under the name Dr. Feelgood's Practice.
''TWENTY FIVE YEARS OF DR FEELGOOD 1972-1997, DISC ONE''
FEBRUARY 9 1999
140:34
1/She Does It Right
Wilko Johnson/3:22
2/I Don't Mind
Wilko Johnson/2:35
3/All Through The City
Wilko Johnson/3:01
4/Keep It Out Of Sight
Wilko Johnson/3:00
5/Roxette
Wilko Johnson/2:52
6/I Can Tell
Ellas McDaniel / Huey "Piano" Smith/2:43
7/Sneakin' Suspicion
Wilko Johnson/3:50
8/Back In The Night
Wilko Johnson/3:08
9/Going Back Home
P.A. Green / Wilko Johnson/3:40
10/Riot In Cell Block #9
Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller/3:49
11/She's A Wind Up
John Martin / John Mayo / John B. Sparks/1:59
12/That's It I Quit
Nick Lowe/2:35
13/Nighttime
Bob Feldman / Jerry Goldstein / Richard Gottehrer/5:25
14/Milk And Alcohol
Nick Lowe / John Mayo/2:51
15/Put Him Out Of Your Mind
John Mayo / Mike Vernon/3:49
16/Shotgun Blues
Lee Brilleaux / John Martin / John Mayo/5:51
17/No Mo Do Yakamo
Tim Krekel/2:14
18/Jumping From Love To Love
Lee Brilleaux / John Mayo/2:51
19/Violent Love
Otis Rush/2:21
20/Rat Race
Lee Brilleaux / Johnny Guitar/2:43
21/Crazy 'bout Girls
Johnny Guitar/3:05
DISC TWO
1/Dangerous
Lee Brilleaux / Kevin Morris / Gordon Russell / Larry Wallis/4:08
2/Madman Blues
John Lee Hooker/2:24
3/Dimples
John Lee Hooker/2:58
4/Hunting Shooting Fishing
Will Birch / Gordon Russell/3:16
5/See You Later Alligator
Robert Guidry/4:00
6/King For A Day
Lee Brilleaux / John Martin / John Mayo / John B. Sparks / Larry Wallis/2:10
7/Baby Jane
Jay Davis / Alan Wilson/2:44
8/Sugar Turns To Alcohol
Will Birch / Dr. Feelgood/4:43
9/Down By The Jetty Blues
Will Birch / Dr. Feelgood/5:51
10/Double Crossed
Steve Walwyn/3:32
11/Wolfman Callin'
Dave Bronze / Kevin Morris/5:51
12/One Step Forward
Dave Bronze/4:45
13/Roadrunner
Lamont Dozier / Eddie Holland/3:48
14/Down At The Doctors
Lamont Dozier/3:50
15/Heart Of The City
Nick Lowe/3:35
16/World Keeps Turning
Peter Green/3:47
17/Instinct To Survive
Steve Walwyn/3:21
18/Goin' Out West
Tom Waits/3:21
19/You Got Me
John Brim/4:46
REVIEW
by Dave Thompson
Distilled from the five-CD Looking Back box set, 25 Years is basically everything you want to know about Dr. Feelgood before you take the major step which we all know is inevitable -- discovering everything you need to know about them. 40 tracks pursue the band from start to finish and beyond -- the final rush of cuts includes material from vocalist Lee Brilleaux's last ever live show (the full concert appears on the Down at the Doctors album), together with four more from On the Road Again, the reborn Doctor's first album with new vocalist Pete Gage. It's stirring, sterling stuff throughout. With only the occasional lapse, the Feelgoods quality control never lapsed for more than a song or two, none of which are included. Rather, this is the Feelgoods for perfectionists, the story of what could have been the most righteous firestorm ever to explode out of mid-'70s Britain. It begins with a clutch of songs drawn from the Wilco Johnson heyday, which put the band on the map and made punk rock a reality. No surprises, no shocks, no disappointments -- "Roxette," "She Does It Right," "Back in the Night," "I Can Tell," you can guess the rest. From there, album by album is raised up for inspection, milked of its might and then placed gently down again -- only the self-confessedly dire Classic is given anything resembling short shrift. Only occasionally do you listen to one song and wish another had taken its place. In fact, the only regret in the whole blessed package is that we will never hear their like again. But at least we heard it once.
BIOGRAPHY
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Dr. Feelgood was the ultimate working band. From their formation in 1971 to lead vocalist Lee Brilleaux's untimely death in 1994, the band never left the road, playing hundreds of gigs every year. Throughout their entire career, Dr. Feelgood never left simple, hard-driving rock & roll behind, and their devotion to the blues and R&B earned them a devoted fan base. That following first emerged in the mid-'70s, when Dr. Feelgood became the leader of the second wave of pub rockers. Unlike Brinsley Schwarz, the laid-back leaders of the pub rock scene, Dr. Feelgood was devoted to edgy, Stonesy rock & roll, and their sweaty live shows -- powered by Brilleaux's intense singing and guitarist Wilko Johnson's muscular leads -- became legendary. While the group's stripped-down, energetic sound paved the way for English punk rock in the late '70s, their back-to-basics style was overshadowed by the dominance of punk and new wave, and the group had retreated to cult status by the early '80s.
Brilleaux (vocals, harmonica), Johnson (guitar), and John B. Sparks (bass) had all played in several blues-based bar bands around Canvey Island, England before forming Dr. Feelgood in 1971. Taking their name from a Johnny Kidd & the Pirates song, the group was dedicated to playing old-fashioned R&B and rock & roll, including both covers and originals by Johnson. John Martin (drums), a former member of Finian's Rainbow, was added to the lineup, and the group began playing the pub rock circuit. By the end of 1973, Dr. Feelgood's dynamic live act had made them the most popular group on the pub rock circuit, and several labels were interested in signing them. They settled for United Artists, and they released their debut album, Down by the Jetty, in 1974.
According to legend, Down by the Jetty was recorded in mono and consisted almost entirely of first takes. While it was in fact recorded in stereo, the rumor added significantly to Dr. Feelgood's purist image, and the album became a cult hit. The following year, the group released Malpractice -- also their first U.S. release -- which climbed into the U.K. Top 20 on the strength of the band's live performances and positive reviews. In 1976, the band released the live album Stupidity, which became a smash hit in Britain, topping the album charts. Despite its thriving British success, Dr. Feelgood was unable to find an audience in the States. One other American album, Sneakin' Suspicion, followed in 1977 before the band gave up on the States; they never released another record in the U.S.
Sneakin' Suspicion didn't replicate the success of Stupidity, partially because of its slick production, but mainly because the flourishing punk rock movement overshadowed Dr. Feelgood's edgy roots rock. Wilko Johnson left the band at the end of 1977 to form the Solid Senders; he later joined Ian Dury's Blockheads. Henry McCullough played on Feelgood's 1977 tour before John "Gypie" Mayo became the group's full-time lead guitarist. Nick Lowe produced 1978's Be Seeing You, Mayo's full-length debut with Dr. Feelgood. The album generated the 1979 Top Ten hit "Milk and Alcohol," as well as the Top 40 hit "As Long as the Price Is Right." Two albums, As It Happens and Let It Roll, followed in 1979, and Mayo left the band in 1980. He was replaced by Johnny Guitar in 1980, who debuted on A Case of the Shakes, which was also produced by Nick Lowe.
During their first decade together, Dr. Feelgood never left the road, which was part of the reason founding members John Martin and John Sparks left the band in 1982. Lee Brilleaux replaced them with Buzz Barwell and Pat McMullen, and continued touring. Throughout the '80s, Brilleaux continued to lead various incarnations of Dr. Feelgood, settling on the rhythm section of bassist Phil Mitchell and drummer Kevin Morris in the mid-'80s. The band occasionally made records -- including Brilleaux, one of the last albums on Stiff Records, in 1976 -- but concentrated primarily on live performances. Dr. Feelgood continued to perform to large audiences into the early '90s, when Brilleaux was struck by cancer. He died in April of 1994, three months after he recorded the band's final album, Down at the Doctor's. The remaining members of Dr. Feelgood hired vocalist Pete Gage and continued to tour under the band's name. Former Feelgoods Gypie Mayo, John Sparks, and John Martin formed the Practice in the mid-'80s, and they occasionally performed under the name Dr. Feelgood's Practice.
