Dr. Feelgood: All Through The City (With Wilko 1974 - 1977) 2013

 

Dr. Feelgood are an English pub rock band formed in 1971. Hailing from Canvey Island, Essex, the

group are best known for early singles such as "She Does It Right", "Roxette", "Back in the Night" and "Milk and Alcohol". The group's original distinctively British R&B sound was centred on Wilko Johnson's choppy guitar style.
                 

Along with Johnson, the original band line-up included singer Lee Brilleaux and the rhythm section of

John B. Sparks, known as "Sparko", on bass guitar and John Martin, known as "The Big Figure", on drums. Although their most commercially productive years were the early to mid-1970s, and in spite of Brilleaux's death in 1994 of lymphoma, a version of the band (featuring none of the original members) continues to tour and record.
                    

Dr. Feelgood was the ultimate working band. From their formation in 1971 to lead vocalist Lee Brilleaux's untimely death in 1994, the group 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 were 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 into cult status by the early '80s.
              

Their breakthrough 1976 live album, Stupidity, reached number one in the UK Albums Chart (their

only chart-topper). But after the 1977 follow-up Sneakin' Suspicion, Johnson left the group because of conflicts with Lee Brilleaux. He was replaced by Gypie Mayo. The band with Mayo was never as popular as when Johnson was in the line-up yet they went on to enjoy their only top ten hit single in 1979, with "Milk and Alcohol". Johnson, who died in 2022 went on to form the group Solid Senders before joining Ian Dury and The Blockheads in 1980.

 

ALL THROUGH THE CITY

                         

A four-CD/one-DVD box chronicling everything that the original lineup of Brilleaux, guitarist Wilko

Johnson, bassist John B. Sparks, and drummer John "The Big Figure" Martin recorded during their four years together, All Through the City contains all the vital music Dr. Feelgood ever recorded. They'd make other good records -- 1978's Private Practice and its hit single "Milk & Alcohol," for instance -- but this is the music that made the band's legacy, and it still packs a wallop: this is intense, gritty, hard rock & roll, its love of old R&B tying it somewhat to the past but the vicious vigor of the performances still feeling modern.
                  

This lacerating energy is best felt on the live performances -- their hit album Stupidity and the television performances collected on the DVD -- but their first two LPs, Down by the Jetty and Malpractice contain much of the same nervy spirit, conveyed by Wilko's slashing cubist guitar and

Brilleaux's growl. On the welcome disc of rarities that concludes this set, some of the thought behind the band's evolution is evident -- an early version of "Roxette" betrays some deep doo wop roots that the group defiantly shook off just a year later -- but that only strengthens the case for Dr. Feelgood. They knew precisely how to trim away the fat, they knew what mattered: the hard angular riffs, the throttling rhythms, the sense of malicious malevolence that pervades even the love songs. All of that is showcased on All Through the City, a box set that captures Dr. Feelgood in all of their rage and glory.
                 

Dr. Feelgood – All Through The City (With Wilko 1974 - 1977)
Label: Parlophone – 5099995804026
Format: 3 x CD, Compilation, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo, Mono
Country: UK & Europe
Released: 2013
Genre: Rock, Blues
Style: Rhythm & Blues, Blues Rock, Pub Rock
                     

CD1.
 
DOWN BY JETTY 1975       

                 

  
01. She Does It Right    3:20
02. Boom Boom   2:42
Lead Vocals – Wilko Johnson
03. The More I Give   3:23
Organ – Bob Andrews
04. Roxette    2:54
05. One Weekend    2:14
06. That Ain't The Way To Behave   3:55
Lead Vocals – Wilko Johnson
Piano – Wilko Johnson
07. I Don't Mind    2:34
08. Twenty Yards Behind   2:09
Lead Vocals – Wilko Johnson
09. Keep It Out Of Sight    2:59
10. All Through The City    3:04
11. Cheque Book    4:04
12. Oyeh!    2:29
13. Bonie Maronie / Tequila   4:49
Alto Saxophone – Bob Andrews
Tenor Saxophone – Brinsley Schwarz

MALPRACTICE 1975       

                  

  
14. I Can Tell    2:43
15. Going Back Home    3:59
16. Back In The Night    3:16
17. Another Man    2:53
18. Rolling And Tumbling    3:11
19. Don't Let Your Daddy Know    2:55
20. Watch Your Step    3:23
21. Don't You Just Know It   3:49
Piano – Bob Andrews
22. Riot In Cell Block No. 9    3:36
23. Because You're Mine    4:53
24. You Shouldn't Call The Doctor (If You Can't Afford The Bills)   2:34
Piano – Bob Andrews

Flac Size: 456 MB

CD2.

STUPIDITY 1976       

                       

  
01. Talking About You (Live)    1:58
02. Twenty Yards Behind (Live)    2:06
03. Stupidity (Live)    2:20
04. All Through The City (Live)    2:54
05. I'm A Man (Live)    4:59
06. Walking The Dog (Live)    3:09
07. She Does It Right (Live)    3:04
08. Going Back Home (Live)    3:47
09. I Don't Mind (Live)    2:13
10. Back In The Night (Live)    3:09
11. I'm A Hog For You Baby (Live)    3:17
12. Checkin' Up On My Baby (Live)    3:17
13. Roxette (Live)    3:01

SNEAKIN' SUSPICION 1977       

                  

  
14. Sneakin' Suspicion    3:49
15. Paradise    4:03
16. Nothin' Shakin' (But The Leaves On The Trees)    3:26
17. Time And The Devil    2:58
18. Lights Out    1:53
19. Lucky Seven    2:44
20. All My Love    3:45
21. You'll Be Mine    3:15
22. Walking On The Edge    3:37
23. Hey Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut    3:56

Flac Size: 515 MB

CD3.

                    

01. Dr. Feelgood    2:23
02. Everybody's Carrying A Gun (Olympic Version)    2:30
03. I'm A Hog For You Baby (Olympic Version)    3:15
04. Time And The Devil (Early Version)    2:51
05. Lights Out (Early Version)    1:48
06. Everybody's Carrying A Gun (Rockfield Version)    8:31
07. Sneakin' Suspicion (Demo)    3:50
08. Malamut   4:33
Bass – Phil Thumpston
Drums – Big Figure, The
Guitar – Mick Green, Wilko Johnson
09. Casting My Spell On You   2:30
Bass – Phil Thumpston
Drums – Big Figure, The
Guitar – Mick Green, Wilko Johnson
10. Comin' Home Baby  2:24
Bass – Phil Thumpston
Drums – Big Figure, The
Guitar – Mick Green, Wilko Johnson
11. Talking About You (Studio Version)    2:09
12. My Girl Josephine    2:09
13. Small Gains Corner    2:51
14. (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66    3:24
15. I'm A Hog For You Baby    3:08
16. Stupidity    2:07
17. She Said Alright    3:40
18. All Through The City (Live - Cardiff '74)    3:26
19. Roxette (Live - Cardiff '74)    2:25
20. Boom Boom (Live - Cardiff '74)    3:07
21. Keep It Out Of Sight (Live)    3:05
22. Riot In Cell Block # 9 (Live)    3:48
23. Johnny B Goode (Live)    3:57

Flac Size: 473 MB

LINE - UP

                        

Bass – John B. Sparks
Blues Harp [Harp] – Lee Brilleaux
Drums – Big Figure, The
Keyboards – Tim Hinkley (tracks: CD2-14 to CD2-23)
Lead Guitar – Wilko Johnson
Lead Vocals – Lee Brilleaux
Slide Guitar – Lee Brilleaux
Vocals – Big Figure, The, Wilko Johnson

NOTES

                     

Tracks 3-1 to 3-13 and 3-18 to 3-20 are all stated as "Previously unreleased". CD1 is 'Mono/Stereo', CDs 2 and 3 are 'Stereo'.