7/3/2023 0 Comments Wilko johnson replacemetWhilst Wilko was without question a unique stylist and cultural icon, that doesn’t negate the ability of any of his successors to provide an equally valid role in the band. It is accurate to state that the Feelgoods Mk 2 were quite a different prospect from the original model – this was essentially due to the change in guitarist and a slight almost sideways shift into R’n’R from R’n’B.Īt this point the question of replacement guitarists needs to be addressed. For all of Wilko’s justly celebrated writing on the classic early Feelgoods albums, he hasn’t been particularly prolific since his departure – indeed one of his later albums was entirely comprised of fairly well-known cover versions, something that, had the Brilleaux era Feelgoods released it, would undoubtedly have drawn long and loud derision from Wilko. When the evidence is examined in more detail, it becomes even more persuasive. The somewhat leaden covers of You’ll Be Mine, Nothing Shaking, Hey Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut and Lucky Seven counterbalance the triumphs of Paradise and the actual song Sneaking Suspicion itself. Was Sneaking Suspicion a better album than Be Seeing You or Private Practice? I’d suggest not. What about the hits – She’s A Windup, Milk and Alcohol and Down At The Doctors? Those three songs stand side by side with the best of the Wilko era. ![]() For Wilko, Dr Feelgood died as a credible artistic force on the day of his departure.Ĭlearly, there’s something seriously askew about this perspective. Strangely, he has never acknowledged a single song, album or even band member after the split as having any merit whatsoever. The enduring public affection for Wilko since his profile-raising slot in the Temple bio-pic and his escape from that terminal cancer diagnosis, coupled with the fact that equally, charismatic singer Lee Brilleaux has been dead since 1994 means, in effect, that Johnson’s had the floor to himself. Ironically the post Wilko line-up notched up the first top forty hits for the band whereas Wilko never had any chart success under his own steam – his stint with Ian Dury doesn’t count for this discussion! The crucial point, however, is the blind acceptance of Johnson’s curt dismissal of everything his former bandmates went on to do. I’ll definitely allow the latter point – clearly the Wilko era Feelgoods were a revelation – certainly the best live band I have ever seen – and one of the various ‘punk kick-starters’ that the music press are so found of eulogising. ![]() Put simplistically, it is that the Feelgoods, post his departure, were a poor shadow of their former selves whereas prior to his demise they were the saviours of rock’n’roll. Based on Wilko’s ubiquity, there has now become an accepted orthodoxy. This surprising level of exposure escalated exponentially after his diagnosis with terminal cancer – with Wilko popping up on The One Show, Breakfast TV and the tabloid press. Ever since Julian Temple’s Feelgood’s documentary, Oil City Confidential, wherein Wilko emerged as an unlikely media star with his unique combination of enthusiasm, energy and charisma, he’s become a regular participant in TV ‘talking heads’ music shows and the music monthlies. In light of the new 4CD Dr Feelgood collection – with Lee Brilleaux as the thread stringing the various eras and incarnations of the band together, and with the recent publication in paperback of Wilko Johnson’s new autobiography and the relatively recent (and highly recommended) biography of Lee Brilleaux (Lee Brilleaux: Rock n Roll Gentleman) by Zoë Howe (who also wrote the sleeve notes for the excellent booklet that completes the 4 CD set), it seems an appropriate juncture to reassess the relative merits of the pre and post Wilko Feelgoods – looking a little more closely at some commonly accepted ‘truths’. Rock n Roll Gentleman 4 CD box set review & The Feelgoods Heresy
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