All Through The City (with Wilko 1974-1977) ~ Dr Feelgood

A seminal band of the 70's this is an album for the fan - getting 5* reviews from them.

BBC review

... This is unique music, even when it’s cover versions of other people’s songs – and when Dr. Feelgood rose to the challenge of writing their own material (Back in the Night, Going Back Home, She Does It Right), they were brilliant. They were even better live, too, which is why the live stuff here is essential, as is the superb DVD, which captures them scaring the hell out of the 1970s on various regional TV shows, as well as at their headquarters of evil on Canvey Island. A great collection from a band which shows no sign of getting less great as time goes on.

Guardian

.... There's no doubt the hint of violence in Brilleaux and Jonson's live performances elevated what can sound like beery machismo on record to something more complex. Equally, there were moments in the studio when Dr Feelgood succeeded in capturing what made them special, particularly on their 1974 debut Down By the Jetty, home to their three unimpeachable classics: Roxette, All Through the City and the leering She Does It Right. Brilleaux was a genuinely convincing R&B singer, his nicotine growl tapping into something fundamental about what he described as "music about bad luck". All Through the City remains their masterpiece, transforming Canvey Island into a place of mystery and wonder, and incredibly, pulling it off with its opening line: "Standing, watching towers burning, at the break of day," snarls Brilleaux, in what's surely the most romantic and enticing description of an oil refinery in pop history. ....