Feelgood

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…

Singles – The UA Years is a terrific double-album set that chronicles all of Dr. Feelgood's major singles, from 1976's "Roxette" to 1986's "See You Later Alligator." Although the hits-only approach leaves out some major Feelgood songs, Singles remains a first-rate retrospective, and for many years, it was the best Dr. Feelgood collection available. The 1997 double-disc Twenty Five Years of Dr. Feelgood later replaced Singles as the definitive retrospective, yet there are enough songs on this collection to make it worthwhile for serious fans who don't want to spring for either the box set Lookin' Back or the entire catalog.

Theoretically, Dr. Feelgood could have produced a fine multi-disc box set, yet the four-disc Looking Back isn't it. Although it contains the group's very best songs, including large portions of Down by the Jetty and Malpractice, it is cluttered with mediocre latter-day material, and the entire final disc is devoted to Lee Brilleaux discussing his cancer. Although his testimonial is moving, it would have been better heard on a separate disc, not as part of a comprehensive retrospective. Then again, Looking Back is filled with so many songs that only serious fans, the kind that would want an interview disc, will find it necessary. For most fans, even those with a fairly deep interest in the band, the comprehensive double-disc Twenty Five Years of Dr. Feelgood is a more logical choice.