"...Night
Club...I Paid In...Got A Stamp On My Skin..."
I'm
in Hog Heaven - I really am. I know fan affection lies firmly with the original
Wilko Johnson line-up of the mighty Dr. Feelgood (Britain's best Pub Rock and
R'n'B band) - but for me the John 'Gypie' Mayo line-up was even more mind-blowing
than its superlative predecessor. And this truly fantastic jam-packed 5-disc
EMI Box Set only hammers that home in spades. Here's the soiled beer mats...
"Taking
No Prisoners (With Gypie 1977-1981)" by DR. FEELGOOD is a 4CD/1DVD hardback book-shaped
box set issued July 2013 in the UK on EMI 5099901954029 (Barcode 5099901954029) and breaks down as
follows:
Disc
1 - STUDIO (77:45 minutes):
Tracks
1 to 12 are the album "Be Seeing You" - UK released in September 1977
on United Artists UAS 30123
Tracks
13 to 22 are the album "Private Practice" - UK released in September
1978 on United Artists UAS 30184
Tracks
23 and 24 are the non-album single "As Long As The Price Is Right"
and "Down At The (Other) Doctors".
The
A is a 'Second Version' and was issued as a UK 7" single in April 1979 on
United Artists UP 36506 (the original mix is on the "Be Seeing You"
LP).
Track
25 is "Riding On The L&N (Demo Version)" and is Previously
Unreleased.
Disc
2 - STUDIO (76:25 minutes):
Tracks
1 to 10 are the album "Let It Roll" - UK released September 1979 on
United Artists UAG 30269
Tracks
11 to 22 are the album "A Case Of The Shakes" - UK released September
1980 on United Artists UAG 30311
Tracks
23 and 24 are their final 7" single on UA - "Waiting For Saturday
Night" and "Eileen" - UK
released October 1981 on EMI/Liberty BP 404 (with Johnny Guitar).
Disc
3 - LIVE (77:51 minutes):
Tracks
1 to 12 are Previously Unreleased - recorded live "The Paddocks" in
Canvey Island on 10 June 1977.
Tracks
13 to 25 are the live album "As It Happens" - UK released June 1979
on United Artist UAK 30239 (with a Free EP - see Disc 4)
Disc
4 - LIVE (68:59 minutes):
Tracks
1 to 4 are the FREE EP given with initial copies of the "As It
Happens" LP
Tracks
5 to 11 are Previously Unreleased - recorded live at The Pavilion in Hemel
Hempstead 18 October 1978
Tracks
12 to 23 are the live album "On The Job" - UK released August 1981 on
Liberty LBG 30328
DVD:
BBC
Sight And Sound Concert Recorded and Broadcast December 1977 (Tracks 1 to 11)
Top
Of The Pops Broadcasts - 5 songs from 1977 to 1979
6
Video Clips for 6 songs
Tyne
Tees Television clip from "Alright Now" Program July 1980
The
South Bank Show recorded June 1981 - Interviews etc
PETER
MEW has done the peerless remasters - a man I've raved about on many occasions
and an engineer whose handled hundreds of reissue projects. The sound quality
here is FABULOUS - punchy, great power and never too amped up to be over
trebled. And the full colour 72-page booklet is incredible - full of adverts,
single sleeves, live shots, memorabilia, outtakes from album covers - even the
4 discs ape the band-member Toby Jugs on the front cover of "Let It
Roll".
Niggles
For
such a beautifully laid out and annotated booklet - it's a little sloppy in
places. There's mistaken credits - two same catalogue numbers to "Be
Seeing You" and "Private Practice" and a wrong catalogue number
to "On The Job" (the right one is supplied above). And the mechanism
for getting the disc in and out of their clip positions is more than awkward.
They even provide you with a page to tell you how - but I almost broke one or
two trying to get them out - so I put them in separate paper CD bags for ease
of use - and I advise you to do the same. But these are only minor irritations
(worth pointing out though).
I
saw this line up in Dublin with The Specials on the same bill - both at the
height of their live power. It's a gig I rave about to this day. And I've lost
count of the number of "Private Practice" copies I have on vinyl. How
good is it to finally hear these superlative albums in truly great sound. I'd
admit that the live stuff can become tedious after a while (as it did back in
the day when we bought them) - but the unreleased tracks are fantastic - the
band clearly relishing a second coming. And the DVD stuff brought tears to my
eyes - so many great memories of a band I loved.
As
Number 2 said to Number 6 in "The Prisoner" TV Series - "Be
Seeing You".
You're
too damn right.
The
absolute business folks - buy it and enjoy. (I've also reviewed the Wilko
Johnson Box Set "All Through The City")
PS:
There's an obituary in the Christmas 2013 issue of The Record Collector
Magazine for John Mayo who sadly died (aged 62) in October 2013. RIP you
rockin' genius.
