Wilko johnson the forum 24 january6/3/2023 “Roxette” kicks off the album with repeated, rickety-tickety riffs and steady drums, a bit of mouth organ and the vocals laying out a story of a rather tricky little lady. The guitar riffs are chunky, full on and at full throttle, tempered with some occasional diversion into delicately enhanced solo riffles and tunes – and even a ballad or two. Wilko, Norman Watt Roy and Howe click in a tangible way and they pick up, drop out and enhance each other’s sections dramatically and with empathy. So, it is a joy to hear them re-worked and re-recorded here. It’s largely rapid-fire, high octane rhythm and blues from Wilko Johnson, best known from his days with Dr Feelgood and the Blockheads but also for his own band the Solid Senders with whom he released a single “Oh Lonesome Me.” Dr Feelgood has that knack of linking rock and roll and punk, and many numbers are riveted into the souls of those growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. The two-disc set is packed with goodies, including re-workings of Dr Feelgood favorites such as “She Does It Right,” “Twenty Yards Behind,” “Sneaking Suspicion” and “Roxette.” I Keep It To Myself: The Best of Wilko Johnson, due on Februon the re-activated Chess label, contains 25 tracks recorded between 2008-12 by Wilko along with principal backing from bass player Norman Watt Roy (a member of the Blockheads) and drummer Dylan Howe. Jerry Tremaine: harmonica on tracks 3, 11.Charles Shaar Murray: harmonica on tracks 9, 10.Salvatore Ramundo: drums on tracks 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12.
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