Oil City Confidential

I was fortunate to have seen Dr. Feelgood on several occasions in the mid-'70s featuring the original lineup. I was excited when I found out about this documentary and ordered it right away. I was concerned that it might not capture the spontaneous nature and in-your-face, high energy of the band live, nor the uniqueness of its key members, Wilko Johnson and Lee Brilleaux. I needn't have worried because this is without doubt the best possible reading of these lads from Canvey Island. I had always wondered what happened to these Punk precursors and why Wilko Johnson so abruptly left the band at the zenith of their popularity. I had also wondered about the dynamic between Wilko and Lee Brilleaux, the front man and blues harp player. Anyway, these questions and a world of others were answered in watching this remarkable documentary. It is not only the history of this particular blues rock band but also that of a transitional historical moment when rock'n'roll shifted so radically to a harder and more basic paradigm, opening up a world of new musical possibilities for a genre which had become stagnant and boring. Dr. Feelgood were truly avatars helping to save rock'n'roll from a certain death by corporate dictum.