Song of the Day 1/18: Dr. Feelgood, “She Does It Right”
Dr. Feelgood occupies a unique slot in rock history — the band that bridges the otherwise incomprehensible gap between England’s pub rock and punk rock scenes. Pub rock was a movement that, as the name suggests, took root in small venues across the country mostly as a reaction against the mountains of equipment (and high ticket prices) major acts required to play arenas. But it had no unifying sound associated with it — in fact, the band that inspired the movement was an American trio that sounded like a knock-off brand CS&N.
Dr. Feelgood changed all that. Their music was manic. Singer Lee Brilleaux, usually dressed in a shabby white suit, growled out his vocals and emphasized his snarl by punching the air when he got really excited. But the band’s real revelation was guitarist Wilko Johnson, whose unique style blended choppy rhythms with spitfire bursts of lead riffs. But it wasn’t just his playing, it was his stage demeanor, repeatedly rushing up to the edge of the stage with a blank-faced, thousand-yard stare — a stare so famous in England that he was recruited to play Ser Ilyn Payne in “Game of Thrones.” No other pub rock band was anywhere near so raucous.
That energy is what punk bands picked up on, and pub rock melted away as bands veered off into the darker vein of punk. Dr. Feelgood never broke through in the U.S., so they’ve never gotten the recognition they deserve as the missing link they are.
