Dr Feelgood - Taking No Prisoners (With Gypie 1977-1981) (3) - #140

Dr Feelgood - Taking No Prisoners (With Gypie 1977-1981) (3)

Listening to the tracks that are not available elsewhere, e.g. the boxset minus the remasters, I believe this is a missed opportunity. I'm too much of a Dr Feelgood fan, not to feel slightly disappointed about this compilation. I don't care much for remasters, because I have decent vinyl in my collection, so that leaves me only with the one(!) demo track and two live sets (The Paddocks and The Pavilion). A bit thin on the ground, considering that the set cost me a fraction away from EUR 60.00 from one of my dealers. Really on the steep side, seeing that some others sell it for around EUR 30.00 less.

The demo version of "Riding On The L & N" is interesting, I wish there was more of the same. But apparently, this was not to be. Either the well has run dry or we're being treated with additional material (one track at a time) on forthcoming compilations. The live portion from The Paddocks is o.k., but the audio is not up to scratch (where's the remastering here?). I have much better sounding bootlegs in my collection and this is an official release. Repertoirewise this is what the band did at the time, this transition period from their first line-up to a settled down 2nd version. The band is tipping the brakes ever so lightly, but as a timepiece, this is priceless and can't really be compared to their full live albums during the Gypie period. On hearing "Cheque Book", I had this strange idea, that the track is nearly falling apart.

The excerpt from The Pavilion gig one  year later is much to short to give a real impression of the band 1978. There are only 7 tracks, while The Paddock gig netted at least 12 tracks for this set. Both not nearly enough to really give an impression what the band was, during that time. The sound on this second batch of live tracks seems to be slightly better (at least to these ears). And, I might be mistaken, but I think the band is more "there", more on top of their music and maybe a bit more confident, with Gypie having settled in nicely. It's Dr Feelgood as I appreciated them during this period. And I believe, this was the time, when Lee Brilleaux freed himself of Dr Feelgood Mark I.

As for the DVD, that's for another day! I don't want to rush through the visual part. I've probably seen most of the footage already, but just in case, I do expect high quality from first generation tapes. Just so you're forewarned.

Cheers

Devon