| Awful news.
Nobody could make out a convincing case for saying that Lee Brilleaux
is a great singer, and his harp and occasional slide guitar playing are
no more than adequate, but in terms of sheer gutsiness (for want of a
better word), Brilleaux is something else. He's also a real historian
of blues and R&B.
I've seen Dr. Feelgood twice and the speed and vigour with which
Brilleaux steams through a set is breathtaking. His south-east vowels
seem a far cry from Muddy Waters or John Lee Hooker, but his image is
very much that of the hard-as-nails "don't cross me" bluesman.
Ironically, he also struck me as being the greatest chain-smoker of all
time.
I recall seeing him interviewed on the South Bank Show (!) many years
ago when they did a special on the white R&B revival. The Blues Band,
None Below Zero and Dr. Feelgood played live in the studio and
Brilleaux mentioned that the first gig he ever went to was Howlin' Wolf
at a London club. Wolf sang for two hours in front of an electric band
WITHOUT a microphone, and his voice was perfectly audible! It's quite
apparent what an influence he had on Brilleaux himself.
Love his way of addressing/insulting the audience too. On the "As It
Happens" live album, there's a moment when Brilleaux, obviously
disappointed with the lack of audience reaction during one of the
band's songs, comes up with: "OK, so we'll do all the movin' about and
you stans still, eh?"!
Hope this doesn't sound like an obituary.
Dom
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