ALBUM RELEASES

Feelgood once again

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DR FEELGOOD Stupidity
✰✰✰✰ (Parlophone)

THE pride of Canvey Island, Dr Feelgood’s first four albums — Down By The Jetty, Malpractice, Stupidity and Sneakin’ Suspicion — have been reissued and remastered to commemorate 50 years since first studio album Down ByThe Jetty was released. But their crowning glory is the 1976 live offering Stupidity, which consists of one side recorded in Sheffield, the other in Southend. You can almost feel the sweat dripping from the ceiling as Wilko Johnson careens around the stage and Lee Brilleaux growls through marvellous songs like Walking The Dog, Back In The Night and Roxette.

VARIOUS Chip Shop Pop
✰✰✰✰ (Ace)

BOB Stanley of St Etienne continues to compile quirky collections of little remembered music from the 1970s and this is a real gem. It highlights the expertise of songwriters housed in London's Denmark Street, who may have provided a fair few chart smashes for big artists, but also were prolific in churning out happy sunshine pop that session musicians would release under a wealth of band names, but would invariably miss out on success. Enjoy Caterpillar by Cold Fly, Melanie Makes Me Smile by Tony Burrows and Lady Pearl by Currant Kraze.