Wilko Johnson & Roger Daltrey
Going Back Home

LA RECENSIONE

OK, I admit it. What piqued my interest in this album was the accidental listening to a cover, that "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" by a Bob Dylan in full electric revolution. I later came to know the dramatic story that precedes this "Going Back Home," about the terminal illness that is leading Wilko Johnson towards an inescapable fate. Listening to him play, it seems that Wilko couldn't care less about his imminent end, and that he is playing every note of his Telecaster as if it's the most urgent thing in the world. Roger Daltrey sings with an inner fire that hasn't been heard from him for a while and the result is an album that does exactly what you expect from two artists like them. "No bullshit, just great songs", Roger had warned in the promotional interviews, and indeed, in this little over half an hour of music, there isn't a single track that feels like filler or "tiredness". It's The Who, Dr. Feelgood, and Johnny Kidd & the Pirates meeting at the crossroads, three devils melding into a single soul of soul, rock'n'roll, and rhythm'n'blues. 

Listening to this album gives the impression of a group of all-stars deciding for one evening to lock themselves in a garage with the instruments blasting, a good crate of beers, and a handful of electrifying songs to play. I couldn't even single out the standout tracks or the peaks of the album, everything is at the highest levels and the advice I feel like giving is to put this CD in the player, let it play in "loop" for a good while and let it get "into your blood," perhaps in front of a nice beer. It won't disappoint you, rest assured.