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You realize, of course, that a lot of folks might’ve gone another route with this album under the same conditions. I’ve just got this lump in my stomach that continues to grow – other than that, I’m just fine! I’m not having any treatment, you know, and I’m still feeling okay. And I thought, “Maybe I ought to go in for another estimate …”īut I don’t think I’ll bother. Well … (laughs) I was supposed to have been dead in October, you know, and that went by. The folks who gave you the diagnosis over a year ago … do you ever call them to see how they’re feeling these days? There’s something fundamentally wrong with you receiving this great gift of time … and then spending it talking on the phone. Wilko, first of all, I want to apologize. If there’s one lesson to learn from Wilko Johnson, it’s make the most of it … so we did. And the next day, he was on the phone: full of piss, vinegar, humor, reflection, and grace.įifteen minutes isn’t much, but neither is a few extra months at the end of a lifetime. Wilko rallied in true punker form, however – performing songs off the new album with Daltrey and the lads at the Royal Albert Hall for the Teen Cancer Trust the evening before our interview. One of those postponements coincided with an Oxford Street record shop appearance in London Roger Daltrey proved himself a true mate by stepping in for Johnson at the last moment. It should be noted that our conversation was postponed twice, due to Wilko feeling “wiped out,” according to his publicist in the UK. Wilko was kind enough to share a few minutes of his precious time to talk a bit about Going Back Home, blood on the pickguard, the stars in the sky, and the amazing experience of the last year. Going Back Home is not the work of a classic crooner doffing his top hat, singing “My Way” as the spotlight fades – this is Wilko Johnson saying “Goodbye” the same way he said “Hello” all those years ago: with Telecaster a’blazing. His bandmates on Going Back Home sound as if they’ve been energized with the same power that’s kept him going beyond the point that he was even expected to _ live_ – let alone rock ‘n’ roll. Wilko Johnson has looked his illness in the eye with that same unblinking stare that he’s played a lifetime of music with. Going Back Home’s lone cover is a powerful cover of Bob Dylan’s “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window” – the entire band playing as if their very lives depended on it. The title track kicks things off with a blast of slashing Telecaster and never looks back, with tunes ranging from the bluesy wail of “Keep On Loving You” and the hip-bump of “I Keep It To Myself” to the punk funk of “Keep On Loving You” and the album’s one “quiet” moment, the pensive “Turned 21”. And on vocals? Well, that would be another old-schooler: Roger Daltrey, whom you may know from his years with another band of ruffians, The Who.ġ0 of the 11 songs on Going Back Home are fresh takes on Wilko-penned classics. Going Back Home finds the guitarist joined by longtime wingmen Norman Watt-Roy (bass) and Dylan Howe (drums), along with veteran keyboardist Mick Talbot and blues harpman Steve Weston. Johnson says the decision was an easy one: he declined any treatments, strapped on his Telecaster, and started playing as much rock ‘n’ roll as he had time for.īesides live shows (“We did our ‘farewell tour’,” says Wilko with a laugh “Now we just do tours.”), Johnson made the time to record a studio album. You could attempt to look his style up, but there’s no point – Wilko wrote the book.įast-forward to January of 2013: diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer, Johnson was told he would be dead by October – with the possibility of extending things a bit if he wanted to undergo chemotherapy. Bare-handed and wielding his picking arm like a crazed lumberjack, Johnson proved that one man and a black Telecaster could construct a wall of roaring chords, somehow firing off wailing leads in the midst of it like a sniper atop his perch. Mad-eyed and unblinking, lurching/darting/back-and-forthing about the stage, Johnson introduced the world to his own brand of rhythm/lead guitar. Feelgood, his image has been as unique as his guitar playing. album charts.īut the 66-year-old Johnson has never done things quite like anyone else.įrom the first moment Johnson caught the public’s eye back in the early 70s with the British pub rockers Dr. The simple fact of the matter is Wilko Johnson isn’t supposed to be with us at this point – let alone playing slam-banging, foot-stomping rock ‘n’ roll with a new album that debuted at the number three spot on the U.K.
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