Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2015
Images from the Internet
Oil City Confidential
Directed by Julien Temple
Cadiz Music
106 minutes, 2009 / 2013
While Julien Temple has made his
share of shlocky films, such as Earth
Girls Are Easy (1988), he will hopefully be remembered more for his
music-related documentaries, starting with the infamous The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle (1980), The Filth and the Fury (2000) – both about the Sex Pistols – and Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten
(2007). He’s also done quite a few music videos, including as Dexys Midnight
Runners' “C’mon Eileen” and Wilson Phillips’ “Hold On,” both of which have
become cultural icons.
His focus here is on the British
proto-punk band, Dr. Feelgood. Every nascent local music scene has its band
that came just before that isn’t quite what the zeitgeist would
represent, but would have an influence on it. What’s more, unlike, say, the New
York Dolls, the New York version that had a more widespread footprint, other
areas had bands that were more subtle in the greater history, but were still
quite important. For example, Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band in Boston
may have a couple of albums on a major label out and put out some really great
music, and I feel honored to have seen him play on his home turf more than once,
but odds are many don’t know how much of the Rat(skeller) crowd owes to it. In
Australia, the same can be said for Rose Tattoo, for example. Or [fill in the blank for your area]
_________________.
As with the Dolls being somewhat
glam-yet-so-much-more, Dr. Feelgood similarly aligned with the British pub rock
movement in the early-to-mid-1970s, but was pushing the limits of what bands
like Duck Deluxe were bringing to the table, with guitarist / loony (meant
complementary) Wilko Johnson being the centrifuge catalyst of their energy that
went beyond what was common in the pre-punk scene. Much like Johnny Thunders,
his erratic style came to symbolize the early punk scene across The Pond.
One aspect of the between bands is that they are highly
influenced by what has gone on before – in Dr. Feelgood’s case it was Blues
rock – but are still different than what was to come. Sometimes connecting the
dots between, say, Blues-based the Yardbirds, and the Sex Pistols, but it’s
there, in the frenetic playing of Wilko, the “rock-solid” (as he’s referred
here) vocalist Lee Brilleaux who is more stationary, but equally as intense in
performance, and the steady rhythm section of Sparko on bass and The Big Figure
on drums. It is similar to how, in the States, it’s somewhat hard to see how
the Flamin’ Groovies bridged the San Francisco melodic pop rock sound and the
Ramones, but again, there is no doubt that it’s there.
Even now – well, as of 2009 when this
film was created, anyway – Wilko is quite the character with a shaven head, twitching
voice and body, and a smile that can either charm or terrorize, which is the reason
he was cast as an executioner in The Game of Thrones series. Even though the
whole band comes from Canvey Island in England, where oil refineries line the
waterfront (hence the title of the film), his accent seems fick-ah than the others. Personally, I would have loved to have had
a captions capability.
Temple has a really good sense of
what makes a documentary work, which is why I like this genre of his work rather
than his weaker, fiction-based films. We meet the band, who are interviewed in
numerous locations on the Island, in varied groups (i.e., together and by
themselves), and mixed with early footage of the band from childhood through onstage
(both stills and in action) and beyond, historical records (again, both pictures
and film), and clips from British films (mostly of the gangster genre). There
are the odd interviews with locals, friends, family and other musicians (e.g.,
Jools Holland, Alison Moyet and even Joe Strummer [d. 2002], who was influenced
to start the 101ers after seeing them, just as seeing the Pistols would
convince him to leave the 101ers). This all keeps the action going as the
images flit from one thing to the next, rather than just be a series of talking
heads mixed with band shots, or endless interviews by fans and musicians – or worse,
music historians giving second-hand stories.
For example, while on tour in the US,
with the Ramones opening for Dr. Feelgood at the Bottom Line, a lot of the CBGBs
luminaries were present, having been introduced to the band via their second LP
(Malpractice) by Blondie drummer Clem
Burke, who is represented with interviews a few times (once in Manitoba’s?), as
well as the likes of Roberta Bayley and Richard Hell. What is really nice is
other than the band, all the “guest” interviews are incredibly brief.
Though formed in 1971, fame came in 1975
when their first album, Down in the Jetty
was released, and they had some tremendous hits in the UK, though kind of lightweight
sales in the States. And after a few albums, of course, with two alpha males in
the limelight, things got shaky and Wilko left the band. Between creative
differences and personalities, it seems kind of obvious to me that something
had to happen because, on a cosmic level, Wilko liked some of the softer drugs like speed and coke, while
the rest of the band were hard drinkers. That kind of stuff never seems to mix
well; a couple of years later, Sparko and the Big Figure left as well.
On a positive note, it’s pretty
obvious (to me, anyway) from this film that the three remaining members of Dr.
Feelgood are still friends, and reunite once in a while on their home turf and
play gigs with guest vocalists. If Brilleaux hadn’t died of cancer in 1994, who
knows if he would still be appearing with them on the film.
The hour or so extras include a 48-minute
interview with Lee Brilleaux, sitting in a pub and telling a history of the
band, and 21 minutes of outtakes of mostly Wilko, but also the likes of Jools. Also
included with the DVD is a really nice and thick color (or should I say colour)
booklet with pictures and articles including a written commentary by the
director, a Canvey Island postcard, and a color advert for Oil City Confidential merchandise (e.g., the band’s CDs and tees).
This documentary has won some
prestigious honors, such as Best Documentary at the Kermode Awards (2011), MOJO’s
Vision Award for best film in 2010, and Best International Film (Cult Award) at
the Turin Film Festival. The band was definitely an influence to a number of
scenes, and their place in the modern chronology as a “link” between rock and
punk is undeniable here. Temple’s way with film only adds to the legend of the
band. For me, eventually, the old gangster film clips became a bit tedious, but
luckily watching Dr. Feelgood perform, plus with their anecdotes, made this an
enjoyable and important watch for music historians interested in a source (among
many) of where punk originated.
Bonus video unrelated to documentary:
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