''Going Back Home'' is a collaborative studio album by former Dr. Feelgood guitarist

Wilko Johnson John Andrew Wilkinson (12 July 1947 – 21 November 2022), better known by the stage name Wilko Johnson, was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was a member of the Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock/rhythm and bl ...

and

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are conside ...

lead vocalist

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

released in 2014. The album contains versions of songs previously recorded by Johnson and his former band Dr. Feelgood, as well as a version of "Everybody's Carrying a Gun" by Solid Senders, another band of which Johnson was a member. The album entered the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

at No. 3, making it Daltrey's highest ranking since

's album ''

Face Dances ''Face Dances'' is the ninth studio album by English rock band the Who. It was released in 1981 by Warner Bros. in the United States (it was the band's first release on that label) and on Polydor in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Wh ...

'' (No. 2 in 1981), while Johnson's last major chart success was Dr. Feelgood's live album ''

Stupidity Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, or wit. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word ''stupid'' comes from the Latin word ''stupere''. Stupid characters are often used for comedy in fictional stories. Walter B. ...

'' which reached No. 1 in 1976.

Background

Johnson and Daltrey decided to work together after meeting when seated next to each other at an awards ceremony in 2010 and quickly striking up a friendship. Daltrey said, "It turned out we both loved Johnny Kidd & the Pirates. They'd been a big influence on both our bands. That heavy power-trio sound, backing up a singer; it's a British institution. No-one does that better than us." Johnson was diagnosed with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of panc ...

in January 2013, but was well enough to press ahead with the collaboration when

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are conside ...

finished their world tour. ''Going Back Home'' was recorded in the space of a week in November 2013. According to Johnson, "Roger jumped up and said, 'Let's do it,'. He knew this lovely little studio called Yellow Fish in Uckfield. Unfortunate name for a place, but a great studio." The album's track listing was revealed on 22 February 2014. It was later established that Johnson actually had a less aggressive

neuroendocrine tumour Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are neoplasms that arise from cells of the endocrine ( hormonal) and nervous systems. They most commonly occur in the intestine, where they are often called carcinoid tumors, but they are also found in the pancreas, lun ...

, and following radical surgery he was later declared cancer-free. Some of the musicians who worked with Johnson and Daltrey on the album were current and past Blockheads members

Dylan Howe Dylan Lee Howe (born 4 August 1969) is an English drummer, bandleader, session musician and composer. The son of guitarist Steve Howe with whom he has sometimes collaborated, Dylan is also noted for his work with rock band the Blockheads (bo ...

Norman Watt-Roy Norman Joseph Watt-Roy (born 15 February 1951) is an English musician, arranger and composer. Watt-Roy's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music as the bas ...

(who also worked on Daltrey's 1984 album '' Parting Should Be Painless''), and

the Style Council The Style Council were a British band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight R ...

's former keyboardist

Mick Talbot Michael Talbot (born 11 September 1958) is an English keyboardist. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Talbot is probably best known as co-founder of the Style Council. He has been a member of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Merton Parkas and ...

Critical reception

At ''

The Oakland Press ''The Oakland Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Oakland County, Michigan with headquarters in Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: ...

'',

Gary Graff Gary Graff (born 1960) is an American music journalist and author. Biography Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Graff attended Taylor Allderdice High School where he wrote for school newspaper ''The Taylor Allderdice Foreword''. He rec ...

rated the album three out of four stars, writing that "If this is indeed Johnson’s last gasp, he’s made it a memorable howl." Edna Gunderson of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

'' rated the album three stars out of four, and remarked: "Do they defy age with a ferocious display of R&B? Roger Wilco that." In his review for '' Mojo'' magazine, Mark Blake wrote that "Johnson's chopping rhythm guitar and Daltrey's geezerish growl make perfect bedfellows." Blake described ''Going Back Home'' as a "joyful, celebratory affair".

Track listing

All songs written by Wilko Johnson except as noted.

Personnel

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

- drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

* Steve Weston -

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2014 albums Roger Daltrey albums Collaborative albums Chess Records albums