Wilko Johnson - I Keep It To Myself / The Best Of Wilko Johnson (2017) CD-Rip

Wilko Johnson was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was a member of the pub rock/rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood in the 1970s. Johnson was known for his distinctive guitar playing style which he achieved by not using a guitar pick but playing fingerstyle guitar. This enabled him to play rhythm guitar and riffs or solos at the same time creating a highly percussive guitar sound. Johnson and Dr. Feelgood were an influence on the English punk movement. Paul Weller said of Johnson: "Wilko may not be as famous as some other guitarists, but he's right up there. And there are a lot of people who'll say the same. I can hear Wilko in lots of places. It's some legacy."

Johnson died on 21 November 2022, at his home in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, at the age of 75. Following the announcement of Johnson's death, Billy Bragg said: "His guitar playing was angry and angular, but his presence - twitchy, confrontational, out of control - was something we'd never beheld before in UK pop. Rotten, Strummer and Weller learned a lot from his edgy demeanour." Alex Kapranos, lead singer of Franz Ferdinand said, "His unique, wired playing & stage presence thrilled & inspired many guitarists, myself included." Broadcaster Bob Harris said "Wilko was absolutely unique. His energy and spirit were incredible."

Continuing his association with the reactivated Chess imprint, the label that issued so many of the tunes that inspired him in his youth, I Keep It To Myself - The Best Of Wilko Johnson draws together 25 tracks recorded in the recent past (2008-2012) by the legendary guitarist and songwriter with backing provided by Blockheads Norman Watt-Roy (bass) and Dylan Howe (drums), the same rhythm section that performed on Wilko's enormously successful Going Back Home album with Roger Daltrey.