Monday, January 22

Maybe I Should Entertain The Very Fact That I'm Insane

In which I finally get around to purchasing a Felt CD. Forever Breathes The Lonely Word, to be precise. I'm not really sure what took me so long, considering they were one of the seminal Cherry Red/Creation bands. It's totally possible that I heard some Felt (other than "Primitive Painters") ages ago, was put off by the vocals, and just filed them in the drawer labeled "don't need to worry about." It's a handy drawer to have around, that one. And then I noticed that Cherry Red has recently reissued the band's entire catalog, and I started thinking how weird it was that I was almost completely unfamiliar with this band. I can never be quite sure how odd vocals will turn out for me in the end. Sometimes it's too much for me to ever overcome, sometimes I like them right off (CYHSY), and sometimes I'll come back to something years later and it doesn't seem to bother me anymore (Magnetic Fields, Felt).

So after having listened to this album, I have a couple of thoughts. First off, it sounds a lot like Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. I'm sure this has mostly to do with both artists' affinity for Television, but I think the prominent use of organ also plays a part. Speaking of the Television connection, some of this Felt stuff also sounds a bit like early Church. The album also reminds me how much I like John A. Rivers as a producer (maybe more on that later). If I had to complain about anything, it'd be that the album's texture is maybe a little too even; all the song arrangements are similar.

I should mention that this album is about 32 minutes long and there's no filler. I truly think most albums are too damn long these days. 40 minutes is a good maximum, with about 37 minutes being ideal. If you record an album that's an hour or longer, you'd better have something amazing to hold my attention. Is the CD format to blame?

I think I'll order a copy of Ignite The Seven Cannons soon.

4 comments:

Inner Ear Infection said...

I seem to have a massive cache of Felt mp3s on my drive. No clue how they got there. With no cover art or historical reference I've been completely slack about dealing with them, but if that one worked as a starting point for you, I'll give it a shot.

Bruce.

Susan said...

I have Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty and I like it a lot, but I'm not a big fan of the later Felt that I've heard. My friend Hazel is a big proponent of the guitar player from that period, Maurice Deebank, and I have to say that a lot of what I like about the record is Deebank's contribution. I think the one you've got might be the last recording with Deebank on it, but I'm not sure.

Anonymous said...

Hey Susan! Deebank's last record was Ignite the Seven Cannons. I like his contribution the best as well (he had a solo CD that was nice too). I think Felt started to go downhill after Forever Breathes...

BB

Bruce said...

Susan,

There is a second guitarist listed on the album, but it's not Deebank. Still, there is some nice guitar work. It sounds like maybe the role of the keyboards got stepped up on this album to fill in for Deebank. Still, I think you'd like this album.