the feelies - classic or dud?

Mercer mentioned it briefly in an article last week in the New Haven Advocate. To paraphrase, he said they hope to get into the studio but haven't yet.

Saw the show in Connecticut ion Saturday. First set was laconic and strummy, the second set was jittery and magnificent.

I would give my nuts to see The Feelies live in the UK. Not sure if they've ever played here though. Guess I'll just have to go listen to more Feelies bootlegs to make up for it.

I know they toured Europe sometime in the 80s, at least once. I too would give my nuts to see the Feelies live ... I may just have to bite the bullet and schedule a trip to the east coast when they're playing sometime ....

First set was laconic and strummy, the second set was jittery and magnificent.
Same here. Thirty-five songs total, including covers of Velvets, Wire, R.E.M., Doors, Beatles, Stones, Neil Young.

feelies on world cafe
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127212203

looks like the feelies are featured on the sdtk to the assayas film Carlos: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703735804575536091919059272.html?mod=wsj_share_twitter
dude always has pretty great soundtracks.

tyler did you ever get a chance to see them live?

They've played a bunch of times in Jersey since your post about coming to the east coast above.

doomandgloomfromthetomb is the best thing ever. aside from the feelies obviously

" Feelies Begin Recording New Record
11 September 2010

The Feelies have begun recording their first record in nearly 20 years. The band is recording at Water Music in Hoboken NJ forthe Bar/None label.

Please check back for updates.

Thanks for the support!"

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=346187838&blogId=539058066

Good to hear. Wonder when they'll reissue Only Life and Time for a Witness.

yeah, that is cool they're recording a new album. new songs they've been playing live sound good. still haven't made it to a show -- i'm in colorado, and they haven't played anywhere west of the mississippi have they? or out of the tri-state area even? maybe someday -- flying out east for a show isn't in the budget currently.
(and thx for the kind words, spikey).

They played a free show in Chicago, some of my friends saw it.

Still fresh as the first time I had it! Which was twenty some years ago!

some news:
After a 19 year break, the Feelies are back with Here Before an album of all new original material on Bar/None Records. The new album touches on different styles from the Feelies’ long history while adding new grooves and musical ideas to the mix. Electric and acoustic guitars melt together in archetypal Feelies fashion on songs like “Nobody Knows” and “Should be Gone. “ Elsewhere there are slabs of driving garage rock like "When You Know" and "Time Is Right" and the down-tempo ”Bluer Skies,” and harmonically rich “Later On."

Here Before was recorded at Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey produced by Feelies founders Glenn Mercer and Bill Million. Besides Glenn on rhythm/lead guitar and lead vocals, and Bill on guitar and vocals, the album features Feelies mainstays Brenda Sauter (bass, vocals), Stanley Demeski (drums), and Dave Weckerman (percussion).

The Feelies proper re-emerged with a new rhythm section (the line-up they’ve had ever since and that appears on Here Before) in 1984 and recorded The Good Earth, co-produced by Million, Mercer and REM’s Peter Buck). The album was released 1986 on the Coyote label (run by Steve Fallon, owner of Hoboken, NJ’s Maxwells, and the group’s manager for a spell), followed by two further releases on Coyote through Twin/Tone/A&M: Only Life (1988) and Time For A Witness (1991). The band shared bills with Patti Smith, LouReed, REM and Bob Dylan during this period and toured nationally.

In 1992 Bill Million left the music business, moving his family to Florida and effectively putting the band on what turned out to be a very long hiatus. Meanwhile, Glenn and Dave continued playing together in Wake Ooloo, Stanley was a founding member of the band Luna and Brenda played in a number of groups including her own Wild Carnations. Glenn Mercer put out his first solo album in 2007.

In 2008, the Feelies re-united to open for long time admirers Sonic Youth at Battery Park and then resurrected their tradition of playing low key gigs around national holidays (many at their old home base, Maxwell’s) rather than doing lengthy tours. In 2009 Bar/None re-issued Crazy Rhythms and The Good Earth, this being the first band-sanctioned CD release of the former; both titles were also issued on heavyweight vinyl and with download cards for access to bonus tracks. A highlight of the All Tomorrows Parties festival in New York state that year was the Feelies playing Crazy Rhythms in its entirety for the very first time. They also introduced new songs written by Mercer and Million raising fans’ hopes for a new album eventually materializing.

In 2010, using the basement studio in Mercer’s New Jersey home, Glenn and Bill resumed writing songs and working out arrangements for new Feelies songs in the midst of rehearsals for live shows in Boston, Philadelphia and D.C. with Bill commuting back and forth from Florida for this. By Fall that year, the band had worked up 13 songs. Basic tracks were cut at Water Music in October with the classic Feelies line-up of Mercer, Million, Demeski, Sauter and Weckerman; tracking dates were engineered by Sean Kelly who also helped out with overdubbing sessions in November and mixing in December. In addition to their main instruments Brenda played violin and sang backup vocals, Glenn contributed keyboards and Bill, Stan, Glenn and Dave all pitched in on percussion.

Many of their fans probably didn’t think they would ever get a chance to see the Feelies perform again let alone have a new album in their hands. Here Before adds a solid fifth album to the Feelies discography. The album will be released digitally as well as on CD and vinyl with a download card.

Scares the shit out of me that the record co. couldn't come up with a more exciting adjective than "solid" in their promotional material.

Still, subpar Feelies is better than top-notch most anything else, in my books. Looking forward to this, with some trepidation.

Anyone else noticed The Feelies' penchant for 3-syllable titles, hooks, and even musical phrases (esp. post-Crazy Rhythms? When I noticed the new album was called Here Before it fit the mold but coulda been chalked up to coincidence, but I had to larf when 5 of the 6 songs mentioned in the press release fit the mold.

Gor, I wish there were an edit button.

Scares the shit out of me that the record co. couldn't come up with a more exciting adjective than "solid" in their promotional material.
i know! i mean, i'm not expecting a masterpiece here (the new songs they've been playing live aren't mindblowing) but I still will probably enjoy this.

Looking forward to hearing the new one. They also have a Philly date in June that I hope to attend.

I am a weirdo who prefers "It's Only Life" to "Crazy Rhythms," incidentally, though it might very well be because I heard that one first (found on vinyl cheap when I didn't know much about the band other than a good friend loved them).

I'm weird too. Only Life -> The Good Earth -> Crazy Rhythms -> Time For A Witness

No huge gaps as I think they're all good. I used to have Crazy Rhythms above The Good Earth, but hearing live boots of that material in the years before they recorded it bumped it down. I like the live versions from the 70s more than what they did once they got in the studio.

I'm optimistic that the new record will be "solid".

This press release is as skeletal and stripped down as their records.
Very curious to listen to it.

^lol
I dunno though, that press release seems to miss some intricately intertwined guitars

On a more serious note: YES! Looking forward to this. More than anything though I hope they're willing/going to do some shows in Europe...
(and I got the same impression wrt album/song titles as staggerlee. Especially the song titles made me go "Haha, that is such a Feelies song title")

Can't listen to it at the moment but here's a song of the album.

Thanks for the link. Pretty decent track, sort of like something off the second album, but with slightly clearer production (a little less bucolic haze) and just a teeny hint of "Crazy Rhythms" weirdness at the end. In a sense, it's a Feelies-by-the-numbers tune, but that ain't bad.

this sounds prettay prettay good!

Got a copy yesterday of the album but my brain shut down and forgot to actually listen to it. Will rectify that tonight.

let us know if yr feelin' the feelies, k?

really wish they'd plant the vocals behind those intricately intertwined guitars.

I'm excited. I'm actually a big fan of Time For A Witness, probably because of all the blatant VU-isms. Hoping for more of that on the new album.

So do you guys think that the "Velvets meets REM" tag that they had on them early on was overly simplistic or otm? Or both? I vacillate but generally conclude that it's a nice starting point in describing them to folks without leading them too astray. (Or that their jangle was not at all Southern fried like REM's was?)

Gave it a listen last night as promised -- no great surprises, it's pretty much the Feelies, some gentler songs and a few rushed ones, but it's all done damn well and you can tell it's them from a mile off. "When You Know" and "Way Down" are my initial faves.

Three live songs from NPR's World Cafe Live. It's from several months ago but still a good listen:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127212203

So do you guys think that the "Velvets meets REM" tag that they had on them early on was overly simplistic or otm?

They predated REM by several years. What are you talking about?

they are indeed very Velvety but I also don't see the connection to R.E.M.

By the time they did The Good Earth (co-produced by Peter Buck) I certainly hear a few similarities to early REM in the mumbly vocals and chiming guitars. Stipe's a stronger singer, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w2sb01oRT0

REM is shorter for jangly pop; that tag was heard by me later on in life, definitely after 'It's Only Life' (which I just took out and listened to this morning, actually.)

whenever i put on the good earth, my wife says that it sounds like "don't go back to rockville." and then i act like this guy: http://www.theonion.com/articles/honey-im-not-going-to-stand-here-and-debate-the-me,18952/
she's right though, it does have that sound.

feelies are better than REM, however

hey does anyone have a digital copy of the first yung wu single? the internet is letting me down.

Is that the one with the "Barstool Blues" cover? I can help you if so.

umm i'm not sure -- the "shore leave" single (not the album) ... maybe it's just a dave weckerman single?

Here's a site with the whole album, but it sounds like you're after a B-side?

http://sunshinesmilefactory.blogspot.com/2010/03/yung-wu-shore-leave.html

yeahhh, this would be an earlier thing? dan selzer mentions it above: "One of them released a solo single of a song that would be on the Yung Wu record record and it's even better." just haven't heard it, and would love to!

Okay...can't help you. And I realize that "Barstool Blues" is a Feelies cover; it's "Powderfinger" that Yung Wu recorded.

yeah! that yung wu record is fantastic. anyway, i'm putting together a little feelies family tree mix kind of thing (side projects/solo projects/related bands/etc.) and thought i'd try to hunt it down. seems extremely obscure. if i didn't just make it up.

http://www.thefeeliesweb.com/images/disc/Dave45.jpg
this is what i think i'm talking about

tyler have u heard the Trypes demos that were on Dime a while back? I can send 'em to you if u want.

i've got something called the trypes demos -- probably the same thing?

yeah that's it, here's my tracklist

1. A Plan Revised
2. The Inner Light (Beatles)
3. ?
4. Return to Zion
5. Eternal Ice
6. ?
7. ?
8. The Obedient Atom
9. When Company Comes

Trypes demos may be more then Trypes. Maybe some Willies and Yung Wu or whatever. I'm talking to them and trying to sort it out. They're digging through some old tapes for a potential Trypes expanded reissue, which somebody will be delighted to release should things work out.

Aw man, that would be awesome. I downloaded the Trypes EP a while back, rules my world. Impossible to find a copy, too. Now to look for the demos.

That Weckerman single is amazing btw. Has more in common with weirdo 70s american outsider stuff like MX-80 or Debris or Pere Ubu or something.