| Author | Message | ||
     william rodgers Member Username: Willyorkpa Post Number: 16 Registered: 02-2005 |
WOW! I was thrilled to see so many FELT songs listed on the "Top 5" polls! If you haven't heard Felt, you need to be educated! I can't list my favorite TOP 20 FELT Songs-let alone 5.... Screw the Denim stuff and BUY IMMEDIATELY the following cd's:::::: The Splendour Of Fear, Ignite The Seven Cannons, The Strange Idols Pattern and Me And A Monkey On The Moon.... Maurice Deebank has the best guitar sound recorded during the 80's and Lawrence may copy his idols, but he has his own identity and it's "Amazing". If you need specifics, just ask! | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 145 Registered: 10-2004 |
And let's not forget "Forever Breathes the Lonely Word," one of my personal favorite Felt records. It lacks Deebank, but it's amazingly good, nonetheless. We've had a few Felt epiphanies before on the msg. board. It's not surprising to me that many Go-Betweens fans also seem to love Felt. The bands certainly have some stylistic differences, but I think they share a general tendency towards crafting melodic, beautiful, intelligent music. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 101 Registered: 04-2005 |
Somehow, I've completely missed Felt over the years. I can't say I've ever heard them, even on the radio. The discussion on this message board has made me very interested. Since my CD budget is limited, William and Jeff, which ONE Felt album do you recommend the uninitiated start with? | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 146 Registered: 10-2004 |
well, if you want to ease in with a comp, which isn't necessarily a bad idea, the best place to start is with absolute classic masterpieces (the first one, not volume 2). this compiles highlights from their 'cherry red' years, when guitarist maurice deebank had a big role in defining felt's sound with his soaring, detailed, and pretty melodic leads. but if you want to dive right into the albums, i'd say 'strange idols pattern' and 'forever breathes the lonely word' are the best places to start. both are pretty solid, consistent albums, though they're fairly different from each other. the latter, IMHO, is definitely the best place to start for felt's post-deebank creation years. 'the splendour of fear' is great, but a lot of it is instrumental and *very* moody. it does have the classic 'world is as soft as lace,' though you can find that one the comp above too. i quite like 'ignite the 7 cannons,' but it was produced very heavy-handedly by the cocteau twins' robin guthrie, and it sounds like a cocteau twins record. a lot of people like their last album, 'me and a monkey on the moon.' it's good, though i only really like about half of it. other stuff worth mentioning is 'poem of the river,' the all instrumental but still cool 'let the snakes crinkle their heads to death,' and their debut, 'crumbling the antiseptic beauty.' | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 102 Registered: 04-2005 |
Thanks, Jeff. Is "Strange Idols Pattern" an album with Deebank? I'm not a huge fan of comps, so it might be the one for me to start with. By the way, I looked up Felt on eMusic.com to see what they had. The bio describes Felt, the group we're talking about, but the listed CDs are by Felt (Slug + Murs), a gimmicky hip-hop duo. Example: http://www.emusic.com/album/10880/10880392.html | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 114 Registered: 03-2005 |
Jeff turned me onto Felt. I'd have to say there are some major differences between Felt and the GoBees, the latter being much more pop and much less diffident in the vocal department. Kurt, if you are not real fond of organ, steer clear of any of the later records like "Forever Breathes the Lonely Word," "Poem of the River" and "Me and a Monkey on the Moon." These albums are dominated by Martin Duffy's organ stylings which frankly overpower things. He sounds like the organist in "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" and the arrangements for the otherwise great songs on "Lonely Word" really do not serve the material. I agree Robin Guthrie occasionally pushes Felt's sound too much into a Cocteau Twins thing on "Seven Cannons" but at least he kept Duffy under control. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 147 Registered: 10-2004 |
yeah, if you're not into that B3 hammond organ sound, you might not dig the '86 - '89 era of felt. duffy effectively replaced deebank, (even though they were on '7 cannons' together), so you had the organ replacing deebank's soaring lead guitar parts. i really like some of that stuff, but it's not for everyone. i think it was a conscious attempt to incorporate a dylan vibe into their sound. but kurt, 'strange idols pattern' is a deebank album, as is 'ignite the seven cannons.' if you look up felt in the all music guide, there's a pretty thorough bio as well as reviews of all or most of their albums. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 103 Registered: 04-2005 |
Thanks, Jeff and Randy. I did look at the AMG writeups, but I'd rather hear recommendations from fans (esp. those whose tastes I share), so I appreciate your analysis of the various albums. Sounds like a deep catalog to get lost in! | ||
| Donat Member Username: Donat Post Number: 103 Registered: 11-2004 |
Oh come on now, Denim (as well as Go-Kart Mozart) are quite good. Denim were a little too ahead of their time in the Brit Pop days. I like the fact that Lawrence did FELT for ten albums and singles and moved on. My favourite FELT record would have to be Strange Idols Pattern And Other Short Stories. Maurice Deebank's guitar on that album is breathtaking. His solo album Inner Thought Zone is also worth hunting down. Lawrence is a true English eccentric, which makes for interesting records. I like how FELT's Train Above The City doesn't even have Lawrence on it! He just titled the songs, otherwise it's just bass, drums and organ instrumentals Lawrence Hayward: the man who only eats meat, doesn't allow anyone using his toilet, who brushes his teeth after every meal and once drove to a gig in 1st gear! haha | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 148 Registered: 10-2004 |
yeah, lawrence is said to be quite the eccentric. i've read that he sacked one of their first bassists simply because the guy had curly hair. and once, when forced to share a hotel room with momus on tour, he totally freaked out when momus took a #2 in the toilet and threw a fit until hotel gave him his own room. he had also said several times that he was 100% convinced that felt was the coolest band on the planet during its existance. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 20 Registered: 04-2005 |
I disliked Felt intensely since I had the misfortune to see them supporting the Cocteaus. Anyone that can chew gum through an entire set is not cool in my book. Maybe that's why his vocals were so crap? | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 34 Registered: 05-2005 |
Bollocks. Felt were great! They were mysterious and unlike any other band of the eighties ( Iknow it ain't hard!) but, they were from Birmingham and boy did Birmingham need this group. I would recommend the entire back catalogue that was recently re-released. There are patchy songs but overall they were to me, anyway, like mixing Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd and Lou Reed with your favourite classical music, they were that great an eclectic combination - honest! The last album Me and a monkey on the moon features a Television fan's wet dream on the track New Day Dawning, my personal favourite CD is Pictorial Jackson Review, one side pop and one side vibe instrumentals. There literally was no one like them. I saw there last ever gig in Birmingham December 1989, it was packed, as packed as when the same venue hosted the Pixies a few months before! I played in a band called Western that featured Gary Ainge the drummer in 96 who were great, I think Lawrence gave them their name too, but really no one can beat the 'Felt'! More importantly, as there's plenty of GB's fans on this board, if you really like the GB's and if you ain't heard em, go buy em, you won't regret it | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 35 Registered: 05-2005 |
Oh, and Martin Duffy is a genius! | ||
| Donat Member Username: Donat Post Number: 104 Registered: 11-2004 |
Legend has it that Lawrence co-wrote the Shampoo song 'Trouble' and gave them their name. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 116 Registered: 03-2005 |
Martin Duffy is a genius? Come on, he just noodles along pointlessly like Nicky Hopkins used to do in the mid-60s on Kinks and Who records. Now and then he fits in by accident. | ||
| julia motzko Member Username: Julia Post Number: 12 Registered: 05-2005 |
what's laurence doing now? is he still doing music? I didn't know about him as a person, but he seems to be a type like Morrissey, judging from what you've said about him (English eccentric, diva). - love "the splendor of fear"! | ||
| Adam Sanderson Member Username: Adam_sanderson Post Number: 7 Registered: 09-2005 |
Lawrence is a highly individual character. He was interviewed earlier this year by the Guardian; http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/homeentertainment/story/0,12830,1523239,00.html There's a great deal of odd stories circulating about him, but I believe they only detract from the beauty of the music he has produced. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 36 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy Re: Duffy I suggest you take listen to the instrumental side of Pictorial Jackson Review, you should know what I mean then... | ||
| Donat Member Username: Donat Post Number: 106 Registered: 11-2004 |
Martin Duffy's organ parts are quite flashy on Felt albums, but nothing like Dave Greenfield from The Stranglers to the point where it's just overkill showmanship. I think Duffy knows when to hold back. | ||
| fsh Member Username: Fsh Post Number: 64 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've heard rumours about internet trading in human organs but "Martin Duffy's organ parts" .... aaahhhhh, I mean it's Christmas, what about readers' sensibilities? Who's for a slice of Martin Duffy's breast, what about a little kidney or maybe you'd prefer the liver this evening, sir? | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 39 Registered: 05-2005 |
"Duff's guid but he isnae gonna ruin ma Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" End of! |