the feelies - classic or dud?

yeah, a little bit weak -- they really don't have any useable live recordings from that period? most of the stuff i have is audience recordings, but I guess I thought there'd be some sort of pro stuff in the archives. not that they don't sound good these days, but the Crazy Rhythms-era band deserves documentation ...

They have some pretty good live and studio recordings. Question is how they feel about it, I think.

the copious bonus material including demos, b-sides, EP tracks and some new live recordings from the re-united group will be included on digital download cards.

NO NO NO

Seeing them in the park next Monday in Chicago -- free outdoor show.

Reissues OSSOM. I can quit lurking eBay for a CD of the Good Earth.

Still waiting on live awesomeness from the original group (1978-1991). There was at least one LP bootleg pressed - was the sound any shakes? I've got the shows from Tyler's blog (thanks again, fantasticman!) which are great but tinny.

i should quickly liquidate my good earth cd it seems

playing an acoustic set friday night at the Whitney!

Acoustic? Strange! Their sound is so much about surging waves of electricity.

So exciting to hear it's finally happening after so many false starts! I heard rumors and badgered Bar/None to confirm a year ago (see up thread), but they wouldn't say. They really should include a second disc rather than download. They'd better be available in lossless!

yeah the acoustic thing is interesting -- i assume it'll be focused on the Good Earth, since that's their most acoustic album, but who knows?

I can imagine them doing acoustic versions of Crazy Rhythms and later stuff as well. Or if Dave Weckerman's there maybe it'll be all Neil Young covers. No matter I'm sure it'll be lovely and I won't be able to make it.

I think it's high time that Demme makes that Feelies-zombie movie he originally wanted to do.

"He had called us in the early '80s and proposed a concept of a concert film that would take place in our home town. He described it as cross between The Last Waltz and The Night of the Living Dead. He had this vision. He's obsessed with small town life and suburbia. His idea was to have everybody in the town be like zombies, shuffling towards something. It turns out they're going to a Feelies concert. The zombies go inside and then by the end of the show, they're all rejuvenated and come to life. Interesting concept but he couldn't sell the idea to anyone. But we kept in touch."
http://www.furious.com/perfect/ooloo.html

I'd buy that.

me too! a smash hit! maybe Demme could work Robyn Hitchcock in there somehow as a mad scientist or something. He seems to be making a habit of cameo-ing Hitchcock these days.

If the idea is to cop a Last Waltz vibe, musical guest stars would be perfect. Imagine Hitchcock singing their "Deep Fascination" and then the Feelies backing him up on "Insanely Jealous".

What artists would you want as "special guests"? You know Peter Buck would be there.

yo la tengo, for sure, probably lou reed .... maybe they could pull some Jersey cred and get the Boss himself to sing "Boy With Perpetual Nervousness"

Bon Jovi

oh hell yes

sambora tradin' licks with mercer! oh yeah!

Who's going this Friday? I can't skip off work to make the 1 pm ticket line:(

"Last Waltz" lineup has to include Prince.

Somehow when I try to picture Springsteen singing "BWTPN" it just morphs into the E Street band slogging that song out to the tune [sic] of "Hungry Heart."

"He's not like the boys... that we used to have /
Not like them at all.
The old ones made their ... parents proud /
This one beats 'em all.
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart."

hee hee, can someone do a mashup?

anybody catch the show at the Whitney? hoping a recording of it surfaces ....

The audio for the Whitney is up on Dime as we speak...

I think you said you can't do Dime, tho. If it doesn't appear elsewhere, email me.

check yr email Thus Sang Freud! I tracked down the setlist, looks cool
01 When Company Comes
02 Bluer Skies
03 Nobody Knows
04 Egyptian Reggae
05 Higher Ground
06 crowd
07 Sunday Morning
08 Undertow
09 Brenda comments
10 Invitation
11 Let's Go
12 Crazy Rhythms
13 encore break
14 Dancing Barefoot
15 What Goes On

oh how I want to hear Sunday Morning!

for realz. they've never done that one before, have they?

Egyptian Reggae!?!?! wow....

There are a few Feelies takes on Egyptian Reggae up on youtube.

Awesome, thanks!

Great show, outdoors in Chicago. Different set list than the one above, a bit.

Egyptian Reggae is one of their classic covers. That, Dancing Barefoot, What Goes On...You could make a great mix of the songs the Feelies regularly covered, it would be killer.

Chicago got an awesome cover of 'Carnival (Box Car of Sorts)' last night - Holy Cow - the 'Only Life' tracks they played were so damn special powerful too... Hoping someone taped and puts on DIME.

oh cool, would like to hear their REM cover ... and yeah a Feelies cover comp would be good. Maybe it's up to me. Has anyone else done it? Some good Neil Young tracks, and the "Outdoor Miner" they were doing last year sounded amazing.

I have a Feelies covers comp I downloaded some years ago. This is the tracklist:

Head Held High
I'm a Believer
The Obedient Atom
Outdoor Miner
Roadrunner
Run Run Run/European Son/What Goes On
Sweet Jane
Barstool Blues
I Wanna Sleep In Your Arms
Mannequin
Sedan Delivery
See No Evil
She Said She Said
White Light White Heat

Of course, then there is the promo live CD with Egyptian Reggae, Dancing Barefoot, and Everybody's Got...Monkey.

They did "Paint It Black" at the very end, too.

coupla things missing from that comp: eno's third uncle, love/bacharach's little red book, mc5's looking at you ... fun to be happy by love tractor ... "obedient atom" is an unreleased original, i think.

don't think i've heard them do "sweet jane"

"Obedient Atom" was, I believe, a post-Crazy Rhythms Stiff single.

I don't think Obedient Atom ever came out.

yeah hopefully that'll be one of the crazy rhythms bonus tracks this fall. what i've read is that "obedient atom" is kinda what got them dropped from Stiff back in the day -- they delivered it as their first post-CR single and Stiff said no thanks. Live versions are cool, though, kinda droney, Eno-esque stuff.

You're right Dan - this interview with the Voice indicates it didn't ever get officially released:

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2008/07/interview_glenn.php

FYI, the Feelies "Sweet Jane" has Lou Reed on lead vocals. It's just okay.

ah, maybe i have heard it -- i remember my friend playing a bootleg of Lou and the Feelies way back when.

I asked about The Obedient Atom, wanted to release it. They didn't seem too interested. I don't think it's that likely to be one of those bonus tracks, but we can hope!

aw come on, if it's the only crazy rhythms-era outtake, they HAVE to release it. THEY HAVE TO.

Review of last night's show. I pretty much agree, except I didn't like the "Nobody Knows" very much. I'd be happy to hear a new album once it's finished, but I was dying to hear more songs from Crazy Rhythms.

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2009/06/concert-review-feelies-at-millennium-park.html

i think "Nobody Knows" sounds OK, but don't really like "Time Is Right" ... I could be mistaken, but both of those songs seem to be about getting the band back together.