the feelies - classic or dud?

Well, she was there with a friend, but she kind of made the rounds. Most of the totally nuts dancing was way back on the lawn, though at one point they were wiggling around up front on the concrete. She wanted to see the band's heads!

Okay, more details about the reissues:

Release date for both The Feelies re-issues on Bar None: September 8, 2009

Both albums will be issued in original sequence with download cards included in each package that will give purchasers access to bonus tracks as well as the original albums. The band felt that the original records functioned as discrete works on their own that should not be compromised with additional tracks not part of the original sequence, hence offering bonus tracks thusly

Crazy Rhythms CD/LP reissue track listing:
Side One:
1. The Boy With The Perpetual Nervousness
2. Fa cé-La
3. Loveless Love
4. Forces At Work
Side Two:
5. Original Love
6. Everybody's Got Something To Hide (Except Me And My Monkey)
7. Moscow Nights
8. Raised Eyebrows
9. Crazy Rhythms
*** NOTE: Their cover of "Paint It Black" was left off the reissue as
per the band's request. A&M added it without the band's permission
and it was a recording from the late 80s with a different line-up than
what was the "Crazy Rhythms" line-up.

Crazy Rhythms bonus tracks:
1. Fa cé-La [single version] - originally released as a 7" on Rough Trade.
2. The Boy With The Perpetual Nervousness [Carla Bley demo version]
3. Moscow Nights [Carla Bley demo version]
4. Crazy Rhythms (Live) - From the 9:30 Club (Washington D.C.),
recorded March 14, 2009.
5. I Wanna Sleep In Your Arms (Live) - From the 9:30 Club (Washington
D.C.), recorded March 14, 2009. Modern Lovers cover.

The Good Earth CD/LP reissue track listing:
Side One:
1. On The Roof
2. The High Road
3. The Last Roundup
4. Slipping (Into Something)
5. When Company Comes
Side Two:
6. Let's Go
7. Two Rooms
8. The Good Earth
9. Tomorrow Today
10. Slow Down

The Good Earth bonus tracks.
1. She Said, She Said - originally on the "No One Knows" vinyl EP on
Coyote Records through Twin/Tone Records (US). Beatles cover.
2. Sedan Delivery - originally on the "No One Knows" vinyl EP on
Coyote Records through Twin/Tone Records (US). Neil Young cover.
3. Slipping (Into Something) (Live) - From the 9:30 Club (Washington
D.C.), recorded March 14, 2009.

Download cards will be included in each respective CD & LP reissue.
The full album + bonus tracks will be included on each. Domino will
be the hosting site for the downloads as they have the rights to the
albums outside the U.S. & Canada.

Bar/None's LP reissues were mastered by Andy VanDette at Masterdisk in NYC
www.masterdisk.com
Pressings will be handled by Rainbo Records and will be 180 gram
www.rainborecords.com

Original tapes were unfortunately not found. Andreas Meyer from Tangerine Mastering used
digital files for both.

Tapes obtained from the band were used for the Fa cé-La [single
version], The Boy With The Perpetual Nervousness [Carla Bley demo
version] and Moscow Nights [Carla Bley demo version]. The live tracks
were recorded by their live sound engineer Andy Peters.

Insound will be exclusively carrying a limited
edition 7" reissue of the original "Fa cé-La" single. www.insound.com
Side A:
Fa cé-La (single version)
Side B:
Raised Eyebrows (album version)

Pressing for this single will also be handled by Rainbo Records.
Street date for the single is TBD.

big news here is the Carla Bley demo versions, or at least that's what I'm most interested in. definitely support removing "paint it black" from crazy rhythms -- a nice version, but not necessary at the end of that record. Good Earth bonus tracks = not very exciting, since I've already heard those covers. also still pretty unsure about the 2009 live material -- I'm sure they're good, but I can't help but feel they don't belong here.

Wish they'd re-release the studio version of 'I Wanna Sleep in Your Arms." I think it was on a single/EP with "Raised Eyebrows" and "Fa Ce La."

i think the studio version of "I wanna sleep in your arms" comes from a later version of the band, around Time For A Witness ...

yeah: http://www.thefeeliesweb.com/disc/singles3.htm

but anyway, too bad that my dream of a Crazy Rhythms-era live comp will remain just a dream for the time being. Guess we'll just have to stick with bootlegs!

wait wait demos with CARLA BLEY? of all ppl?

well, they were recorded at her studio -- dunno if she was actually involved otherwise, or even present ...

what's REALLY annoying is that the "Obedient Atom" is nowhere to be found --
"DAVE: We spend three days recording "The Obedient Atom" in Carla Bley's studio. It was an instrumental with some chanting at the end. When Stiff heard that, their hair started falling out. "Is this what the next album is going to sound like?"
from here http://www.furious.com/perfect/ooloo.html

oh, and there i was trying to work out with bley arrangements

oh, and there i was trying to work out what they'd sound like with bley arrangements

No no, go back to "Aerobics with Carla Bley" please.

lol

i can kind of imagine a Carla Bley workout vid
http://www.mantlermusic.com/Artists/carla_bley.jpg
sweatin' it to the ... what?

sweatin' it to the feelies

with instructions by paul haines

Free Jazzercise

"Okay so by now your ab crunches in 14/5 time have gone arrythmic. Don't repeat this for ten minutes, but keep going."

"remember: the exercise you don't do can be as important as the exercise you do."

"And...unbreathe."

Just got the reissues in the mail. Marvellous sound and of course, hey, it's the Feelies' first two albums, naturally they're great.

My ears are jealous of yours Ned. Can't wait to hear these - my cassette of Crazy Rhythms was on its last legs years ago (and the rip I have just isn't up to snuff).

Hey Ned, can you describe how different it sounds from previous editions ? I hope it doesn't sound too big.

Not at all, if anything I think it captures the subtleties better than ever -- the opening of "The Boy With Perpetual Nervousness" actually surprised me!

This is what I was hoping for.
Its like the remastered version of "Here come the warm jets", when I finally had the chance a lot of details previously drowned by hiss.

:D can't wait! (also, still lol-ing over Carla Bley as fitness instructor)

Thanks Ned. Excited !

yeah, super-excited to hear the cleaned up sound on these -- Both of those records are so textured and subtle. Even Good Earth, which seems more straightforward the Crazy Rhythms, has all of these layers of sound happening on every song.

Holy crap, I wasn't actually expecting this to be so good.

wishing i was at ATP tonight to see these guys! in the meantime, I'm in the process of putting together a live Feelies covers comp for http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/ here's a list of covers i've come up with

Funtime (Iggy Pop)
Real Cool Time (Stooges)
Little Red Book (Love/Bacharach)
Looking At You (MC5)
I’m A Believer (Monkees)
Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey (Beatles)
Third Uncle (Brian Eno)
King's Lead Hat (Brian Eno)
Run Run Run/European Son/What Goes On (Velvet Underground)
She Said She Said (Beatles)
Fun To Be Happy (Love Tractor)
Sedan Delivery (Neil Young)
Egyptian Reggae (Jonathan Richman)
Head Held High (Velvet Underground)
Tomorrow Today (Beatles)
Mannequin (Wire)
See No Evil (Television)
Outdoor Miner (Wire)
Roadrunner (Modern Lovers)
Dancing Barefoot (Patti Smith)
We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together (Velvet Underground)
Powderfinger (Neil Young)
Take It As It Comes (Doors)
I Wanna Sleep In Your Arms (Jonathan Richman)
Barstool Blues (Neil Young)
Paint It Black (Rolling Stones)
White Light White Heat (Velvet Underground)
Carnival of Sorts (REM)
Sunday Morning (Velvet Underground)

Ones I don't have in bold -- can anyone help a feelies nerd out here?

Tomorrow Today (Beatles)?

Let me check, Tyler, but I think I have the Take It As It Comes cover somewhere.
Also, just for the record, apparently during their last Italian tour they played Marquee Moon - or so I'm told!

Marquee Moon, really? That'd be wild. I don't know what "Tomorrow Today" is referring to -- my reference for that list is mostly over here: http://www.thefeeliesweb.com/disc/boot2.htm

and Marco if you can dig up that Doors cover, that'd be much appreciated! Weird that they covered the Doors, kinda.

One of many things jumping out at me while listening to the remasters is that on the first album, vocals owe a bigger debt to J. Richman than I remembered. The mutation into Lou Reed Jr. comes w/The Good Earth.

I'm kind of praying that a Yung Wu remaster is going to come at some point...

Lastly, the recording on "Last Roundup" is crazy amazing. Probably the best track to hear the double-drum sound in action. It sounds more like them live than anything else I've heard on their albums.

haven't gotten the remasters yet (busy times!) but I'm glad that they're getting the thumbs up regarding the sound quality. i will get them soon!

tyler I need to check when I get home on Monday but I might have Head Held High.

hey tyler, just let me have your e-mail and I'll send you the Doors cover! (it is obviously a super-fast, punkified version etc).

you can send it to tywilc AT gmail DOT com -- Thanks dudes! This is IMPORTANT!

"tomorrow today" is a feelies song, maybe the best on the slow earth. "how can you go home? . . . it's better talking . . . we get excited . . . i fall apart again." one of my favorites of theirs. do you mean "tomorrow never knows"?

ha, yr right -- blanked on that title ....

actually does anyone have a halfway decent recording of the REM cover? mine is craptastic from the tribute concert ... performance is good, but ....

heyo, looks like NYCT Taper answered my request! Neat -- I <3 the internet! (Also thanks to Marco for hooking me up w/ the Doors cover, which they seem to have resurrected here. Are they reading this thread?)

http://www.nyctaper.com/?p=1650 link

Whoever wrote that NYC Taper bit neglected to mention that the band went on at 8:30 and did a languid and lethargic 35 minute first set. The set included some of my faves from "The Good Earth" but they were played so joylessly that I wished they hadn't even bothered.

After a lengthy break they came on and got busy with some classic jittery Feelies songs. It was almost as if it was a completely different band. They were energetic and angaging. It's almost like that 1/2 break between sets was so long because they were waiting for the drugs to arrive. Seriously, the disparity was remarkable.

I will say that the double whammy of "Raised Eyebrows" into "Crazy Rhythms" that ended the second set was nothing short of remarkable though.

were they doing a semi-acoustic thing for the first set like they did at the Whitney earlier this summer? not sure why they bother with that tbh -- Feelies aren't really about mellowing out.

If semi-acoustic means Bill Millions with a 12 string acoustic guitar then I guess so.

Nice enough review of the reissues in Pitchfork. The last two paragraphs are completely correct. I'm not clear on when The Good Earth's reputation took such a dive...it seemed huge enough (in 80's east coast college terms) when I was at an east coast college in the 80's.

I wasn't aware that "the good earth's" reputation has been sullied. This is the first I've heard that said but, if Pitchfork says it, it must be true.