Felt -- Classic or dud??

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Not all messages are displayed: show all messages (279 of them)

Np: the utter classic: from Felt: Primitive Painters [Felt with Liz Cocteau]

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:44 (twenty years ago) link

i know this was an independent chart hit, but only it had daytime play on radio 1 at the time, it would have been a top 40 hit!

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:46 (twenty years ago) link

cheers!

― pulpo, Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:46 (twenty years ago) link

(what horrible gothick backing vox from E. Fraser tho'!)

― pulpo, Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:48 (twenty years ago) link

i love 80s goth though !

watch out for vintage footage of The Cocteau Twins on Whistle Test tonite!

The Whistle Test Years: 1984 / 1985

Reminder tonight on BBC 2 it's a trip down memory lane as The Whistle Test years, cover 1984 and 1985.

The Whistle Test Years
Thu 12 Jun, 11:50 pm - 12:30 am 40mins

It's 1984 and 1985 this week with music from REM, Billy Bragg, Lou Reed, Sade, Cocteau Twins, Everything But the Girl, The Kane Gang, The Pogues and Suzanne Vega.

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:51 (twenty years ago) link

a namecheck for ILMs Robin Carmody on the show shocka!!!

lawrence sounding like a tweed jacketed lecturer shocka!!!

― pulpo, Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:54 (twenty years ago) link

short interview

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:56 (twenty years ago) link

Really? In what context was RC namechecked?

― Nicole (Nicole), Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:58 (twenty years ago) link

Liz Kershaw "we have a go kart mozart review here that is almost difficult to read it's so enthusiastic - I'll give it to you to take away, but first let me read out the concluding phrase (reads bit about how people who think lawrence is mad probably stick up for the sanity of prince charles) have you heard of robin carmody?"

Lawrence says not but seems impressed by quote

Liz Kershaw says birmingham 'Bullring' shopping centre(?) mentioned in review, Lawrence talks about how much he likes it.

― pulpo, Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:06 (twenty years ago) link

did they ask him if he's ever going to finish another fucking record?

it's on the way... "and has nearly finished the second Go-Kart Mozart album, to be released in the Autumn"

More Go-Kart Mozart? That doesn't really answer Jim's question... when is another record coming out?

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:09 (twenty years ago) link

I'm sure the interview will be on the listen again section in a few days for all interested parties.

― pulpo, Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:11 (twenty years ago) link

BLIMEY Robin must be chuffed! I think they'd get on quite well actually.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:11 (twenty years ago) link

I saw Lawrence having a drink with Vic Godard and Mark Perry the other week. He had a big hat on. I didn't go up and say hello.

Bull Ring Shopping Centre: brutalist classic. Is it still there? I think we (me & Cozen & Skidmore) had a little row about this at an FAP the same weekend.

Chuffed for Robin.

― Tim (Tim), Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:24 (twenty years ago) link

hehe look !
this thread was started more than 2 and a half years ago.

― piscesboy, Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:28 (twenty years ago) link

That's grand for Robin! :-)

Gosh, Nicole, I thought I had sent a note on the reissues around. Remind me to double check on my news-informing abilities, they might be staler than I imagined. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:29 (twenty years ago) link

I saw Lawrence having a drink with Vic Godard and Mark Perry the other week. He had a big hat on.

But Tim, was it a trucker hat? This is U&K.

― Nicole (Nicole), Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:31 (twenty years ago) link

No it was somewhere between a fishing hat and a pith helmet. But he looked pretty good in it.

― Tim (Tim), Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:36 (twenty years ago) link

''Liz Kershaw "we have a go kart mozart review here that is almost difficult to read it's so enthusiastic - I'll give it to you to take away, but first let me read out the concluding phrase (reads bit about how people who think lawrence is mad probably stick up for the sanity of prince charles) have you heard of robin carmody?"''

:-)

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:44 (twenty years ago) link

Actually, all interviewers everywhere should start asking music people "Have you ever heard of Robin Carmody?"

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:46 (twenty years ago) link

Stains on a Decade is the Compilation-but its really disappointindg. I thought it would be a compilation of all the Felt singles, but its only a very wayward selection by Lawrence. Felt are the best band ever (my eighties obsession) but how will anyone know if the songs aren't available. Why are compilations so random (eg Blondie comps always have the dull later stuff like the Tide is High rather than Fan Mail or Man Overboard) No wonder people make CDrs for their own amusement. Lawrence! Release ALL singles now. Put Felt to bed and get on with it. Then I'll be happy.

― Liliya, Friday, 13 June 2003 06:45 (twenty years ago) link

but isn't it the case that all the singles
on 'stains...' aren't on albums ? so they will
al come out one way or another ?

― piscesboy, Friday, 13 June 2003 08:04 (twenty years ago) link

aren't the Absolutely Classic Masterpieces CDs still in print though?

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Friday, 13 June 2003 08:08 (twenty years ago) link

the cherry red one is, the creation one aint. All the cherry red felt albums are still in print, the main good thing abt the reissues is that the creation ones will now be available again. and that means poem of the river!

am still smiling over how much lawrence sounded like a bumbling, eager to please history teacher.

― pulpo, Friday, 13 June 2003 08:54 (twenty years ago) link

thought he sounded unusually friendly
and surprisingly brummie.

― piscesboy, Friday, 13 June 2003 09:34 (twenty years ago) link

four months pass...

Somebody please tell me what 'Poem of the River' sounds like compared to their other stuff. It has real songs with vocals and everything?

All of the reissues are out now (except 'Strange Idols' I believe), and I just ordered 'Ignite the Seven Canons' and 'Forever Breathes the Lonely Word.'

― Patrick South (Patrick South), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 19:48 (twenty years ago) link

i was interested to note he said in Ucunt that he had three albums on the go (how about he damn well release one of them?).. i'm most interested in the one that's meant to be his "Berlin"..

― the surface noise (electricsound), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 00:35 (twenty years ago) link

truculent pout and heartbeat drums! (i put 'birdmen' on a tape the other day. it was so good. i'm asking myself whether or not i should get the reissues because it seems wrong to have two albums on one release. record companies shouldn't split things up or mush them together.)

― youn, Wednesday, 29 October 2003 00:44 (twenty years ago) link

SURELY he cannot keep up dangling for NewLawrenceProduct for rest of eternity? Poem Of The River I got on CD in outlet shop as one of two-for-99p! thing a couple of years back, it's very mic-in-sock is it not? I only listened once but I'm thinking maybe not their finest hour.

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 00:46 (twenty years ago) link

it couldn't possibly be worse than "index". first time i heard it i thought it had to be some kind of horrible pisstake.

― the surface noise (electricsound), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:47 (twenty years ago) link

i love index(i even own the original!)!And Poem Of The River is great! I love it all. I'm mad i tell you! the dvd on the other hand, well, it's of historical interest. the sound and picture are a little sad. oh well. oh, i forgot. Classic! Greatest band of the last 25 years. and Denim are a close second. maybe.

― scott seward, Wednesday, 29 October 2003 02:31 (twenty years ago) link

Poem Of The River is fine. Not unlike Forever Breathes the Lonely Word, with the burbly organ, relatively crisp production etc.

Classic btw! But this is not something I can debate rationally - the best bits just add up to something rather more than the some of their parts.

― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 04:12 (twenty years ago) link

Er, sum of their parts.

― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 04:13 (twenty years ago) link

Agreed - "Poem of the river" is up there as my favourite Felt album, I've never thought the production was bad, OK, the first two tracks are in mono, but who cares? It's just a perfect album from end to end.

― Rob M (Rob M), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 08:38 (twenty years ago) link

Yes, its fine. If you like "Forever Breathes" you'll probably like it too. It's not quite as "rounded" tho'...and the production is a bit muffly.

― flowersdie (flowersdie), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 09:54 (twenty years ago) link

poem of thye river is THE best felt lp i reckon. perfect reconciliation of the splendour of fear open ended mood pop and the hammond splashed creation stuff. i have a huge problem understanding people binding about mayo thompsons production. to me it sound CRYSTALLINE.

― cw (cww), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 10:24 (twenty years ago) link

christs.81 posts in 3 years. this is like a microcosm of lawrence's career...

― cw (cww), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 11:49 (twenty years ago) link

It's not very symmetrical though.

― flowersdie (flowersdie), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 12:10 (twenty years ago) link

give it time...

― cw (cww), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 12:15 (twenty years ago) link

But it doesn't include the word "The" in every post either.

― Rob M (Rob M), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 12:37 (twenty years ago) link

okay okay. but let's just try and get this thread to 300 posts by tomorrow....

― cw (cww), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 13:49 (twenty years ago) link

I've been trying to get into Felt but they don't seem very available in the US. Are these reissues you mentioned out here, and if so where are they available? Amazon.com has a two-fer of The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories/Ignite the Seven Cannons ($16 though!!) Is that worth it?

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 14:42 (twenty years ago) link

strange idols pattern and other short stories is one of the best cherry red era pop efforts (moodier & more of-it's-time than their creation artifacts) , ignite the 7 cannons is quite weak on account of shocking robin guthrie production, but it has primitive painters on it which is worth any number of $$$s. not the best introduction, i'd hang out for one of the compilations ideally: bubblegum perfume preferably or absolute classic masterpieces. stains on a decade even... avoid me and a monkey on the moon like the plague though!

― cw (cww), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 14:52 (twenty years ago) link

Clairecords stocks some of the reissues -- check www.tonevendor.com. I don't think all of the originals have been rereleased yet, but they should be out by ultimo December at least.

― desolert (desolate), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 16:24 (twenty years ago) link

me and a monkey on the moon is great!! one of the best records of the last 25 years. buy it now! and everything else too until you have bought them all. did i mention Felt are classic? please read my review of go-kart mozart's album on the village voice website too. it's a classic review! of a classic album!! you should own it already. And Back In Denim AND Denim On Ice!! They are both classic. in fact, if you look up the word classic in the dictionary you will find a picture of Lawrence!

― scott seward, Wednesday, 29 October 2003 18:14 (twenty years ago) link

i was disappointed by 'me and a monkey..." on the first few listens...didn't care much for the production & thought the songs were weak. but after a bit of time i came to love it. the lyrics are definitely some of his most affecting...all in all it seems a perfect way to end the band...and once again he's uncannily prescient in his anticipation of future musical trends; what other indie bands were using pedal steel at that time?

it's really tough to choose, but i think 'poem of the river' very well may be my favorite. 'forever breathes...' is usually singled out as the masterpiece, but i think that 'poem', coming later as it did in the catalog, is a more mature effort overall. i love the lyrics on 'forever', but sometimes they are a tad too precious/pretentious. and musically, i appreciate the more subdued, subtle vibe of 'poem'.

the opening bars of 'silver plane' kill me every time. god, that guitar tone...and then the friggin' hammond rhodes...there's something just so smoooooooth about the way that song kicks in.

'she lives by the castle' is incredible. 'dark red birds' is one of the most beautiful moments to be found on a felt record. 'stained glass windows in the sky' marries the lyrical imagery to the music to wonderful effect; by the end of the song i really feel like i'm sittin right up there on the rooftop with lawrence, watching the raindrops reflecting all the city lights...

i also have a big place in my heart for 'pictorial jackson review'; well, the non-instrumental side, anyway. (i dig most of duffy's instrumentals quite a bit; but that side is just kinda an overlong downer) ...the lovely guitar bit at the beginning of 'ivory past', the blatant lou reedisms/dylanisms in almost every song... and the giddy feeling of 'christopher st.' yeah...what a great one. lyrically, lawrence seems to be most 'lawrence' on this record; if that makes any sense...it's a distillation of all of his previous musings, complaints, defiancy, resignation, romanticism, etc.

what do you folks hear as influences on duffy's instrumentals? i know they vary widely in style...but in at least a couple of them, keith jarrett comes to mind...

― Dallas Yertle (Dallas Yertle), Thursday, 30 October 2003 02:11 (twenty years ago) link

I've never understood the hate directed towards "Me and a Monkey". I've always found it very touching. It's a very good summing up by Lawrence of the Felt past, and has some lovely tunes. I think I heard that some of the songs were "Poem of the River" out takes. Bubblegum Perfume I have a problem with, (its basically just all the short Felt songs recorded during the Creation period) and doesn't give the whole picture by any means, and is certainly not where I'd reccommend anyone to start listening with. I'd still say FBTLW is the best introduction, with The Splendour of Fear undeniably a treat from the Cherry Red era.

― flowersdie (flowersdie), Thursday, 30 October 2003 12:51 (twenty years ago) link

jeremy! i don't HATE me and a monkey on the moon! it's just a little workmanlike and it give the impression lawrence is actually TRYING whereas the best felt is always effortless sounding. plus the presence of journeymen like pere astor, throb etc. gives it an 80's indierock supergroup feel i'm not too keen on... the 1st 2 songs are undeniably great... but that lawrencestory about a pub rock combo from the outer hebradies covering new day dawning just sums it up for me... i don't think he does anything on that record tat isn't executed better on back in denim...other than that, it's just a cherry red/creation records - tomato/tomato kinda distinction...anyway, more importantly, where can you get the dvd from???

― cw (cww), Thursday, 30 October 2003 13:53 (twenty years ago) link

three months pass...

what do people think of Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death? Short, instrumental, poppy, I really like this record and was surprised to read a scathing AMG review of it.

― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Friday, 13 February 2004 20:32 (twenty years ago) link

Let The Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death is classic!!! One of the greatest instrumental l.p.'s of the last 25 years. whoever wrote that review is deaf, blind, AND dumb.

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 13 February 2004 20:36 (twenty years ago) link

Tommy?

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Friday, 13 February 2004 20:43 (twenty years ago) link

Skipping 179 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

It wasn’t super-common but also by no means unheard-of, most often involving acts who were more or less 60s / beat inspired - off the top of my head you can expect to hear organ on records by the likes of the Prisoners, Makin’ Time, TVPs, Jasmine Minks, bit later on the Sea Urchins, Inspiral Carpets.

― Tim, Wednesday, 21 December 2022 19:33 (one year ago) link

Interesting, though if Duffy was using a Hammond, that's a lot more trouble to take on the road than a more compact "garage-rock" style organ.

― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 21 December 2022 21:13 (one year ago) link

Identify the keyboard, nerds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuXIMylGQKo

― everything, Thursday, 22 December 2022 06:36 (one year ago) link

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.