The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms

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5...according to our Clinton on Thu 10 Sep, 2009.

Oh my god oh my god. First up re-issues of one of my favourite albums of all time. I was a naive 16 year old when I escaped from a horrific family holiday at Center Parcs to travel to Cambridge in order to seek out record shops. In one of them I purchased a vinyl copy of an album by The Feelies. I'd read that they were a kind of halfway house between the Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, the Modern Lovers and REM and once I got it home I wasn't disappointed. Almost 20 years later out of nowhere Domino have decided to re-issue the first two albums by this legendary band and its a shock to hear how incredible they sound. Their first album the aptly named 'Crazy Rhythms' was released in 1980 and is a bundle of nervous energy. The edgy yet melodic songs have a minimalist approach in that not a chord is wasted and the songs are allowed to build and breathe. The guitars are strummy and dry, vocals are somewhere between Lou Reed and Ian Curtis - a deep dark delivery, half spoken, half sung. The wonderful 'Loveless Love' (later covered by The Field Mice) is probably one of the finest examples of minimalism as an art form within the pop structure. Yet they are also capable of 3 minutes of pure guitar pop music such as the fabulous 'Original Love' - an adrenaline rush of guitar strums so ecstatic that there's nothing else left for me to do but throw myself out the window with utter glee. 'Raised Eyebrows' is another Feelies classic- choppy drums, the usual wonderful guitar interplay, instrumental until an on rush of scattershot vocals, wonderful drumming as the song explodes into life. Fantastic stuff. I can't recommend this record enough. It comes on CD and vinyl both with mp3 bonus tracks as to not ruin the original flow of the record. A 100% classic.

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• Domino are proud to re-release two classic albums by The
Feelies, that critically acclaimed crew of hyperactive alt rockers from
Haledon, New Jersey that had such a powerful influence on the
sound of indie music 1980s and beyond.
• Their debut release ‘Crazy Rhythms’ is a masterwork of perfectly
honed minimalist rock that leaps and darts into the corners of the
listener’s consciousness, a true sonic tour de force that Rolling Stone
deemed one of the “100 Best Albums of the 1980s”.
• Fans of the Velvet Underground, Wire and Brian Eno’s early
solo work will surely appreciate the “forces at work” (to quote a song
title) on this masterpiece.
• Their follow-up recording, ‘The Good Earth’, came some six years later
co-produced by Feelies’ co-regents Glenn Mercer and Bill Million
with REM’s Peter Buck (a Feelies admirer since his days as a record
store clerk).
• ‘The Good Earth’ was an early release on Coyote Records, the label
founded and run Steve Fallon, also the original owner of famed
Hoboken indie rock mecca, Maxwell’s. This album introduced the
line-up that continues to this day.
• Both albums feature deluxe packaging (CD and vinyl LP) with
liner notes by Jim DeRogatis and Jim Sullivan respectively.
• As the band considers each album to be a discrete aesthetic artifact,
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.