The Feelies - The Good Earth

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release
Soundclips

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

It took The Feelies 6 years to follow up 'Crazy Rhythms' and following half the band leaving and various side projects (Yung Wu, The Willies, The Trypes) they re-converged with a new line up and a sound that owed a bit more to the college rock as purveyed by the likes of REM (whose Peter Buck co -produced). Yet still The Feelies have a wonderfully distinctive sound. 'The Good Earth' is a much more laid back pastoral affair - the playing is less nervy and the melodies much richer and more embellishments such as pianos and percussion. If 'Crazy Rhythms' was the sound of teenagers high on caffeine (or something stronger) manically strumming in a New York basement, 'The Good Earth' was the sound of grown up people playing music they love. Once again The Velvet Underground loom large over the sound - 3 or 4 chords are just enough - the vocals this time are way buried in the mix giving the album a mysterious almost murky feel rather like REM circa 'Fables of the Reconstruction' but with a much more simple, heartfelt aesthetic and lack of pretension. 'The Good Earth' doesn't hit the heights of their debut, being more linear and more predictable, yet even on this offering The Feelies should be counted alongside Felt and The Go Betweens and as one of the great unsung '80's bands.

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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.