When was the last time Tim Sendra listened to the Good Earth by the feelies?

And it's one thing to dis the Good Earth(which of course, is insane), but Fa Ce La is far from the best thing on Crazy Rhythms.

you are right.

http://www.tt.net/coyote/projects/8673.html

or wait for the reissues I heard they may be doing with Bar None?

He is?

But, Dan's right. The album is remarkable as a whole. And many of the other tracks contain are far more cohesive and singular in comparison to fa ce la.

It's one of my favorite albums of the 80s.

but yeah, listening to "Fa Ce La" outside of the context of the rest of Crazy Rhythms might give you a misguided impression. There, they sound like the quintessential quirky rock band. On other tracks—"Original Love," "Moscow Nights" and "Forces At Work"—there's a real malevolent energy that offsets the hyper energy of "Fa Ce La" and the title track and others. Those songs are more "Little Johnny Jewel" than "Roadrunner." I love it all, though.

I prefer the Feelies debut to everything else they did because of those "crazy rhythms" but saying they should've broken up after that is lame. actually, they DID break up after that, and then reunited.

Time For A Witness is so underrated. So many hooks, and so many great guitar parts.

-- Ned Raggett (ne...)

Ahem.

Compared to the wispy jangle rock that passed for much of college radio at the time, the Feelies proposed a different path with the songs' steady pace and murkier feeling.

By the way, what was the Amy Philips/Sonic Youth fiasco?

I really hope this is true, Dan.

Amy wrote a Sonic Youth review for the Voice I think where she said they should just break up already.

What most of the old people found funny was either the gall of her saying that, or that she referred to such classics as Washing Machine, when there was and is a large portion of Sonic Youth fans who gave up after Goo. Or Daydream Nation. Or Sister. Or Evol. Or Bad Moon Rising. Or Confusion is Sex. Or...you get the idea.

Seriously though, give another listen. I loved Crazy Rhythms and dismissed the Good Earth for years. Now I think I prefer it! The back-to-back placement of The Last Round Up and Slipping Into Something alone would dismiss any ideas that it's just a folky college rock record.

yes! this has occured to me as well.

another feelies tidbit:

in the late 70s version of the rolling stone illustrated history of rock and roll crazy rhythms is in the "sound of manhattan" discography under the "and the beat goes on: the rock/jazz/funk/disco fusion" heading along w/james chance, james "blood" ulmer, august darnell and machine, but they aren't mentioned once in the article!

were feelies really lumped w/that camp? they are sorta aligned w/vu+eno ->modern lovers+television+talking heads in my head, but there are those crazy rhythms!

If I remember correctly, the Raincoats are also included in a discography for the UK punk chapter, but are never mentioned in the article itself, either.

Feelies bonus tracks - is the Rough Trade single version of "Fa Ce La" any different from the album version? If so, I'd like to see it added to a reissue. There's also a bunch of A&M singles/promos the band did around 1988-1991 with unique cuts on them (mostly covers of the Modern Lovers, Patti Smith, Neil Young...)

came across an old copy of Feel Good About Your Body the other day, cleaning house...totally prophetic about Stereolab!

Anton Fier was in the Styrenes back in Cleveland.

According to Dee Xtrovert from the "1st 100 Rough Trade Singles - What's Not On CD?" thread (actually from an email s/he sent me):

"According to the Feelies themselves, these are the
same versions as on "Crazy Rhythms" except that they
were mastered very differently and one of them (I
think "Raised Eyebrows") was edited somewhat. Bill
Million said, "They're the same, just a little
different." And according to Rough Trade founder
Geoff Travis, the band was so loony mastering and
mixing and wasting studio time that he let them go (to
Stiff) since he was scared they'd bankrupt RT. These
"versions" are not on CD, but I didn't include them
since they are apparently the same recorded versions,
just different sounding."

To me, they sound quite different, but I could see how they could be essentially the same mix.

...which should also include these things mentioned here in this old New York Rocker article:

WINTER 76-77
A single is cut at Trod Nossel Studios in Connecticut for Ork Records. Jon Tiven is at the controls. The songs are "Forces at Work" b/w "Original Love" and the Feelies don't like the results. The single never comes out.

SUMMER 77
The Feelies return to Trod Nossel this time with Mark Abel producing.

BILL: "It was a real scary place, we were afraid to go up there. It took up two months to psyche ourselves up." The songs are "Fe Ca La" b/w "Big Plans." The Feelies are to be part of a massive deal that Ork has made with Polygram. There will also be singles by Alex Chilton and the Cramps. The results this time are impressive but...

WINTER 77-78
The records never come out. Ork deal with Polygram falls through and there's no money for pressings. When Ork finally gets the money up, it's too late. The Feelies don't like the tapes anymore. They feel their sound has changed.

and this, which still doesn't clear up how different the single is from the album version:

SPRING 1979
Demos are recorded at Carla Bley's studio, an attractive press package assembled, and the Feelies start trying to hustle a deal with Roger Trilling acting as a liason.

SUMMER 1979
Rough Trade releases two of the Carla Bley demos, "Fe Ca La" b/w "Raised Eyebrows," to mixed critical response. (The same version of "Raised Eyebrows" appears on the album slightly remixed.) Finally Stiff takes the plunge and the story begins...

Classic autumn day today here in New England. I just got back from the front stoop where I enjoyed a beautiful cup of coffee and a spin of "The Good Earth." Something about the changing leaves and crisp air that bring out the best of that record.

My vinyl copy still sounds great.

Yup, one of the classic seasonal albums for sure.
Saw the Feelies in Boston last week. It was like they never went away, they were so good.

so jealous of you guys who have seen the feelies this year. guess i'm just going to have to bite the bullet and fly out to the east coast for one of these shows ...

I like this record a lot; it sounds great sequenced after the new Arthur Russell comp.

no kidding! i'll definitely have to pick that one up then.

so jealous of you guys who have seen the feelies this year. guess i'm just going to have to bite the bullet and fly out to the east coast for one of these shows ...
Well, a couple of band members hinted that this tour wasn't the end of their comeback. "We promise it won't be another 17 years," Brenda Sauter told the crowd.
They played two new songs, so I think an album and a supporting tour is a distinct possibility.

yeah, for them, playing boston was probably a big step! so maybe there'll be some more activity next year ...