Forever Breathes The Lonely Word

Thanks to the people at Creation Records and vocalist Laurence Felt's recorded output is all being reissued on CD. With guitarist Maurice Deebank in tow the band produced some wonderful pieces of music but then he left the band and many thought that would be the end, but the exact opposite happened.

This is my favorite Felt album. This and Poem of the River are my favourite pieces of Felt music. It is almost ambient in its delivery. Martin Duffy's Hammond organ is prevalent throughout. This was a band at the peak of their creative musical powers. This should have been their breakthrough into the mainstream. If you love bands like the Go-Betweens/House of Love you will find this irresistable. Producer John A Rivers worked with many bands of the Felt era, remember Bradford? But this piece of work was his masterpiece. Turn the lights off, put the headphones on and listen, you will not be disappointed. As the previous reviewer has pointed out, Felt came up with some great songtitles but the music contained within maintained a very rare quality - good songwriting never dies, it just never sells commercially. If you only own one Felt album make sure it is this one. There is a timeless quality about it. For the singles you can buy 'Stains on a Decade', but be prepared to listen to some of the most joyful music of the 1980s.

I missed most of the 1980s really, catching the tail end between The Mission & A Guy Called Gerald- however, I fell in love with Felt when I heard a reissue of the classic Primitive Painters single (you know the one with them Cocteau Twins on) & the compilation of the time, Absolute Classic Masterpieces. Having been working in a record shop I had bought loads of stuff & hadn't got round to listening to it- browsing through the piles I found an album with a cover that was very 4AD. This was the 1990 Creation reissue of 1986's Forever Breathes the Lonely Word. Now Cherry Red are re-releasing Felt's back catalogue, as well as a new compilation that provides an ideal introduction to the joys of Felt...

There are a few bands that Felt sound a BIT like, though it's more than other way round, but if you're world includes things like Blue Orchids, Belle&Sebastian, Television, Only Ones, The Fall, Pulp,Go Betweens, Josef K, Luke Haines, & Furniture etc...then it's big enough to appreicate the joys of Felt.

Every track remains a joy, fans of both hammond organs and Martin Duffy (Primal Scream/Charlatans)should also have a ball. Felt had some of the best TITLES alone, as with Mark E and The Smiths the songs were as good. The highlight here remains 'All of the People I Like Are Those That Are Dead', which ties in with Felt existing in a decade that mainman Lawrence loathed (further credence is given by Lawrence's next project Denim, that referenced 70s and 90s music!). & the songs sentiments have been fairly real with people like Warren Zevon, Johnny Cash, Billy Mackenzie & Adrian Borland passing...Great pop outsider music that remains one of my favourite albums; the crop of Felt reissues are a joy, though people should note that the Denim and Go Kart Mozart records are also well worth owning (& then there's a rumoured solo record that's been described as Lawrence's Blood on the Tracks!). Felt are cult heroes & probably the Velvet Underground/Big Star of their respective decade; & at this price this is screaming good value!

Rating: 8.5/10

Best songs: "Rain of Crystal Spires", "September Lady", "Down But Not Yet Out", "A Wave Crashed on Rocks"

A great Felt album, Forever Breathes the Lonely Word was the band's sixth LP and a return to traditional songs after the delightful instrumental interludes of Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death; organist Martin Duffy well and truly proves his worth as a fine replacement for Lawrence's erstwhile creative partner Maurice Deebank (who left the band in 1984), delivering jaunty, wonderful keyboard lines over the jingliest and jangliest of guitars. Those guitars by the way, are provided by lyricist and singer Lawrence, who is something approaching stunning form on this album. His voice isn't technically amazing, but he has real character and personality to his vocals, and he knows how to use what he has got to wonderful effect; I'll take that over your textbook `talented' voices any day of the week. His chemistry with Duffy on this album was never bettered, before or since.

"Rain of Crystal Spires" is a terrific opener; the guitars glisten and sparkle and contribute to one of the brightest melodies the band ever created; of all the songs Felt made in their post-Deebank years, this one's the absolute best. No wonder it was selected as a single, which was quite a rarity for a band who preferred to keep their albums and singles as separate entities; still, just one listen to this absolute gem of a song and you can see why it was given A-side status. Almost as good is the buoyant "Down But Not Yet Out" which crackles with energy and heavenly music from start to finish; to be honest, there's a memorable guitar hook that's used in both of these opening songs, as well as "Grey Streets", but the effect isn't repetitive, as the hook in question is so damn good that it's worth hearing more than once. "September Lady" boasts some of the sweetest `aaahhh' backing vocals, glorious guitars, a swirling, romantic feel....this album is addictive stuff, believe me! "Grey Streets" closes off a more or less faultless first side with countless wonderful moments throughout; one of the fastest paced and infectiously exciting Felt songs around, and that's a fact.

The second side offers calmer respite, and even though three of the four songs here aren`t quite as great as those on the first side, there's still some lovely music to behold here . "All the People I Like are Those That are Dead" is appropriately ghostly and atmospheric, while "Gather Up Your Wings and Fly" has some sweet moments and the wonderful "A Wave Crashed on Rocks" is one of the band's best ballads. The closing "Hours of Darkness Have Changed My Mind" is probably the least memorable thing here, but it still flows by very pleasantly indeed.

Overall, this is yet another excellent album from a wonderful band; the first side in particular is worthy of classic status in itself, while the second side showcase the dreamier, woozier side to Felt very nicely.