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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I first heard that the original members of The Feelies were playing together again in 2009, I assumed this was likely to be an occasional event, never expecting that, without fanfare, they would have album ready for release a little less than two years later. But then the Fellies have never played by the rules. Even at the height of their fame in the mid-80's they were deliberately low key, taking their own time between albums, and splintering into side projects like the Trypes inbetween. And when they made their last album 'Time For a Witness' in 1991 they never officially broke up either. Bill Million retired from the music scene while the others all had various projects going. (Check out their bassist Brenda Sauter's band WILD CARNATIONS- who continued with the kind of ecstatic guitar music the Feelies made). I gather it was Million's return to wanting to play music again that led to this reunion, because only months before the 2009 reunion Glen Mercer the Feelies' other mainstay had just released his first solo album (also superb). And how timely that Domino Records reissued two of their best albums CRAZY RHTHYMS & THE GOOD EARTH at the same time. (Their debut Crazy Rhythm relased in 1980 has a slightly different line up, and although that album is considered their masterpeice, I much prefer their mid-80's line up with Sauter on base, and two percussionists- Stan Deminski and Dave Weckerman. This line up made 3 albums together, before this one 19 years later)
Ths album is very much in keeping with what has gone before and if you have never heard them before, think Velvet Underground + Modern Lovers + Talking Heads, although The Feelies are more than the sum of their influences. If you want to see them in their prime, rent Jonathan Demme's wicked film SOMETHING WILD where they have a quite extended cameo as the band playing at the high school reunion. And if you want to see them as they are now, go to pitchforkmedia.com and type their name in, and you can see in their tv 'ATP surveillance' video series, a performance by the Feelies, playing Jonathan Richman's Egyptian Reggae. It will make you an instant convert!
Ths album is very much in keeping with what has gone before and if you have never heard them before, think Velvet Underground + Modern Lovers + Talking Heads, although The Feelies are more than the sum of their influences. If you want to see them in their prime, rent Jonathan Demme's wicked film SOMETHING WILD where they have a quite extended cameo as the band playing at the high school reunion. And if you want to see them as they are now, go to pitchforkmedia.com and type their name in, and you can see in their tv 'ATP surveillance' video series, a performance by the Feelies, playing Jonathan Richman's Egyptian Reggae. It will make you an instant convert!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
a new album at last from one of my favourite bands of the eighties and the original line up as well,maybe not as strong as some of the earlier albums but that would be a hard call,but still some good stuff here never the less like "CHANGE YOUR MIND AND "HERE BE BEFORE" in parts it sounds like the feelies of old, lets hope they stay together long enough to maybe play some dates in england,the last time i saw them live was at the town and country in 1989, to anyone who as not heard this band before check out the early albums all are worth owning as they all contain some classic tracks,and isnt it about time the "THE GOOD EARTH" album was mixed properly so those vocals were brought to the front of the mix where they belong
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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16 reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
WELL WORTH THE WAIT
12 April 2011
Format:Audio CD
When the Good Earth finally came out many years after Crazy Rhythms, many listeners were disappointed that the new album didn't duplicate the often manic pace of their debut. The Good Earth was initially panned because it wasn't Crazy Rhythms 2, but eventually enough listeners championed its subtler charms to enshrine it pretty damn high in the Feelies canon. Here Before is likely to receive the same treatment from a lot of narrow minded reviewers, but please don't believe the anti-hype: if you thought the first four Feelies albums were great, you will not be disappointed the slightest in their fifth recording. The songs are great, the guitars all have that legendary Feelies 'feel'. There is a reason people put this band on a pedestal like the Velvet Underground, and this record doesn't nothing to tarnish the legend.
To Feelies noobs out there: if you are a fan of any of the folk-based indie rock out there today, you owe it to your ears to listen to the band that was here long before such music was fashionable. Normally when suggesting entry points to an older band I'd point to one of their classic recordings, but Here Before is the rare case of reunion recordings that stand on equal footing with a band's classics. They also, for the record, continue to kick several kinds of ass live!
To Feelies noobs out there: if you are a fan of any of the folk-based indie rock out there today, you owe it to your ears to listen to the band that was here long before such music was fashionable. Normally when suggesting entry points to an older band I'd point to one of their classic recordings, but Here Before is the rare case of reunion recordings that stand on equal footing with a band's classics. They also, for the record, continue to kick several kinds of ass live!
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
"Here Before": Sublime In Its Simplicity
14 April 2011
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you like the rest of The Feelies' recorded output, I have no doubts that you will like "Here Before". While fans are often leery of reunion albums, there is nothing to worry about here... this is a great recording!
While there is really nothing new here, for my tastes that is what makes "Here Before" a great Feelies album. It has the same driving rhythms and percussion as those albums that preceded it, the same kinds of songs they have done in the past in regard to style and structure, and the same kind of rock-and-roll-in-the-living-room vibe that makes them such a comfortable band to spend time with. The term "organic" is somewhat overused when referring to how members of a band connect, but the members of this band were meant to play music together. You will hear that organic sense of connectedness when you hear this album.
The only criticism I have of "Here Before" is that Glenn Mercer's voice is buried in the mix from time to time. But that's about it, as this album is the equal of any of their others. Mercer and Bill Million play their usual symbiotic rhythm guitars with Mercer taking an occasional solo; Brenda Sauter's bass playing lends a sense of melody to the rhythm guitar passages; and she, along with drummers Stanley Demeski and Dave Weckerman, continue to propel the band along in fine fashion.
Many acts have a "bathroom break" song, that is, one or two songs where you would be willing to leave the show for a few minutes. "Here Before" is a studio album, but if The Feelies were to perform it live, I would not want to miss a second of any of these tracks.
Standout songs for me are the flat-out rockers, like the album opener "Nobody Knows" and particularly the sixth track, "Way Down". But the quieter tracks are good too; if you like the rhythm-guitar interplay of Mercer and Million, you might just love "Morning Comes"! Heck, it's all good!
Feelies fans can rejoice, because this is simply a great album! It is sublime in its simplicity. Get this album, turn it up loud, and let yourself get lost in it. It is well worth the time!
While there is really nothing new here, for my tastes that is what makes "Here Before" a great Feelies album. It has the same driving rhythms and percussion as those albums that preceded it, the same kinds of songs they have done in the past in regard to style and structure, and the same kind of rock-and-roll-in-the-living-room vibe that makes them such a comfortable band to spend time with. The term "organic" is somewhat overused when referring to how members of a band connect, but the members of this band were meant to play music together. You will hear that organic sense of connectedness when you hear this album.
The only criticism I have of "Here Before" is that Glenn Mercer's voice is buried in the mix from time to time. But that's about it, as this album is the equal of any of their others. Mercer and Bill Million play their usual symbiotic rhythm guitars with Mercer taking an occasional solo; Brenda Sauter's bass playing lends a sense of melody to the rhythm guitar passages; and she, along with drummers Stanley Demeski and Dave Weckerman, continue to propel the band along in fine fashion.
Many acts have a "bathroom break" song, that is, one or two songs where you would be willing to leave the show for a few minutes. "Here Before" is a studio album, but if The Feelies were to perform it live, I would not want to miss a second of any of these tracks.
Standout songs for me are the flat-out rockers, like the album opener "Nobody Knows" and particularly the sixth track, "Way Down". But the quieter tracks are good too; if you like the rhythm-guitar interplay of Mercer and Million, you might just love "Morning Comes"! Heck, it's all good!
Feelies fans can rejoice, because this is simply a great album! It is sublime in its simplicity. Get this album, turn it up loud, and let yourself get lost in it. It is well worth the time!
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Same as they ever were --- absolutely great
20 April 2011
Format:Audio CD
Devices off. Full attention, please. We have come to pay homage to The Feelies.
It's safe to say very few of you know them. Well, that's almost by design. This band formed in suburban New Jersey in 1976. In the `80s, they released --- very quietly --- four records, each causing modest swooning. By 1988, when they put out "Only Life," savvy critics were calling them "the best underrated band in America."
And then they went on hiatus.
For 19 years.
Now, with "Here Before," they're back.
Already certain ideas are occurring to you. Those titles --- could they be more laconic, more ironic? That subterranean status --- could it have been what the band wanted? Detached excellence --- could that have been their point?
These are the opening lines of the new CD, from a song called --- two words again --- "Nobody Knows."
Is it too late
to do it again?
Or should we wait
another ten?
To pose that question is delicious arrogance, isn't it? But self-assurance is a given in Feelieland. These are supremely confident nerds of the art school breed: mostly tall, skinny, bespectacled, with a female bass player for variety. Stage presence? Casual. In the extreme. At one of their rare --- thus: historic --- concerts, when they crank the tempo and build to something like a rave, they have been known to jerk around, sometimes bouncing, even jumping. Smiles? Banter? Never happened.
So it's really all about the music, isn't it? Here it gets thorny, because words turn into salad here. The Feelies influenced R.E.M. and were influenced by Lou Reed, but they're far more subtle and sophisticated than either. And even that's not quite accurate, because their music seems so simple --- it's built on three guitars. There are two drummers, but it's not as if they're loud. What, then, is the big deal?
The big deal is punk meets J.J. Cale meets The Byrds meets the Thirteen Floor Elevators meets Indian raga meets surf music meets the Velvet Underground. Country western dance band. Movie soundtrack rock and roll....when the general mood of the movie is urban and cool and observant, smart without being ambitious
But let me stop reaching. Just listen.....
It's safe to say very few of you know them. Well, that's almost by design. This band formed in suburban New Jersey in 1976. In the `80s, they released --- very quietly --- four records, each causing modest swooning. By 1988, when they put out "Only Life," savvy critics were calling them "the best underrated band in America."
And then they went on hiatus.
For 19 years.
Now, with "Here Before," they're back.
Already certain ideas are occurring to you. Those titles --- could they be more laconic, more ironic? That subterranean status --- could it have been what the band wanted? Detached excellence --- could that have been their point?
These are the opening lines of the new CD, from a song called --- two words again --- "Nobody Knows."
Is it too late
to do it again?
Or should we wait
another ten?
To pose that question is delicious arrogance, isn't it? But self-assurance is a given in Feelieland. These are supremely confident nerds of the art school breed: mostly tall, skinny, bespectacled, with a female bass player for variety. Stage presence? Casual. In the extreme. At one of their rare --- thus: historic --- concerts, when they crank the tempo and build to something like a rave, they have been known to jerk around, sometimes bouncing, even jumping. Smiles? Banter? Never happened.
So it's really all about the music, isn't it? Here it gets thorny, because words turn into salad here. The Feelies influenced R.E.M. and were influenced by Lou Reed, but they're far more subtle and sophisticated than either. And even that's not quite accurate, because their music seems so simple --- it's built on three guitars. There are two drummers, but it's not as if they're loud. What, then, is the big deal?
The big deal is punk meets J.J. Cale meets The Byrds meets the Thirteen Floor Elevators meets Indian raga meets surf music meets the Velvet Underground. Country western dance band. Movie soundtrack rock and roll....when the general mood of the movie is urban and cool and observant, smart without being ambitious
But let me stop reaching. Just listen.....
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