An awesome, if slightly odd intro to Felt
Lypo Suck | Hades, United States | 01/29/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Make no mistake, this is a slightly perplexing comp. It makes no real attempt to comprehensively cover the time-period it represents - Felt's 1980-85 tenure on the seminal Cherry Red label. Nearly a third of its songs come from one album, the undeniably awesome "Strange Idols Pattern," while nothing from Felt's first two albums, "Crumbling" and "Splendor of Fear," appear here, and only two songs from their `85 release "Ignite the Seven Canons" are included. Basically, if you're looking for a thorough and comprehensive spread of Felts' Cherry Red-era oeuvre, you're better off with "Absolute Classic Masterpieces" (vol. 1).
This comp *does* include several key, non-LP oddities (as the title suggests), like the scratchy, groovy early single "Something Sends me to Sleep," and the essential "Fortune," the melancholy but achingly pretty b-side to 1984 single "Sunlight Bathed the Golden Glow." The brooding and energetic "Trails of Color Dissolve" and "Penelope Tree" also make appearances. But, you can find all of these tracks on "Absolute Classic Masterpieces." So what, then, is the value, much less the point, of this comp?
Well, the only things that can't be found elsewhere are the demo versions of "Dismantled Kind is Off the Throne" and "Sunlight Bathed the Golden Glow." And why care? Well, these demos are actually very cool, and if not superior, then fascinating alternates to the versions redone for "Strange Idols Pattern." Produced by John A. Rivers, the demos possess a thick, gauzy, dreamy, reverb-drenched atmosphere and brooding feel (similar to the Rivers-produced prior album, "Splendor of Fear"), which contrasts with John Leckie's great, but bright and sparkly production on "Strange Idols." These demos aren't superior to the "Strange Idols" versions; they're simply cool, very different sounding renderings of two fundamentally great songs.
Ultimately, I can only recommend this to completists or neophytes lacking the attention span for the sprawling 18-song "Absolute Classic Masterpieces." This was actually the first Felt album I bought, and I found it a truly awesome intro to the band, instantly catapulting them to "favorite band" status. And although tracking down everything else Felt released nearly made this comp's place in my collection redundant, I still have a sentimental attachment to it, making it one of their albums I reach for most. I can't make much of a case for this comp's worth, but some of you may get precisely why I love it so much.
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Track Listings (10) - Disc #1