After a 19 year break, the Feelies are back with Here Before an album of
all new original material on Bar/None Records. The new album touches on
different styles from the Feelies’ long history while adding new grooves
and musical ideas to the mix. Electric and acoustic guitars melt together
in archetypal Feelies fashion on songs like “Nobody Knows” and “Should be
Gone. “ Elsewhere there are slabs of driving garage rock like “When You
Know” and “Time Is Right” and the down-tempo ”Bluer Skies,” and
harmonically rich “Later On.”
Here Before was recorded at Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey produced by
Feelies founders Glenn Mercer and Bill Million. Besides Glenn on
rhythm/lead guitar and lead vocals, and Bill on guitar and vocals, the
album features Feelies mainstays Brenda Sauter (bass, vocals), Stanley
Demeski (drums), and Dave Weckerman (percussion).
The Feelies quickly became one of the most zealously touted acts on the
highly competitive late 70s New York scene and underground heroes in their
native New Jersey. They were signed to the trendsetting British label
Stiff and released their debut album Crazy Rhythms in 1980. Rolling Stone,
Spin and countless other magazines would eventually declare the album one
of the greatest of that era but it was not a commercial success upon its
initial release. The Feelies soon felt stifled by their dealings with
Stiff and took a six year “hiatus” from recording while its members
continued to write, record and perform together and in collaboration with
friends and neighbors under names like “the Trypes,” “Yung Wu” and “the
Willies.” Feelies’ music wound up in a number of films including
Smithereens and Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild.
The Feelies proper re-emerged with a new rhythm section (the line-up
they’ve had ever since and that appears on Here Before) in 1984 and
recorded The Good Earth, co-produced by Million, Mercer and REM’s Peter
Buck). The album was released 1986 on the Coyote label (run by Steve
Fallon, owner of Hoboken, NJ’s Maxwells, and the group’s manager for a
spell), followed by two further releases on Coyote through Twin/Tone/A&M:
Only Life (1988) and Time For A Witness (1991). The band shared bills
with Patti Smith, LouReed, REM and Bob Dylan during this period and toured
nationally.
In 1992 Bill Million left the music business, moving his family to Florida
and effectively putting the band on what turned out to be a very long
hiatus. Meanwhile, Glenn and Dave continued playing together in Wake
Ooloo, Stanley was a founding member of the band Luna and Brenda played in
a number of groups including her own Wild Carnations. Glenn Mercer put out
his first solo album in 2007.
In 2008, the Feelies re-united to open for long time admirers Sonic Youth
at Battery Park and then resurrected their tradition of playing low key
gigs around national holidays (many at their old home base, Maxwell’s)
rather than doing lengthy tours. In 2009 Bar/None re-issued Crazy Rhythms
and The Good Earth, this being the first band-sanctioned CD release of the
former; both titles were also issued on heavyweight vinyl and with
download cards for access to bonus tracks. A highlight of the All
Tomorrows Parties festival in New York state that year was the Feelies
playing Crazy Rhythms in its entirety for the very first time. They also
introduced new songs written by Mercer and Million raising fans’ hopes for
a new album eventually materializing.
In 2010, using the basement studio in Mercer’s New Jersey home, Glenn and
Bill resumed writing songs and working out arrangements for new Feelies
songs in the midst of rehearsals for live shows in Boston, Philadelphia
and D.C. with Bill commuting back and forth from Florida for this. By
Fall that year, the band had worked up 13 songs. Basic tracks were cut at
Water Music in October with the classic Feelies line-up of Mercer,
Million, Demeski, Sauter and Weckerman; tracking dates were engineered by
Sean Kelly who also helped out with overdubbing sessions in November and
mixing in December. In addition to their main instruments Brenda played
violin and sang backup vocals, Glenn contributed keyboards and Bill,
Stan, Glenn and Dave all pitched in on percussion.
Many of their fans probably didn’t think they would ever get a chance to
see the Feelies perform again let alone have a new album in their hands.
Here Before adds a solid fifth album to the Feelies discography. The album
will be released digitally as well as on CD and vinyl with a download
card.
www.myspace.com/thefeelies
