The Feelies' The Good Earth

The Feelies' excellent 1986 album, The Good Earth, was reissued by Bar/None Records back on September 8. It was a long time coming for this stellar recording, which had been out-of-print for far too long. A few weeks ago, while subbing at Schuler Books and Music, I finally decided to order it, and after it arrived, picked it up from the store on Friday.

Although the Feelies' 1980 debut album, Crazy Rhythms, is more highly acclaimed by critics, I've always preferred The Good Earth. It has a warmth and a...well, earthy quality that the first much more jittery and spiky album lacks. (This is not to say that I dislike Crazy Rhythms. Not at all. It's just a completely different listening experience compared to The Good Earth).

I first became acquainted with The Good Earth in the fall of '86, when I was a freshman at Michigan State. A friend of mine, Peter Overton (who later changed his last name to Kadyk and became an acclaimed avant garde artist and dancer in San Francisco), turned me on to it. He said something like, "Hey, if you like R.E.M., check out these guys." I can't remember exactly when, perhaps in late '86 or early '87, I bought the cassette of The Good Earth, strictly due to Peter's suggestion. (Peter was responsible for turning me on to a tremendous amount of good music back in '86 and '87).

When I first listened to The Good Earth all those years ago, I found the production and mix a little off-putting. The vocals are muted, and the recording as a whole is fairly subdued. Looking back on it, I think my ears were trained by the dominant recording techniques of the eighties, which emphasized big loud drums and usually equally loud vocals. That was the stuff I'd grown up to at that point and what I'd come to expect. Albums like this and R.E.M's Murmur and Reckoning were revelatory.

It's easy to pigeonhole The Good Earth as an R.E.M. soundalike After all, it's got its share of jangly guitars, and was co-produced by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck. However, to label it this way is an injustice. Listening to this record with fresh and analytical (but hopefully not pretentious) ears, I can hear a variety of textures and possible influences: The first song, "On the Road," has gently strummed acoustic guitars and laid back vocals that must have inspired fellow New Jerseyites Yo la Tengo, "Slipping (into Something)" harkens back to the Velvet Underground's "Some Kinda Love," while "When Company Comes" and "The Good Earth" (the song) remind me of Da Capo/Forever Changes-era Love, and I even hear a subtle Tex-Mex feel in the side two opener, "Let's Go."

The Good Earth has been portrayed as gentle, muted, and pastoral--and to a large extent it is--but it does have moments of intensity. "The High Road" has a great groove and a tasty electric guitar solo, "Slipping (into Something)" concludes with an extended frenetic jam, and "Two Rooms" is a fast rocker with an ominous guitar solo. The "crazy rhythms" of Crazy Rhythms return in the propulsive percussion of "The Last Roundup." Despite its laid-back reputation, this sucker can rock pretty hard at times.

Bar/None has done a fantastic job with this particular reissue. The packaging is classy but unflashy, just like the music. The disc comes in a simple gatefold cardboard sleeve that includes a booklet with liner notes by music critic Jim Sullivan. The sound quality is wonderful, particularly considering the original master tapes could not be located.

I'm thrilled to finally get my hands on this excellent album again, particularly after I stupidly dumped the original Coyote Records cassette back in my infamous "Great Cassette Purge of 2002." The music has not aged a bit in 23 years, in fact it sounds better now than it did in 1986--and that's not often the case with recordings from the eighties, even alt-rock recordings.

For anyone interested, the Feelies have reunited and have played a few shows in the last year--and from all reports they sound better than ever. Unfortunately, I don't know that they venture too far from their New Jersey home. As of this writing, their website mentions only two upcoming November shows: one at their unofficial performance home (Maxwell's in Hoboken) and a gig opening for Sonic Youth in Boston.

Even if you can't see the Feelies live, at least you can check out The Good Earth. Do yourself a favor and seek it out before it goes out-of-print again.