ALBUM (1980)
The Feelies Crazy Rhythms (Stiff Records)
Cries of 'Broooooce' may have been how New Jersey jocks and rockers greeted Bruce Springsteen's marathon shows in the 1980s, but among underground New York hipsters and geeks it was the Feelies who caused ripples of excitement whenever they played. Many a weekend, the venue of choice was Maxwell's, a former factory workers' tavern in Hoboken that was transformed into a restaurant with a stage in the back room. There, the four-piece - along with many others who would transform the independent music scene as it's known today - would transfix audiences with their guitar interplay and ever-changing set list.
The quartet formed in 1976 and rehearsed for four years before recording their debut album. Glenn Mercer's sing-shouty vocals were front and centre of the group, but it was the rhythms, as in Crazy Rhythms, that made the Feelies so unique. A song would usually revolve around Bill Million's jagged, angular guitar riffs that would build and repeat, followed by Mercer picking up the slack on his guitar. Keith DeNunzio's bass would gently come in, followed by the insistent patter of Andy Fier's drums. Collectively, the group would build on their respective patterns, and eventually the sound would be all encompassing, relentless and distinct.
'There's a boy I know, but not too well/ He hasn't got a lot to say/ Well, this boy lives right next door and he has nothing to say,' went the opener The Boy with Perpetual Nervousness. It was a reminder that these musical geeks were outsiders themselves, commenting on their suburban lives, but doing it in such a unique musical way that they commanded attention. Loveless Lies escalated from ultra slow guitar chords into a full dual guitar rave up that accompanied Mercer's distinct sing-speak before descending into a mournful synth coda. Mercer and Million wrote eight of the album's nine songs, with the exception their take on the Beatles Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey.
The group's uniqueness didn't escape notice. The Village Voice called it one of the best albums of the year and down South, a young Athens, Georgia, guitarist named Peter Buck was listening to it incessantly. As a member of REM, he would produce the group's second album The Good Earth, which emphasised the guitar and organic country sounds more. By this time, the group had changed too. Fier and DeNunzio had left, replaced by New Jersey musicians Brenda Sauter, Dave Weckerman, Stanley Demeski (who went on to the group Luna) and sometimes even more members.
Two major label albums that followed were increasingly accessible and well received critically but didn't really catch on. Film director Jonathan Demme was a huge fan, casting them as a high school reunion band in his film Something Wild. Although they broke up in the early 90s, Mercer carried the musical torch via side acts and an eventual solo album.