At long last, influential UK indie-pop band Felt will see their much-coveted and very much out-of-print albums return to vinyl. Next year, the group's first five albums will be available again on wax via a new reissue series, marking the first time the records have been pressed on vinyl in decades.
On February 23, Cherry Red will kickstart a Felt-celebrating series called A Decade in Music on vinyl, CD and digitally. It will see reissues of the group's first five albums: Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty (1982), The Splendour of Fear (1984), The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories (1984), Ignite the Seven Cannons (1985) and The Seventeenth Century (a.k.a. Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death) (1986). As any Felt fan will tell you, each is a classic in its own right.
All the reissues will come separately on vinyl with deluxe gatefold sleeves. The CD versions will come as bespoke 7-inch box sets, with each album including a 7-inch single from the era, as well as reproduction gig flyers, a double-sided poster and four buttons.
All the albums have been remastered by Felt frontman Lawrence himself, with the help of Kevin Metcalfe. Lawrence also oversaw the entire project and "has fashioned the ultimate definitive collections" of each album.
Noticeably, Ignite the Seven Cannons, which was produced by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins, contains "remixed" tracks. Here's how the press release explains that reissue:
Produced by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins and featuring the skyscraping vocal of Elizabeth Fraser on the mighty "Primitive Painters." Felt found themselves at the top of the independent charts. Unhappy with the overall sound though — it was as if some of Lawrence's best songs were lost in an "ethereal swirl." John A. Rivers has been given access to the original master tapes and six songs have been remixed. Also — side 2 has been focused, edited and "made symmetrical." Finally these songs can be heard as intended by Felt. It has become at long last a cohesive whole.
You can learn more about the reissue series over here, where you can also pre-order copies. Down below, you can see the tracklists for each reissue.
As previously reported in 2015, Felt were due to get a reissue campaign via Captured Tracks. However, that project never came to fruition.
Along with the Felt box set, Lawrence's current project, Go-Kart Mozart, will release a new album called Mozart's Mini Mart also on February 23 via West Midlands/Cherry Red. It will be the project's first new album since 2012's On the Hot Dog Streets.
Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty:
1. Evergreen Dazed
2. Fortune
3. Birdmen
4. Cathedral
5. I Worship The Sun
6. Templeroy
CD Box 7-inch Single:
"Something Sends Me To Sleep" / "Something Sends Me To Sleep"
The Splendour of Fear:
1. Red Indians
2. The World Is As Soft As Lace
3. The Optimist And The Poet
4. Mexican Bandits
5. The Stagnant Pool
6. A Preacher In New England
CD Box 7-inch Single:
"Trails Of Colour Dissolve" / "My Face Is On Fire"
The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories:
1. Roman Litter
2. Sempiternal Darkness
3. Spanish House
4. Imprint
5. Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow
6. Vasco Da Gama
7. Crucifix Heaven
8. Dismantled King Is Off The Throne
9. Crystal Ball
10. Whirlpool Vision Of Shame
CD Box 7-inch Single:
"Penelope Tree" / "A Preacher In New England"
Ignite the Seven Cannons:
1. My Darkest Light Will Shine (remixed)
2. The Day The Rain Came Down (remixed)
3. Scarlet Servants (remixed)
4. I Don't Know Which Way To Turn (remixed)
5. Primitive Painters
6. Textile Ranch
7. Black Ship In The Harbour (remixed)
8. Elegance In D
9. Caspian See (remixed)
10. Southern State Tapestry
CD Box 7-inch Single:
"Mexican Bandits" / "The World Is As Soft As Lace"
The Seventeenth Century:
1. Song For William S. Harvey
2. Ancient City Where I Lived
3. Seventeenth Century
4. The Palace
5. Indian Scriptures
6. The Nazca Plain
7. Jewel Sky
8. Viking Dress
9. Voyage To Illumination
10. Sapphire Mansions
CD Box Single:
"Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow" / "Sunlight Strings"
On February 23, Cherry Red will kickstart a Felt-celebrating series called A Decade in Music on vinyl, CD and digitally. It will see reissues of the group's first five albums: Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty (1982), The Splendour of Fear (1984), The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories (1984), Ignite the Seven Cannons (1985) and The Seventeenth Century (a.k.a. Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death) (1986). As any Felt fan will tell you, each is a classic in its own right.
All the reissues will come separately on vinyl with deluxe gatefold sleeves. The CD versions will come as bespoke 7-inch box sets, with each album including a 7-inch single from the era, as well as reproduction gig flyers, a double-sided poster and four buttons.
All the albums have been remastered by Felt frontman Lawrence himself, with the help of Kevin Metcalfe. Lawrence also oversaw the entire project and "has fashioned the ultimate definitive collections" of each album.
Noticeably, Ignite the Seven Cannons, which was produced by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins, contains "remixed" tracks. Here's how the press release explains that reissue:
Produced by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins and featuring the skyscraping vocal of Elizabeth Fraser on the mighty "Primitive Painters." Felt found themselves at the top of the independent charts. Unhappy with the overall sound though — it was as if some of Lawrence's best songs were lost in an "ethereal swirl." John A. Rivers has been given access to the original master tapes and six songs have been remixed. Also — side 2 has been focused, edited and "made symmetrical." Finally these songs can be heard as intended by Felt. It has become at long last a cohesive whole.
You can learn more about the reissue series over here, where you can also pre-order copies. Down below, you can see the tracklists for each reissue.
As previously reported in 2015, Felt were due to get a reissue campaign via Captured Tracks. However, that project never came to fruition.
Along with the Felt box set, Lawrence's current project, Go-Kart Mozart, will release a new album called Mozart's Mini Mart also on February 23 via West Midlands/Cherry Red. It will be the project's first new album since 2012's On the Hot Dog Streets.
Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty:
1. Evergreen Dazed
2. Fortune
3. Birdmen
4. Cathedral
5. I Worship The Sun
6. Templeroy
CD Box 7-inch Single:
"Something Sends Me To Sleep" / "Something Sends Me To Sleep"
The Splendour of Fear:
1. Red Indians
2. The World Is As Soft As Lace
3. The Optimist And The Poet
4. Mexican Bandits
5. The Stagnant Pool
6. A Preacher In New England
CD Box 7-inch Single:
"Trails Of Colour Dissolve" / "My Face Is On Fire"
The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories:
1. Roman Litter
2. Sempiternal Darkness
3. Spanish House
4. Imprint
5. Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow
6. Vasco Da Gama
7. Crucifix Heaven
8. Dismantled King Is Off The Throne
9. Crystal Ball
10. Whirlpool Vision Of Shame
CD Box 7-inch Single:
"Penelope Tree" / "A Preacher In New England"
Ignite the Seven Cannons:
1. My Darkest Light Will Shine (remixed)
2. The Day The Rain Came Down (remixed)
3. Scarlet Servants (remixed)
4. I Don't Know Which Way To Turn (remixed)
5. Primitive Painters
6. Textile Ranch
7. Black Ship In The Harbour (remixed)
8. Elegance In D
9. Caspian See (remixed)
10. Southern State Tapestry
CD Box 7-inch Single:
"Mexican Bandits" / "The World Is As Soft As Lace"
The Seventeenth Century:
1. Song For William S. Harvey
2. Ancient City Where I Lived
3. Seventeenth Century
4. The Palace
5. Indian Scriptures
6. The Nazca Plain
7. Jewel Sky
8. Viking Dress
9. Voyage To Illumination
10. Sapphire Mansions
CD Box Single:
"Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow" / "Sunlight Strings"