During the ‘80s Felt made ten albums and ten singles for the Cherry Red and Creation labels. This beautifully produced series examines the work of one of the greatest underground groups of modern times.
The first five albums will be released on 23rd February 2018. These vinyl records, unavailable for many years, have been remastered and revisited by Lawrence, and he has fashioned the ultimate definitive collections. They are available in a deluxe gatefold sleeve. The CD version comes in a bespoke 7” box, complete with various ephemera consisting of; the original album in a special gatefold sleeve – long deleted 7” vinyl single pertaining to the relevant year of release – reproduction gig flyers – double sided wall poster – and four button lapel badges for wearing with pride!
Crumbling The Antiseptic Beauty
Lawrence’s ambition was to release the best debut English album ever! Adrian Borland offered his services, then commitments with his band The Sound prevented this from happening. So Felt began a relationship with Swell Maps producer John A. Rivers. Recorded and mixed in six days the band got a taste of how bitter reality fares compared to the “mellow fruitfulness” of blind ambition.
| Tracklisting
1. Evergreen Dazed 2. Fortune 3. Birdmen 4. Cathedral 5. I Worship The Sun 6. Templeroy Remastered by Kevin Metcalfe and Lawrence CD Box Single Something Sends Me To Sleep / Something Sends Me To Sleep |
The Splendour Of Fear
Lawrence escapes the contours of a bland city and retreats into his mind. Felt had risen from the underworld searching for a new horizon but only managed to slip into a desolate obscurity! Dark black slabs of creosote guitar – vast swathes of epic interplay – casting futuristic Shadows – an idiosyncratic and unobtrusively brilliant band, the music Felt made on this album is unlike anything attempted before. This really is a template for an age yet to come. And it pays to know that Maurice Deebank now resides in a monastery in Birmingham!
| Tracklisting
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 Remastered by Kevin Metcalfe and Lawrence CD Box Single Trails Of Colour Dissolve / My Face Is On Fire |
The Strange Idols Pattern And Other Short Stories
Before the Stone Roses and after Be-Bop Deluxe and Plastic Ono Band, John Leckie worked with Felt. Booked into a metal/reggae studio in Birmingham’s industrial wasteland he sculpted a Michelangelo slice of new rock – exquisite and beautiful guitar odysseys – quite unlike anything the city had experienced before. Merging pop with a classical nuance Felt stood alone as the forerunners of a brand new style. And Gary Ainge was finally allowed to use his high-hat!
| Tracklisting
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 Remastered by Kevin Metcalfe and Lawrence CD Box Single Penelope Tree / A Preacher In New England |
Ignite The Seven Cannons
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.
| Tracklisting
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 Remastered by Kevin Metcalfe and Lawrence CD Box Single Mexican Bandits / The World Is As Soft As Lace |
The Seventeenth Century
Retitled The Seventeenth Century – the original name for the album was changed late in the day. This reversal of misfortune was classed as an awful mistake and Lawrence’s biggest regret. Flash forward to now and this situation can finally be rectified. “You can’t change the title of an album” – they told him – so he said; “if Kraftwerk can and Bowie can then I can too!!”
| Tracklisting
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 Remastered by Kevin Metcalfe and Lawrence CD Box Single Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow / Sunlight Strings |
