Stand up

the feelers - Reimagined - Greatest Hits (2023) ***

Nominated by: Kevy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Stand Up

I have a lot of questions this week. Like why did they write their name in lower case? Inferiority complex?

the feelers Reimagined - I don't know their material well enough to judge whether these are better or worse than the originals. Did that song I've forgotten the name of come with all those strings attached (ha ha)? I wouldn't have thought so - sounds a bit weird in this setting, too. Why have they reimagined their songs? Wouldn't be a Taylor Swift scenario.

Did they maybe wake up one morning and say to each other - "You know - if we reimagined our back catalogue to sound more like Hootie and The Blowfish, we could shift a few units!" Why not just reissue the original songs as a compilation? Was there something wrong with them?

See - questions.

I did once own an album of the feelers. The one with Venus on it, because I really liked that one. When I got the album I couldn't hear anything as good as that song, so I flicked it off.

This album is also called - Greatest Hits. Aside from Venus - a bone fide hit, I only recognise one other song - Pressure Man. Was it a hit though? Were there other hits that passed me by? Quite possibly. A better name may have been 'Best of the feelers - Reimagined' methinks.

So, all up, I'm a wee bit non-plussed. My main issue with their songs other than Stand Up (a real standout and boy do they sound like Hootie on that one), Pressure Man and Venus, I struggle to differentiate the songs from each other (aside from the one with strings). Actually - even Pressure Man - I'm struggling to remember how it goes, as I type this. I also have no idea who was in the feelers. The singer sounds good - did he go on to have a solo career?

So, bottom line - it's all nice, pleasant, well played, slick, nineties rock. I know they are Kiwis but this material sounds like it was aimed at the American market (not that there's anything wrong with that). Maybe they were huge there? 

Oops - more thoughts: on reflection, this doesn't seem like Kevy's normal fare - i.e. it's a long way from low-fi obscure Flying Nun singles in a limited press of 10 copies. What's the appeal here Kevy?

Sorry to end on more questions. 

The last word

Reb Fountain - Reb Fountain (2020) ***

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: The Last Word

Previously, I have reviewed the three Reb Fountain albums in my collection for the Goo Goo G'Joob blog, but this presents me with a great opportunity to reassess that three-star review and to compare my thoughts between then and now (without reading my previous review which you can find here and here btw).

The good news: she has a gorgeous voice - so much potential. There are elements of latter day Taylor, Lorde, even a bit of Lana Del Rey about her modern vocal style, but Reb is Reb for the most part.

My favourites are the first song - Hawkes and Doves and The Last Word.

In some ways it's a normal debut album in that it feels a little tentative in terms of her comfort levels around material and arrangements.

Lyrically, there is not enough succinctness for me. Too wordy, too obscure, too much obtuseness, too much detachment, apart from The Last Word. On that one she opens up more, and is more succinct in her lyrics.

These are all things she would work on for Holster and Iris (which is why I think that they are superior records).

Okay - that's my current thoughts. Now to compare to my previous review and see if I'm thinking the same things.

Turns out I was a tad brief in my impressions. However, I'll stick with my overall evaluations, based on my thoughts above.

In summary - this is a mighty fine debut, which she would build upon to reach even greater heights.