Sutja's Metaphysical Circus: Felt's 1971 Album Reviewed

Music

Few days ago I’ve decided to stop overthinking and give my inner thoughts an extra positive update because, we all need that extra update during certain periods of time, don’t you think?

This usually happens when you start questioning almost everything you see and think and then your brain suffers and your life turns black. We need to know our limits and try our best to control them (or at least know them much better) or the problems will control ourselves and everything will be pretty fucked up.

Are we ready for the next worldwide drama? Is people really aware of what’s going on outside? Are we going to continue planning the perfect selfie or looking for the ugliest Pokemon on the streets? When is everything going to explode? I am looking for perfection or simplicity?

Does the age really count? Everything is related to everything else? Today I want to show you a wonderful psych-prog-rock piece made by the band Felt. They’re not from England but from Arab, Alamaba.

It was the end of the sixties when three young guys, Tommy Gilstrap, Myke Jackson and Mike Neel met in a festival in Huntsville. Myke’s dad was a violinist so he knew quite well the music business from a very young age. He could play guitar very well and sing in a very interesting way but his real talent was in his lyrics, which he had lots of gathering dust in his room. One day, they sat in a table, played a few songs and felt that something magic and strong was going on.

Tommy had a few friends playing at the festival so he asked them for some instruments and they decided to play two songs in front of 1,000 people. As you can imagine, that was a truly amazing moment (they’ve just met hours before!). A few weeks later they added Stan Lee to play rhythm guitar. They rehearsed intensely until they had 25 songs ready to play. A few months later, a radio dj was walking down the streets and overheard them play, he was blown away and decided to offer them record some demos at a friend’s studio in Birmingham, Alabama.

At that time Nashville was pure country music but a company called Nasco (which released many bluegrass, gospel and country music) seemed to be interested and decided to give them a try by releasing his first rock record.

The album was recorded in two days by the producer Bob Tubert at the Woodland Sound Studios. A couple of months after the album was done. One day, Myke was caught with an ounce of pot and spent the next 6 months in a reform school and that – was the end of the band Felt.

When Felt recorded the album, Myke and Stand were 17, Mike and Tommy were 18 and Alan was 19.

The perfect recipe:

A countryman psyched by the sound of Jesus who’s playing guitar for a few lovely lizards. They’re praying, singing to the sun and cooking some meal: five ounces of pot, a cup of girl tears, shake it and she’s gone. The destination blues has a lot to do in your life so, keep yourself real
and be aware. She’s coming back.

Mixing Burroughs and Shakespeare sounds – good to me: All the world is a stage, the men and women merely players. You must learn to exist with no religion, no country, no allies. You must learn to live alone in silence.

Tip: Maybe we must try to accept certain things but that’s not an excuse to leave everything as it is… some stuff needs to be fixed or changed. Change is good and evolution was meant to be even better so, remember that we’re all living under the same sky and made by the same material. No one’s better than you and never will be.

My favs:

“Look at the Sun” & “Now She’s Gone”