Felt 'The Splendour Of Fear' album

“The Splendour Of Fear" by Felt is the 2nd in the re-issue series. Todd E Jones reviews.

Cherry Red is re-releasing all 10 Felt albums in their original sleeves. This will give new listeners a chance to experience Felt just like fans did in the 80’s. The Birmingham band had have a loyal following for many years and finally, we can experience the albums like the original fans did. The enigmatic leader, Lawrence (who went on to form Denim and Go-Kart Mozart) teamed up with Maurice Deebank and created exceptionally beautiful and sad music. While Lawrence mixed poetry with singing, Deebank added classic guitar melodies over rolling, gothic drums. Their sophomore album, “The Splendour Of Fear” was originally released on CD with their debut LP “Crumbling The Antiseptic Beauty”. Although recorded a year apart, both albums sounded very similar due to the lack of cymbals, the classic guitar by Maurice Deebank, Lawrence’s sad and drowned-out vocals, and Gary Ainge’s rolling drums. While Felt was releasing short singles like “Something Sends Me To Sleep” and “My Face Is On Fire”, they were also releasing 30 minute long albums with long ambient guitar songs. “The Splendour Of Fear” is a 30 minute long album consisting of 6 tracks. Only 2 of these tracks have vocals. Produced by John A. Rivers (Close Lobsters, Xymox, Go-Kart Mozart, etc.), “The Spendour Of Fear” is Felt’s darkest album filled with rolling drums, images of Hell, and long guitar melodies. In the midst of the darkness, there are also sounds of intense beauty. “The Splendour Of Fear” may be the least accessible Felt album but it is by no means an album that should be overlooked.

The instrumental “Red Indians” is the first track that opens up the album. The Indian-like drums and dark, classical guitar work is exceptional. Short and sweet, it is a perfect lead-in to the following song. (In the original release of the CD, “Red Indians” and “The World Is As Soft As Lace” were put together as one track.)

“The World Is As Soft As Lace” is the most beautiful song on the album. The classical and guitar work just springs images of beauty to life. The high notes of the strings along with the female backing vocals make this track magnificent. Lawrence’s voice becomes more melodic than the past album tracks from their debut LP. Lawrence sings the first verse: “…If I could, I would change the world / But you know my visions they're absurd / And all my great plans get blurred / By the softest touch, the gentlest word….” Once again, Lawrence has have powerful lyrics for the chorus: “…I've said it before and I'll say it again / I will not believe until it is mine / Until it's mine, all mine, yeah mine …” This is one Felt track where everything works perfectly. The mixing, the guitar work, the lyrics, the singing, the backing vocals, and the drums and bass all come together to form an elegant song that is not only poetic but deeply moving and gloriously atmospheric.

“The Optimist And The Poet” is a long instrumental track that is completely under appreciated. When originally released on CD, this 2-part song was separated in two separate digital CD tracks. Now, the song is released properly. Elegant and astute, “The Optimist And The Poet” (written by Lawrence) is a mid-tempo instrumental that is approximately 8 minutes long. The rolling of the mid-tempo drums by Gary Ainge add a timeless quality along with Deebank’s and Lawrence’s guitar work. It is a very under-appreciated Felt instrumental.

“Mexican Bandits” is one of my personal favorite Felt instrumentals. Very upbeat and uplifting, the swirling guitars and the rolling drums give the listener a feeling of ascension, running, or high-speed driving. You can feel the wind in your hair. The layers of the swirling guitars create a magnificent feeling of both pride and preciousness. The timeless quality of both the emotion and the music add to the elegance. “Mexican Bandits” can truly be in a film where the main character is moving fast to achieve some kind of victory. Due to the upbeat feeling of the song and the different style of guitar work, it is very catchy and makes an instant impression for an instrumental. “Mexican Bandits” is a classic Felt instrumental. (Note: The band Evergreen Dazed made a wonderful electronic cover version of “Mexican Bandits” on “A Tribute To Felt” by Elefant Records.)

“The Stagnant Pool” is probably the most depressing Felt song ever created. Clocking in around 8 minutes long, this slow-moving track has some excellent guitar work, eerie drums, along with themes of decay and damnation. Lawrence sings like he’s dying: “…The stagnant pool / Like a drowned coffin / Still as a deceased heart / Haunting the ghost of the noble crusader / Who recalls pellucid ice / clutching the aching twigs / Never melting / Never a drop to disturb stagnation. / Oh they say I'll never win / You'll always get beat / And like a drop of blood from the Devil's tap / I'm dragging the crusader behind / Slips purposely down the black hole back to hell / Steps purposely down the black hole back to hell…” Lawrence repeats the line “back to Hell” over and over again as a loose chorus. The 2nd half of the track is mainly just Deebank’s and Lawrence’s guitar work over the mid-tempo beat. The song is great to play along with on a guitar. It also yields improvisation. Unfortunately, the replay value of the song is low due to the length, the theme, and the fact that Lawrence sounds like he’s dying.

“A Preacher In New England” is the album’s closing instrumental that has the same beauty and elegance as “Evergreen Dazed” from “Crumbling The Antiseptic Beauty”. Without drums, Deebank’s guitar swirls, glides, and blossoms melodies like infinite blooming. Written completely by Maurice Deebank, “A Preacher In New England” is a dream-like, picturesque piece of supreme elegance. If the listener dies and goes to Hell in “The Stagnant Pool”, the listener ascends to heaven when they meet “A Preacher In New England”.

“The Splendour Of Fear” is a much more mature album than the previous “Crumbling The Antiseptic Beauty” but it also has less replay value. With the exception of the beautiful “The World Is As Soft As Lace” and “Mexican Bandits”, the LP is more of an ambient guitar piece of work. Only 2 out of the 6 songs have vocals by Lawrence. The first song, “The World Is As Soft As Lace”, is an elegant song that is both sad and strong. The second, “The Stagnant Pool” is an 8-minute long depressing track about Hell where Lawrence sounds like he’s dying. “The Splendour Of Fear” is the least accessible of all the Felt albums. While there is some intense beauty and elegance in the LP (“The World Is As Soft As Lace”, “A Preacher In New England” or “Mexican Bandits”), the 8 minute long “The Stagnant Pool” is a depressing nail that is driven in right before the LP closes. Fans of later Felt material like “Me & A Monkey On The Moon” or “The Pictorial Jackson Review” will be surprised and may even be turned off by such dark yet graceful music. For a 30-minute album, “The Splendour Of Fear” has long songs that are mostly instrumental. If you are a fan of elegant, classic guitar work, “The Splendour Of Fear” is a perfect album for you. While only die-hard Felt fans may appreciate the LP, “The Splendour Of Fear” is quite a beautiful yet sad work of art.

8 out of 10

Review by Todd E. Jones

SUMMARY: Cherry Red is releases all 10 Felt albums from the 80’s in their original artwork. Todd E. Jones reviews their sophomore album, “The Splendour Of Fear”.

NOTE: you can find other pictures of FELT at the following link:
http://felt.planetaclix.pt/Pictures/default.htm

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Felt - The Splendour Of Fear