Only Life

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Only Life
Feeliesonlylife.jpg
Studio album by
The Feelies
ReleasedSeptember 13, 1988[1]
Length39:17
LabelCoyote/A&M[2]
ProducerSteve Rinkoff, Bill Million, Glenn Mercer
The Feelies chronology
The Good Earth
(1986) 		Only Life
(1988) 		Time for a Witness
(1991)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[3]
Robert ChristgauB+[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music3/5 stars[2]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide3.5/5 stars[5]
The Philadelphia Inquirer4/4 stars[6]
Pitchfork7.6/10[7]
Rolling Stone4/5 stars[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide3.5/5 stars[9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[10]

Only Life is the third album by the American rock band the Feelies, released in 1988.[11][12] It was made with the same line-up that appeared on the band's previous album, The Good Earth.[13] The album contains a cover of the Velvet Underground's "What Goes On".[9]

The album peaked at No. 173 on the Billboard 200.[14] Jonathan Demme directed the video for "Away".[15]

Production[]

The album was produced by Glenn Mercer, Bill Million, and Steve Rinkoff.[16]

Critical reception[]

Magnet wrote that "the songs grapple with apprehension and the longing for comfort, which the music delivers in the form of indelible hooks and transcendent rave-ups."[17] Rolling Stone wrote: "Driven by the interlocking guitars of Mercer and Bill Million, the band constructs waves of beautiful hypnotic drone, with subtle tempo shifts and percussion accents that ripple through the arrangements."[8] Trouser Press praised the "amazingly exacting sound and performances" and "riveting songs of breathless electricity."[18] USA Today listed the album at number nine on its list of the ten best albums of 1988.[19]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Glenn Mercer except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."It's Only Life"3:01
2."Too Much" (Bill Million, Glenn Mercer)4:38
3."Deep Fascination"4:07
4."Higher Ground"4:38
5."The Undertow"3:43
Total length:20:07
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."For Awhile"4:05
7."The Final Word" (Million, Mercer)2:23
8."Too Far Gone" (Million, Mercer)3:38
9."Away"5:27
10."What Goes On" (Lou Reed)3:37
Total length:19:10

Personnel[]

  • Glenn Mercer – guitars, vocals
  • Bill Million – guitars, vocals
  • Dave Weckerman – percussion
  • Brenda Sauter – bass
  • Stan Demeski – drums

References[]

  1. ^ Dupler, Steven (1988-09-03). "The Eye". Billboard. 100 (36): 48. ISSN 0006-2510. Coyote/A&M act the Feelies' new single, "Away," from the album, "Only Life," due out Sept. 13
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Volume 3: MUZE. p. 415.CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^ Ned Raggett. "Only Life - The Feelies | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  4. ^ "CG: feelies". Robert Christgau. 1991-03-26. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  5. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 419.
  6. ^ Moon, Tom (9 Oct 1988). "A STRONG BAND THAT WINS WITH ITS INSTRUMENTALS". The Philadelphia Inquirer: G14.
  7. ^ "The Feelies: Only Life/Time For A Witness". Pitchfork.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Feelies: Only Life : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. November 3, 2008.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 242.
  10. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 146–147.
  11. ^ "The Feelies | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  12. ^ "The Feelies: Only Life & Time for a Witness". Relix Media. June 10, 2016.
  13. ^ Earles, Andrew (September 15, 2014). "Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996". Voyageur Press – via Google Books.
  14. ^ "The Feelies". Billboard.
  15. ^ "FEELIES SAYING SOMETHING - Record Collector Magazine".
  16. ^ Jenkins, Mark (14 Sep 1988). "Records: The Feelies And Pere Ubu: Polished Power". The Washington Post: C7.
  17. ^ "Essential New Music: The Feelies' "Only Life" And "Time For A Witness"". April 17, 2016.
  18. ^ "Feelies". Trouser Press. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  19. ^ Gundersen, Edna (13 Dec 1988). "The year in music: Only a few stand out in a so-so period for rock: In 1988, pop falls short on substance". USA Today: 1D.



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