New Jersey-based Indie-rock pioneers the Feelies are releasing their seventh album, Some Kinda Love, their first ever live album. Some Kinda Love features their performance of an extensive retrospective set of songs written for the Velvet Underground, recorded at a sold-out White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, NJ on October 13th 2018, produced by Feelies founders Bill Million and Glenn Mercer. The concert was staged in conjunction with the opening of The Velvet Underground Experience exhibition in the East Village at the request of its curators. Some Kinda Love is being released by Bar/None Records on October 13th on 2 x 12” LP vinyl, CD, digital download and via streaming platforms (PRE-ORDER).
Throughout the concert documented on Some Kinda Love, the group applied the entirety of their deep intimacy with the unique building blocks of the Velvet Underground’s artistic vocabulary, handling it with deceptive ease and obvious relish. That evening, they ran through a thoughtful mix of selections from all four Velvets’ studio albums as well as rare tracks that surfaced years after their demise, starting with “Sunday Morning,” the first song on the Velvets debut and closing with “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’,” the closing song on their last studio album together.
Formed in Haledon NJ in the 1970’s, The Feelies have now released six albums including their critically acclaimed and influential debut Crazy Rhythms, which was voted 49 in the top 100 albums of the 1980s by Rolling Stone magazine and chosen by Spin Magazine as #49 of the best alternative records of all time. Their music has left an indelible mark on the landscape of rock and roll. Supporting the release of their first four albums the band appeared on the The Late Show With David Letterman and in concerts with The Patti Smith Group, R.E.M., and Bob Dylan as well as touring with Lou Reed.
Today Glide is excited to premiere their spirited rendition of The Velvet Underground’s “Rock and Roll,” a now classic tune that has been covered by a myriad of artists such as Phish, Alice Cooper, and The Black Crowes among others. With the sharp craftsmanship of the Feelies on full display, the band keeps their version faithful while also injecting a fresh energy into the tune. Indeed, their take brings to mind the garage rock roots and simple pop structure of this tune with a healthy dose of guitar jamming to stretch things out. In this recording we get a nice sense of the excitement around this performance, and even though cover tunes can come across as overdone, the Feelies prove that anyone who can nail such an iconic tune should absolutely be playing it live. The single officially drops on August 23rd.
Glenn Mercer describes the inspiration behind the tune:
“The Velvets didn’t follow the same rules as those groups (weird subject matter, no drum kit, a viola, no fixed bass player), and every song sounded like a different group, to my ears. It took me a few years to come around and a bit longer to realize the qualities I found off-putting at first were actually their greatest strengths. The impact of those records on the musical landscape is really quite astounding and it’s amazing to witness how it continues to grow through the decades.”
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