Proclaiming 2018 “the year of Lawrence,” Cherry Red Records next February will reissue the first five studio albums by Felt — originally released between 1982 and 1986 — and release a new record by the indie-pop outfit’s single-named mastermind with his band Go-Kart Mozart.
On Feb. 23, Cherry Red will release reissues — featuring audio remastered by Lawrence and Kevin Metcalfe — of Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty (1982), The Splendour of Fear (1984), The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories (1984), Ignite the Seven Canons (1985) and Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death (1986), which has been renamed The Seventeenth Century.
The reissues will be released on vinyl, as well as individual CD box sets that each include a long-deleted 7-inch single, reproduction gig flyers, a double-sided wall poster and four lapel badges.
Four of the five albums are straight remasters, but some of Ignite the Seven Cannons has been tweaked:
Produced by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins and featuring the skyscraping vocal of Elizabeth Fraser on the mighty Primitive Painters. Felt found themselves at the top of the independent charts. Unhappy with the overall sound though — it was as if some of Lawrence’s best songs were lost in an “ethereal swirl.” John A. Rivers has been given access to the original master tapes and six songs have been remixed. Also — side 2 has been focused, edited and “made symmetrical.” Finally these songs can be heard as intended by Felt. It has become at long last a cohesive whole.
Also on Feb. 23, Cherry Red will release Mozart’s Mini Mart, a new 17-song album by Go-Kart Mozart. The label promises the album is “the most commercial set of songs Lawrence has ever released.”
Below, see full tracklists for the Felt reissues.
Tracklist: Felt, Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty
1. “Evergreen Dazed”
2. “Fortune”
3. “Birdmen”
4. “Cathedral”
5. “I Worship The Sun”
6. “Templeroy”
CD Box Single
“Something Sends Me To Sleep” / “Something Sends Me To Sleep”
Tracklist: Felt, The Splendour of Fear
1. “Red Indians”
2. “The World Is As Soft As Lace”
3. “The Optimist And The Poet”
4. “Mexican Bandits”
5. “The Stagnant Pool”
6. “A Preacher In New England”
CD Box Single
“Trails Of Colour Dissolve” / “My Face Is On Fire”
Tracklist: Felt, The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories
1. “Roman Litter”
2. “Sempiternal Darkness”
3. “Spanish House”
4. “Imprint”
5. “Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow”
6. “Vasco Da Gama”
7. “Crucifix Heaven”
8. “Dismantled King Is Off The Throne”
9. “Crystal Ball”
10. “Whirlpool Vision Of Shame”
CD Box Single
“Penelope Tree” / “A Preacher In New England”
Tracklist: Felt, Ignite the Seven Cannons
1. “My Darkest Light Will Shine” (Remixed)
2. “The Day The Rain Came Down” (Remixed)
3. “Scarlet Servants” (Remixed)
4. “I Don’t Know Which Way To Turn” (Remixed)
5. “Primitive Painters”
6. “Textile Ranch”
7. “Black Ship In The Harbour” (Remixed)
8. “Elegance In D”
9. “Caspian See” (Remixed)
10. Southern State Tapestry”
CD Box Single
“Mexican Bandits” / “The World Is As Soft As Lace”
Tracklist: Felt, The Seventeenth Century
1. “Song For William S. Harvey”
2. “Ancient City Where I Lived”
3. “Seventeenth Century”
4. “The Palace”
5. “Indian Scriptures”
6. “The Nazca Plain”
7. “Jewel Sky”
8. “Viking Dress”
9. “Voyage To Illumination”
10. “Sapphire Mansions”
Remastered by Kevin Metcalfe and Lawrence.
CD Box Single
“Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow” / “Sunlight Strings”
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