Track Listing

1. Little Ann
2. Greatest Show On Earth
3. Frankie's Gun
4. Goddamn You Jim
5. Wonderful Life
6. Don't Wake The Scarecrow
7. Take This Bread
8. Saint Stephen's End
9. Love Me Tenderly
10. Ruby Mae
11. Murder By Mistletoe
12. Whiskey In My Whiskey
13. Helen Fry
14. Radio Song
15. Tip Your Way

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #801 in Music
• Released on: 2008-03-03
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Truth will out
This is music that comes out of the soil. With a mix of styles ranging across the east coast of America via the Florida Everglades, through to New Orleans and back into the Catskill Mountains, the music also seems to acknowledge its roots in English and Irish folk, and there's the odd whiff of salt air as they veer almost towards sea chanteys.

Some have compared them to Dylan and The Band especially with some of the phrasing and the cadence of the songs. But if you can call up some video's on YouTube then you can see that the lead singer's perfomance is perfectly natural and his voice just happens to sound like Dylan rather than being an affectation. And for me The Band were a lot slicker and on the "soul" side of affairs, whereas The Felice Brothers are more slapdash and rustic. And I mean that in a good way.

There is a range of tempo's, and on tracks like "Frankie's Gun" just try not to sing along. But it's in the ballads that they really show their strength.

Lyrically this is dark stuff with seemingly a murder around every corner, but there are some delightful touches, such as on "Don't wake the scarecrow", a reprise of the subject matter Springsteen touched on in "Candy's Room". In particular I loved "In that cold room your breath would twist just like ghosts do" hinting at far more than the the words actually say.

Somehow they have produced a an album of warmth and great fun, but at the same time having great depth and sadness.

Hopefully these first two albums are the beginnings of a long career for the band (the three eldest sons of a carpenter and an "adopted" brother who was a professional dice player). Hopefully they'll not let the undoubted success that they deserve go to their heads.

My current favourite band.

Hillbilly DeLuxe
Although these guys have adopted the hairy bearded look of the Band and occasionally sound Dylanesque they stamp their own identity firmly on this disc - a set of 15 songs without a dud to be found. Tales of the old and new West predominate as evoked in titles like Frankie's Gun, Whiskey in my Whiskey and Helen Fry. In a strange way the sound evokes not just alt-country legends like Green on Red but also the swirling organ and heavy back beat of the Wailers at their best. This is an outstanding collection which rewards repeated listening.

Album of the Year?
Having already bought both Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes this year and been slightly disappointed I purchased this CD with a little trepidation. The music papers have hyped both the former to a level where they should become instant classics...but the Felice Brothers seemed to slip under the radar getting goo reviews but no more.

But hey! since first sticking the CD in the car stereo I haven't been able to take it out. OK on first listen I did think there was a Dylan fixation...but now I don't even detect it...it is the sound of the Felice Bros..

'Helen Fry' is a great track and does sound very much like an early Green on Red track with loads of organ in the background and 'Scarecrow' is a dark tale that you really need to listen to.

Only downside...track 4..why is it so quiet? it is impossible to hear when driving.

My advice then is...if you want a good slice of American music this year that you can drive around singing at the top of your voice...ignore Fleet Foxes and buy this...you won't be dissapointed.