Felt - Bubblegum Perfume (LP)

Sealed.

The track listing for this 2023 reissue on 1972 replicates the 2011 Cherry Red reissue rather than the 1990 Creation original (Tracks B2, B4 & B5 replacing the original 'A Wave Crashed On Rocks', 'Declaration' & 'Gather Up Your Wings And Fly').

Following a run with Cherry Red Records that featured a potential major label jump, guitarist Maurice Deebank quitting and rejoining multiple times, several pop stardom carrots just out of reach, mixing battles with Robin Guthrie, and a shocking entry into the record charts, Lawrence (just "Lawrence", like "Cher" or "Madonna" thank you very much) knew he would be making a change with his band Felt. He would be seeing out his plan of ten albums and ten singles in ten years alongside a new partner in Creation Records. This compilation beautifully captures those years.

Creation was beginning a rapid ascent at the time, with Alan McGee serving as it's hyperactive mouthpiece and focal point. McGee was all in on the band. "Lawrence achieved pop perfection, a breathless rush of sensitivity and intelligence. It was too understated to be commercial, too art to go pop, too pop to go art-in other words it was a perfect combination of all the music I loved at the time." McGee was thrilled to have what he considered a real star on the label, and Lawrence was equally thrilled to have such an enthusiastic cheerleader. He funneled that enthusiasm into some of the most focused songwriting of his career, as well as some of his wildest experiments, all of which are on display here.
 
Side One - Bubblegum
1 I Will Die with My Head in Flames
2 Stained-Glass Windows in the Sky
3 I Didn't Mean to Hurt You
4 Space Blues
5 Autumn
6 Be Still
7 There's No Such Thing As Victory
8 Magellan
9 The Final Resting of the Ark
10 Sandman's on the Rise Again

Side Two - Perfume
1 Don't Die on My Doorstep
2 Tuesday's Secret
3 Book of Swords
4 Female Star
5 Fire Circle
6 The Darkest Ending
7 Bitter End
8 Rain of Crystal Spires
9 Voyage to Illumination
10 Ballad of the Band