Only Life | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 13, 1988 [1] | |||
Length | 39:17 | |||
Label | Coyote/A&M [2] | |||
Producer | Steve Rinkoff, Bill Million, Glenn Mercer | |||
The Feelies chronology | ||||
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Only Life is the third album by the American rock band the Feelies, released in 1988. [3] [4] It was made with the same line-up that appeared on the band's previous album, The Good Earth . [5] The album contains a cover of the Velvet Underground's "What Goes On". [6]
The album peaked at No. 173 on the Billboard 200. [7] Jonathan Demme directed the video for "Away". [8]
Only Life has been described as an "updated and mature form" of its predecessor, The Good Earth . It features fewer acoustic tracks, with a "greater focus on speedy jangle-strum rockers". [9]
The album was produced by Glenn Mercer, Bill Million, and Steve Rinkoff. [10]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | B+ [12] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Philadelphia Inquirer | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork | 7.6/10 [15] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10 [17] |
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." [18] 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." [16] Trouser Press praised the "amazingly exacting sound and performances" and "riveting songs of breathless electricity." [19] USA Today listed the album at number nine on its list of the ten best albums of 1988. [20]
All tracks are written by Glenn Mercer except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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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 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
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 |
Coyote/A&M act the Feelies' new single, "Away," from the album, "Only Life," due out Sept. 13