Get With It: Essential Recordings by Charlie Feathers

Charlie Feathers was a key engineer of the bridge between country music and rock & roll. This enlightening collection shows his progression from piercing hillbilly to energetic rocker, as fiddle and steel guitar get left behind in favor of the pulsing backbeat and guitar churn. No one really knows if he taught the Sun masters all they know, as he often claimed, but these recordings make that case irrelevant, since they stand very tall on their own merits. --Marc Greilsamer

According to Charlie Feathers, he taught Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Carl Perkins everything they knew only to end up owner of a barren bank account (the voluminous CD booklet pictures a check for three cents) and a small, dead-end Memphis house clogged with recording tape. On 21 should-have-been hits recorded for six Southern labels (plus a disc of unreleased material), Feathers works his rich, high, and plaintive voice over tunes conflating the stately fiddle and winsome lap steel from country and the chugging two-beat slapback of rhythm and blues. Never one to strangle a tune, Feathers approached a song like a barracuda behind aquarium glass, swimming forward slowly, baring his teeth, riveting you with a sentient inhuman eye, then vanishing with a flick of the tail back into the murk before you can decide whether fear is the proper emotion. A unique specimen, indeed. --Andrew Hamlin

The classic sides and revelatory rarities spotlight Feathers' uncanny rhythmic gift, brilliantly twisted lyrical personal, and keening razor-sharp whine....

 

After listening to this 2 disc gem, I'm left wondering why it took so many years ( I'm 45 ) for Feathers to come to my attention. After paying homage to Elvis, Perkins, the Killer and Cash, if one forges deeper into the fertile milieu of Sun Records archives, they will eventually arrive at Charlie Feathers. As the magnificent 44 page booklet relates, Feathers remains little known today because he was too tempramental and uncomprimising. By never allowing Sam Phillips to have the final say on a take, many of Feather's best songs were never released by Sun where they would have garnered the most acclaim.
Still, Phillips and the star-studded cast at Sun all attest to the genius and uniqueness of Feathers.
The unadulterated country cuts like "I've Been Deceived" and "Runnin' Around" are smooth as silk. They are standard mid-fifties crooners in the Hank Williams mode. But bolstered by Feather's rich and calculating voice, these numbers rank among the best of that genre. "Peepin' Eyes", while performed in the same vein is a happy-go-lucky treatment of the perverse fact of peeping-toms, replete with beautiful vocal harmony.
The rockabilly fare in this collection is as good as it gets. Yet absent is the raucousness of Sonny Burgess, the humor of Carl Perkins or the egotism of Jerry Lee Lewis. What Feathers brings to the table is the conviction of country music. Listen to his rendering of the legendary "Frankie & Johnny" in which he holds a high note for an eternity ala Johnny Mathis. The listener is steered through this tale of tragedy by a bare-bones beat and simple, yet ominous acoustic picking. An electric guitar enters in the final moments as anti-climax before Feathers fades with multiple repetitions of the mournful phrase " Ya done, done, done me wrong". "One Hand Loose" is a livelier, cockier number that sounds more like his contemporaries. But the "tip-top daddy" in this song, although he sports a real nifty guitar riff, inevitably prefers to keep one hand tied. He just won't condone letting all hell break loose on his watch. Feathers displays the versatility of his voice again with a frenzy of hiccupping in " Bottle to the Baby ". This is a vocal gimmick he may have pioneered and which can be heard in numerous rock vocalists during the years immediately following. It is no longer a mystery to me where Cramp's lead singer Lux Interior got this affectation for their psychobilly act. In fact, the Cramps have borrowed much from Feathers. They cover his " Can't Hardly Stand It ", renaming it " All Tore Up " for the key lyrics.
This package also let's you follow the evolution of a song by providing four different takes of " Bottle to the Baby ". Not only the arrangement, but the lyrics are altered between takes. This album is a comprehensive presentation of a superb rockabilly purest and minimalist. Any listener with some grounding in and appreciation for that brief and fleeting period where the musical traditions of country and blues melded, will quickly recognize Charlie Feathers as a master and icon.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Rockin' Tonite!, By  Randy Ratliff (KCMO) Good Golly, Molly! This could be the soundtrack for a better world. Charlie Feathers had a primal country wail that must have peeled paint, curdled milk, and made the little girls go out of their heads. I stared at my speakers in astonishment as everything I love about Memphis, country, blues, rockabilly and space aliens came pouring out of them. I felt like I was sitting next to Carl, Elvis, and even Buddy when their ears popped, their jaws dropped, and they thought, "Hey! I wonder if I could do that?" This is serious artistry on all counts, blending roots bluegrass, blues, and country with rockabilly slapback and demon soul. I thought a few of these cuts would have a shot even on today's synthetic radio, the way they pounce on you and hold you in their hungry, feral embrace. Feathers is better than I can say, and I'm appalled I'm only learning of him now. Even if he isn't the legitimate father of rock 'n roll, he sure sounds like it. The first disc is composed of Feathers singles and some B-sides, and you'll wonder why he wasn't a king of the charts. But the second disc, made up of demos, home recordings, experiments, and other downtown fooling around may be even better. The man had so many strange and good ideas that this disc could be his White Album. Do yourself a favor. Find this record.

5.0 out of 5 stars Hep cats rejoice!, By  Jenny A. Kalahar "the_story_shop" (Elwood, IN USA) Fans of rock-a-billy or almost any genre will absolutely love this set! It's like opening a fabulous present when you thought everyone forgot your birthday. I've listened to it endlessly and never tire of it. It is really a shame that Charlie never got proper recognition as the genious he is. Do yourself a huge favor and get it!