Customer Reviews

Good Feeling

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Travis debut album is rock music by the numbers. The band aren't concerned with new trends or the styles of the day but just with making straight up rock music. This is why the album is so good.

The singles All I Want to do is Rock (more rockier Radiohead song), U16 Girls (Stonesesque sleaze), Tied to the 90's (Britpop in 1994), Happy (simplicity) and More Than Us (lovely folk) are all excellent. Tied to the 90's especially is a wonderful stand out on the album.

The first half of Feeling is the rockier bit. It is all good with the exception of Midsummer Night's Dream. The second half is lovely, morose, introspective music. More than Us, Falling Down, and especially I Love You Anyways are among the albums high points.

Overall Good Feeling is the sign of a great band with even greater things to come. When I saw them at the Reading Festival they played a new song, Flowers in the Window which showed a lot of promise.

Good Feeling should be big in the States but once again, pig headed radio dj's can't seem to play anything British. It's a shame because it's all better music.

Noel Gallagher claimed Travis were genius and with this album you can see why.

Buy it now!

Travis is best known for being one of the most downbeat Britpop bands in existance, but their debut "Good Feeling" is Brit-rock -- happy rock, depressed rock, evenly divided between melancholy and joy. It doesn't have the musical polish of their later efforts, but it does have the infectious exuberance of a young band.

"Hey/I would really like to talk to you/girl/all I want to do is rock!" Fran Healy announces happily at the start of the album. That sentiment carries through the first half of the album, full of uptempo powerpop that ranges from the fuzzy "Good Day To Die" to the swirling melody of the title track. What they lack in experience, they make up in gung-hoety.

When it hits the midway mark, "Good Feeling" changes in tone -- it becomes less about wanting to rock, and more poignant and plaintive. Despite the bouncy poppiness of "Happy," the second half is overwhelmingly melancholy ballads, usually about the fragility of love. While not as much fun as the powerpop, these piano-led ballads are extremely beautiful.

Most bands sound awkward when they're still figuring out what kind of music they want to do. Travis wasn't one of those bands -- they sound equally good when they do sad ballads, and upbeat catchy pop. And though Travis later decided to do the melancholy music, if you listen to "Good Feeling" it's hard not to wish that they could include a few uptempo numbers too.

For a beginner band they were remarkably polished -- the piano melodies are exquisite, and they do some remarkable things with crunchy guitar riffs and some reverbing basslines. The songwriting is one of the few stumbling blocks -- the downtempo numbers are prettily written ("I think you should be framed/in some fine art gallery/I know you'd disagree with me/but I love you anyways"), but the pop numbers contain some real groaners ("I'm a foot without a sock").

Those groaners are admittedly hard to notice, though -- Fran Healy sings these as if he's been doing it all his life, and he adds some extra life to an already solid album. One minute he's purring along and happily yelling along to the riffs, then he's softly murmuring along to the piano.

The style of "Good Feeling" got left behind by Travis, but their debut remains a solid Britpop album that mixes solid powerpop with exquisite ballads. Definitely worth checking out.

"Good Feeling" is a fun solid debut. First of all I'd like to say I bought this album when it first came out before Travis got lots of hype. When I first got it, I thought it was average but revisiting it I like it even more. It's an album like "Definitely Maybe" by Oasis that is just fun sing-along pub rock that you listen to after work on a Friday. While the songs may seem up beat. You really can listen to "Good Feeling" weather you're happy or sad.

The first three songs :"All I Want To Do Is Rock", "U16 Girls", and "The Line Is Fine" are the best songs on the album. They are all single worthy songs and will get you addicted to this album right away. "Good Day To Die" shows a more darker side of Travis that isn't so apparent on "Good Feeling" but heard more on "The Man Who." "Good Feeling" has a nice piano touch and is the heart of the album. "Midsummer Nights Dreamin'" reminds me of a song right out of the 60s(Possibley The Who or even early Beatles.) "I Love You Anyways" and "More Than Us" show the more softer and lighter moments of "Good Feeling."

While I like the way Travis are headed; I hope they go back to the raw energy of rock heard on this album. "Good Feeling" is much worth your money and will give you great pleasure to listen to.

I became a Travis fan after seeing and MTV2 clip of Why Does It Always Rain On Me? I bought THE MAN WHO and fell in love with the melodic, acoustic, free-spirited songs. So naturally I bought GOOD FEELING. I was disappointed. It's hard for me to belive it's the same band. While THE MAN WHO is lyrically strong, sounds polished, and well produced; GOOD FEELING sounds more like an unrehearsed English grunge band. No doubt, it's great rock and roll with some toe tapping tunes. But if you are searching for more of what you love about THE MAN WHO, I don't think you are going to find it on this disk. I took the time to listen to all the Real Audio clips on amazon.com and failed to trust my instincts.

This has to be one of my favourite albums, the main reason being that there are songs for every possible mood you could be in. Recently accused of statutory rape? Try listening to U16 Girls. Sick of pop-culture and the 90's? Listen to Tied To the 90's. Feeling depressed? Good Day To Die would be the song for you. Or maybe you're just plain happy. Then listen to Good Feeling, the CD's title track.

Usually I divide this cd into two halves. Up to Tied To the 90's is half 1 and is much more upbeat, rock, even music you can dance to. The tracks after that resemble their follow up album to "Good Feeling", "The Man Who". However, they are no more less enjoyable and one of my favourite lyric of all time comes from the song Happy (Blow me a kiss/I'll be happy the rest of my life). Yes, it's utterly cheesy and such, but oh it's so beautiful. Fran Healey ventures into his lovely falsetto range on this half, which also dominates their follow-up album.

Update: After a few more listens, this album has grown on me some... still far from my favorite but quite enjoyable on its own...
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I put this cd on my wish list after liking every song I had heard by Travis and recieved it for Christmas. The first half of the cd is hard, raw, and practically unlistenable. The 2nd half is mostly ballads but none as good as the new albums. You should listen to some samples of this album to judge for yourself but I really like Travis, but I really don't like this album.

Although Travis is one of my new favorite bands, for the benefit of those just discovering them, their debut has to be measured within the context of all their work.

The incredible unevenness of "Good Feeling" hits you with the first two songs. A solid opener with big, broad chords of worthy of an anthem --"All I Wanna Do is Rock"-- is followed by the simply embarrassing "U16 Girls", in which Travis invokes the tired subject from rock n' roll mythology of fantasizing about jailbait high schoolers. Complete with "nah-nah nah" choruses, it is truly not one of their finer moments. The middle of the album is strong, with "Good Day To Die", the title track, and "Midsummer Nights Dreamin" all being some of the bands best up tempo numbers. These are book ended by serviceable, if unspectacular tracks like "The Line is Fine" and "Happy", but the album is dragged down by the obvious filler of "Tied to the 90's" (complete with soccer chants).

The album's real saving grace are the four quiet numbers located towards the close of the album (who sequenced this anyway?). These songs show that perhaps, this type of music-- which they latched onto for two subsequent albums-- is really their forte. Whether it's the quiet beauty of "More Than Us" or the building closer "Funny Thing", these tracks, along with the better tracks mentioned above, are essential listening for fans of this band.

Put simply, those looking to explore Travis should start with "The Man Who" and then decide if you want (almost) more of the same on The Invisible Band, or check out the band developing their identity on this album. Hopefully, Travis will rediscover the best about their louder selves and find a way to give us both types of music-- thereby showcasing all of their strengths-- on their next record.

I love Travis. Their music is really unique, and their syle is alot different than any other band out there. Although this isn't my favourite album of theirs, it is still great. If you are a fan of their other material, don't be alarmed, this is nothing like The Invisible Band or The Man Who. It is rockier, and a little bit rougher around the edges, but it's great.

And they rock, all right.

Travis' debut _Good Feeling_ is just plain fun. Don't expect anything like their amazing _The Man Who_, but it's undeniable that this is a great album.

From first track to last, this is one is thoroughly listenable. A joy to hear.

Travis did develop into a somewhat (dare I say) better band with _The Man Who_, which is one of the best albums released last year, but _Good Feeling_ is also well worth a listen.

Good pop rock entertainment, the musical equivalent of a hamburger with a generous side of fries.

Sometimes, all you want to do is rock anyway.

A wonderful mixture of cheery rock numbers and achingly poignant ballads, 'Good Feeling' saw Travis take their first steps towards international stardom, and deservedly so. While the album may not sound as polished as 'The Man Who', songs such as 'All I Want To Do Is Rock', 'Happy' and 'More Than Us' offer the stylistic and atmospheric variety which is arguably lacking in the band's second album. It is difficult to pinpoint any weak tracks, and although 'The Line Is Fine' and 'Midsummer Night's Dreamin' become a little grating after a few listens, this is amply compensated for by the presence of numerous stand-out songs, and the general feeling of completeness which surrounds the album.

I await Travis's third album with eagerness, and high expectations.