Without Feathers [ENHANCED]

The Stills

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 9, 2006)
• Original Release Date: May 9, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Vice Records
• ASIN: B000F3AAVG
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #112,065 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. In the Beginning

2. Mountain

3. She's Walking Out

4. Helicopters

5. In the End

6. Oh Shoplifter

7. Outro

8. Halo the Harpoons

9. It Takes Time

10. Destroyer

11. Baby Blues

12. House We Live In

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

On its unexpectedly great debut album, Logic Will Break Your Heart, this Montreal four-piece managed to gracefully update the kohl-eyed new wave drama of bands such as the Psychedelic Furs and Echo and the Bunnymen. With the follow-up, the Stills look to inspiration from a more unlikely source: flannel-wearing, bagpipe-blowing, mullet-wearing '80s Scottish rockers, Big Country. No, really. The opening track and first single from Without Feathers, "In The Beginning," sounds like a distant slightly inbred cousin of ATV anthem "Fields of Fire." Coincidence? Perhaps. Meanwhile, a severe line-up change has left the Stills devoid of much of its original edge, as evidenced in sleepy, inspiration-free tracks like "In The End" and the doggedly mid-tempo "The House We Live In." Those that were reeled in by the last disc are in for bitter disappointment. But for, say, Simple Minds fans, it's another banner day. --Aidin Vaziri

Product Description

On their second release, Montreal's The Stills are back with a refreshed outlook and bold new take on their unique sound. Songwriter and drummer Dave Hamelin dropped his drumsticks to share vocal and guitar duties with Tim Fletcher. Also, touring keyboardist Liam O'Neil is now a permanent member, adding classic Hammond organ and lush piano to the new sound. Re-invigorated, the band invited friends and fellow Canadians to plug in and contribute. The resulting album is fearless, filled with brutally honest songwriting and a big, organic rock sound. Neil Young might have called this the "ragged glory" of a pop-rock band. Gone are the boys. This album has stubble.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars without interest, November 3, 2006

By	peetawonkus (Seattle) - See all my reviews

The majority of the reviews here seem to be a referendum on change. Some people seem to be defending the differences between this disc and the first one as growth and evolution. I don't think anyone who seriously loves music questions whether any band worth its salt ought to grow and change over time. But sometimes, well, "changes are no good.". If Picasso started painting like Norman Rockwell, that's not progress.

"Without Feathers" is not a bad album. If this was their first disc, I think reviewers would treat it with moderate kindness and probably say that the work shows promise. But, really, as a follow up recording to a masterpiece it's a C+ at best. They had a vibe and they lost it.

I was a fan of the original lineup and talent placement and I make no apologies for that. This is simply not the same band. In their personnel shift they lost their heart and soul. That happens with bands. You could find one example after another over the last 40 years. Great Bands make dumb decisions, or egos just get caught up in the craziness of the music business. Admittedly, "Logic Will Break Your Heart" is a hard act to follow and the pressures of the recording industry and critical expectations probably just took its toll. "Without Feathers" is going to be one of those $2.29 discs that clutters cut-out bins. Just watch and see.

We fall in love with a recording and it defines a time for us. Some people love a band so much that they just can't let go even when the band is clearly--and I mean clearly--on a downhill slide. They want to keep clinging to that magic, every little tiny scrap and chord. I'm not going to hang on to the ghost of something that was really good. Goodbye, Stills, it was nice. We'll always have "Logic Will Break Your Heart".

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better Than Logic????? Don't listen to those 1 star naysayers..., August 15, 2006

By	austin music lover (austin tx) - See all my reviews

I actually think it is. You see, just like many of you who have given this album bad reviews, I would have rated this as 1 star after my first listen. It was just not what I was expecting from the freaking Stills. After Logic, I was anticipating this next album to be more of the same sad-emotional-pop-rock, and I was greatly disappointed at first. Did they get happier and forget how to rock out? But I put aside my memory of what once was, and decided to listen to the album as if it was a completely different band. After a few listens, I can say that I love this album. I find myself listening to it more than Logic now.

Random thoughts on Without Feathers:
1. The catchy pop hooks are still here, just in folk rock form now :)
2. I disagree with people saying that Logic was original and that WF isn't. I thought Logic was catchy, and that you could rock out to it, but they sounded just like a ton of other post punk bands out there at the time. WF doesn't sound like anything i've heard.
3. Listen to "In The Beginning", "The Mountain", and "Oh Shoplifter". The layers and arrangements are amazing. "It Takes Time" is also ridiculously catchy.
4. I love their new uses of percussion and how the organ is central to their new sound. I love the rotary sounds they use (that whirring sound an organ makes).
5. Yes, there are some dud songs, like "Outro". The out of tune guitar in "Baby Blues" annoys me to no end.
6. Yes, if I was in control of the band, I would have Tim sing lead again. Dave's voice works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't
7. The new drummer Julien Blais is an upgrade from Dave's drumming.

Overall, I give WF 4 stars. But since people are giving it 1 star just because its not Logic: Part 2, I'm giving WF 5 stars to counter it :)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What the hell?!, May 24, 2006

By	Jeremy G. "Jeremy" (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews

What the hell happened to The Stills?! This is proposterous! I was walking through Borders in plans of buying a new CD. And what do I see on the front stand? The Stills' new album. I was like "All right!" So I snatch it, pay for it, and go home. I pop it in my CD player KNOWING that this album will be better than Logic. I was wrong. Immediately, after hearing the first 4 seconds of the first song, I knew something was wrong. So I skip to the next track, then the next, then the next. Then I realize, this isn't the same The Stills I thought I knew. What I thought was Tim on a bad day was actually Dave(Who should've held on to his drumsticks), all of the songs are slow(Not that I don't like slow songs. I just expect The Stills to be more upbeat), they throw in a piano, and the album sounds more like hip country than alternative rock. I am very dissapointed. I don't think I've ever been this dissapointed over an album. I sure hope that The Stills get off the acid they're probably on and get sober enough to make good music the way they use to.