Just got my import copy of "Exhibit A" and I really like Kari-Ann and Darkroom. I don't see why Darkroom wasn't on the US version though. I think it sounds better than a few of the songs that did make it. It has always been one of my favorites, so perhaps I'm biased.

That being said, I still like the way the Mahaffey (sp) versions sounded much better. Why didn't they stick with him?

Because, Joey, most of the world is not ready for the genius that is Matt Mahaffey.

i guess i'm not ready for his genius yet, cuz i like the new ones way more. same goes for demons and see you thru. the mahaffey stuff just doesn't have enough energy for me, and i like the "played as live" sound of the newer stuff. my uk exhibit a came today and i'm lovin the bonus tracks. i like the remixed blow it out better also, you can hear the keys more.

(Edited by Casualken at 12:09 am on May. 10, 2005)

You can hear the keys more on the two Mahaffey songs than you could on the older versions I have. I'm not sure if I like that yet or not.

they got rid of the "ooh la la"s from bridge on oh my love and the background talkback parts during verse two. the overall mixes are better than the old copies that i've got, but i'm not sure that those older ones ever went through the final mixing stages so that could be why.

Can we get an FAQ section of this board so that I don't have to answer this again?

The Mahaffey versions were the definitive versions for the longest time because they were more polished than the Rawlings sessions, and no others surfaced. I've been waiting for something like this to come along and make for better listening.

My question wasn't why they didn't use they old mahaffey versions, because I agree, they were not polished enough for a new cd. I am curious as to why they didn't let mahaffey produce the new album altogether. I feel like "Exhibit A" captures The Features live sound much better than the Mahaffey recordings, but that "overproduced" Mahaffey sound was just so catchy.



In regards to a FAQ. You know, this board has needed something like that ever since I've been a fan. I have no idea why a FAQ has not been included on the site somewhere. Now that the band's popularity is becoming "international", more and more people will have basic questions that may become evermore repetitive.

for those who havent seen the cover art for the import version....

here it is....



i prefer it much more than the US cover art.

also, i saw where you can buy it for $25 on amazon.com.....

so much better than the the us version it's silly.

.... i wonder what kind of camera that is...

it's cheaper to import it from amazon.co.uk. i got exhibit a and the blow it out single for $28 after shipping.

You clever son of a gun!

I'm assuming these are just remixes, not new performances. Still, my interest in the Features is once again piqued, and I'll definitely be getting a copy soon...

For what it's worth, I still like the Mahaffey Sessions better than Exhibit A. Yes, I'm a big fan of Self (best band ever, simply because of their/his variety, style, and sheer volume of flawless material), and yes, that probably does affect my opinion a little. Still, the songs are great, and Mahaffey's presentation of them are excellent. You can bitch and moan about how it doesn't capture their "live sound" all you want, but if I want their live sound, I'll get a fucking bootleg. Know what I mean? Bands go into studios to make albums, and that, to me, means that they'll be doing at least a couple things that they can't pull off live. You know, to make it special, to put it over the top, and to not...well, make it sound like it was recorded in an empty club somewhere. Some bands take the studio thing a little bit too far (names won't be mentioned), but by all means, you could only make complaints about that with the Mahaffey Sessions in the slightest of degrees. And I'd still disagree with you.

And yet, the Mahaffey Sessions were never completed. I think it was made clear, either by the Features' loss of interest in those songs (they had already canned at least two "completed" albums previously, so that might be the most probable reality), or by the apparent disintegration of Spongebath and an assumed lack of interest from whatever labels they shopped the thing around to, that these songs would never be released. If the album's release was ensured, I'm sure Matt Mahaffey would've finished mixing them, and that the end product would sound much clearer and louder than the current bootleg. Just listen to the Katies EP he recorded the same year (or was that in 2001?)...I've never heard Mahaffey produce a band poorly, and the Features are no exception.

(Edited by Jakob Dorof at 4:50 pm on May. 24, 2005)

Self.



Anyway, get the UK edition off eBay. Then it will go for like $15.

Name one overproduced Self track and I'll make a counterpoint (excepting "Stay Home," which is indeed quite overproduced, but as it was going to be the theme song for Shrek, you can't blame the guy for making it as pretty and saccharine as possible. And taking it as the little pop confection that it is, it remains a very enjoyable song).

Don't get frustrated, JD. As I've said before, Self goes right over a lot of people's heads.

Oh, I know (though ironically, if introduced to the right single song, anyone could be a Self fan)...I just find the claim that Self's music is overproduced as a complete surprise (citation of CFP's debut album as being an example of Mahaffey overproducing is a little more expected, and I contest that claim [which has been made previously on these boards, if I do remember correctly] as well...though that's neither here nor there). The thought's never crossed my mind, and believe me, it has many a time for several other bands I love. I'm interested as to what song(s) could possibly evoke such an opinion, and why. I just like debating these things.

God i love Self...
Oh did you all hear he is opening for Beck on his European leg? amazing.

Overproduction (and underproduction) are relative terms.

Also, maybe "overproduction" is not a bad thing.

This is really sad news, but according to the Self messageboard, Mike Mahaffey passed away this morning.

Wow. That's terrible news. He was still relatively young, right?

This is terrible. For those of you who don't listen to Self, you really should. At least do it for Mike and enjoy the music he helped make.

Hey, so I'm late to the game. My two copper coins go something like this:

Self's great. One of my favorite bands. Bar none. Introduced me to Spongebath, and thus, The Features. But the Mahaffey sessions don't just not sound like The Features live experience, they don't even sound like The Features. they sound like this crazy Features-Self collaboration. Which is awesome as an artifact, and I enjoy it as much as the next guy. But it isn't the way to start your career. Having already scrapped one album (not two, unless there's another that I don't know about), they saw that they had an album that wasn't them. And that's just the wrong foot to start on, so they didn't. They made the right choice, because had they released those sessions, they'd have been in a situation where they were expected to live the lie that they were this thing that they weren't. I don't think anyone is arguing that they sound bad, just that they sound wrong.

Exhibit A is a much, much better "we're here and we're the motherfucking Features" record. Which is what they need and deserve.

What I need and deserve is an iTunes downloadable b-side compilation to get the good like Exhibit B, See You Through, Dark Room, and Kari-Anne.

Are the Mahaffey sessions tunes ("recorded with Matt Mahaffey" ones) totally new mixes that need to be heard? If so, put those up too

Will

Sounds much more like straight up old Features to me (which I prefer, to be honest). Not quite as winsomely new wave and exuberant like the original EP songs (which I'm assessing on the songs only, as I only have early bootlegs of them...I still don't have the studio recordings themselves), but sort of in-transit between Old Features and New Features. Pretty damn similar to the only available bootleg of the era I know, 1999 @ Sebastian's. If the Features' sound at that time sounded at all undeveloped or "a little off," that was just them recovering from losing two key bandmembers (they do sound a little unsure of themselves on said bootleg). And if you want to make an argument about the songs of the Mahaffey Sessions, that's a whole different deal altogether, although I remain steadfast in saying that they're probably the best collection of tunes the band's ever brought to the studio all at once. It might be a little misleading of what they would come to sound like just a year later, but at the time, that's just what the Features were.

Just to clarify, you don't actually think that the Mahaffey sessions sound *more* like the band you occasionally might go to see, do you? I don't think too strong a case could be made for that.

I think in the end we'll have to agree to disagree. You make some interesting and accurate points, namely that the sound is heavily influenced by the loss of two bandmembers. And in the end, that may have been the reason they ditched the record: they were still a band searching for a sound. But I'll argue to the death that Exhibit A is a much better "Hello World, we're the Features" record, particularly from a recording standpoint.

As for the songs from the Mahaffey sessions, don't read any kind of criticism into my words. I think Jurley and Serious needed to go, in the end, but the remaining eight songs are among their best. Take out the "oldies" that were included in 33 1/3, Paid to Think and Armani Suede, and you have a remarkably strong set of 5 amazing songs. And, unsurprisingly, Demons, Kari-Anne, Darkroom, See You Through, and Oh My Love have all seen release in the new era, and only Oh My Love wasn't rerecorded for it (but, I'm to understand, was remixed). But of those five, only Exorcising Demons and Oh My Love ever sounded "right" to me based on the shows I've been to (this fact leads to the fact that, despite my argument, I had to warm up to the new recording of Demons). 33 1/3's recording doesn't even sound remotely like the song that I'm always jazzed to hear at shows. I have yet to hear the new See You Through, Kari-Anne, and Darkroom, but I'd bet anything that they sound more "right" to me than the Mahaffey sessions.

As for not including the songs as A-sides, think it was the right call. The songs largely belie the band's newer sound and the direction they seem to be embracing for the future. They've included them as B-Sides for the bigger fans that won't base their opinion of the band on that sound. Seems logical to me. No use introducing a new crop of fans to a sound you're moving away from. Now, not making it easier for their stateside (and Tennessee-side) fans to get their hands on them? That was just cruel. Not that I imagine they had any say.

That's the way it looks from where I sit. But hey, everyone's allowed their opinion, and I don't begrudge you yours.

Will