does anyone remember back in the day on the spongeabth site it said 'in the the studio with matt mahaffey' did they do something with him? did he produce some songs? which ones?

Yes, the Features recorded a full-length album with Mahaffey, only to have it (mysteriously) end up in the trash can.  Among the songs that were recorded were Kari-Ann, See You Thru, Darkroom, Exorcising Demons, Armani Suede, Paid to Think, Jurley, Serious (it's the version that's available for download on this site), and 33 1/3.  Though I rather enjoy listening to these recordings, they do not 'sound' like the Features.  All of the songs are very very produced, especially in the vocal department.  At times, in some of these songs, the Features sound a bit like Queen.  Anyway, I don't think that the band was happy with the album, so they scrapped it and made 'The Beginning.'

(Edited by jamiecarroll at 2:36 pm on Feb. 6, 2002)

The production on the beginning is almost as bad. I have not met one person who preferred the beginning over the mahaffey production. Although Pelham/Bocher did a better job producing, the last two songs really lack anything the features are about (imo).

Just kiss up to someone and I'm sure they'll make you a copy of the self, i mean features, album. It's said the features have no official policy on trading.

'Oh My Love' was also recorded during the Mahaffey sessions.

I don't think Jurley was on 'the mehaffey sessions'. I am pretty damn sure that they only did 10 songs. As far as i know, Captain Williams and Spongebath didn't have much to do with the recordings. The band has decided to scrap it temporarily. I have a feeling they don't loathe it as much as everyone here.

Roadie -

I don't loathe the Mahaffey Sessions at all. It can be deduced from other threads on this board that I have an affection for the wizzardry of Mr. Mahaffey. I just don't think that it accurately captures who the Features are right now. It's a false impression.

Was 'Armani Suede' recorded with Mahaffey? I thought that song was on the EP (which would have preceded the Mahaffey recordings by quite some time).

I feel the same way as most of the others; the Mahaffey recordings aren't that bad. They're just not what you'd expect to hear from the Features. I'm just glad to have a high-quality recording of those songs.

<<The production on the beginning is almost as bad. I have not met one person who preferred the beginning over the mahaffey production. >>

now you have.
while i am a fan of self and really like mahaffey as a producer in general, that album sounds NOTHING like the features. the beginning is obviously very raw, but at least it has energy, not just bleep-blip noises over drum loops. i guess that's kind of harsh. don't get me wrong; i listen to it quite a bit. but like someone said, it sounds much more like self than the features. at least the beginning (er... walk you home and week one, anyway) is *somewhat* representative of their sound.

oh and tom foolery, 'armani suede' was recorded again with matt mahaffey in addition to being on the s/t ep.

I hate the Mahaffey stuff.

I prefer 'The Beginning' as well, although I am yet to hear what I know The Features are capable of recording. I'm not sure The Features need much more on a record than what they do live, and for the most part, 'The Beginning' represents their live sound (at least on the rock songs). I enjoy having recordings of all the songs on the Mahaffey sessions, but I don't know if one song on it touches the respective live version. Also, (sorry Rollum) the snare drum sounds like the pair of electronic Hot Styxx ™ that I got for Chanukah when I was 8.

thanks to lauren i have most of those songs that everyone has mentioned and i realy think they quite good. it doesnt sound over produced but just produced. al bands have a tendency to have a more raw sound in their lie show than in the studio. beginning is more representative of what they can deliver live. it goes both ways for me. i like both sounds.
they sound nothing like self!! and i prefer the newest version of armani over the older version.

you want to be taken off my god list, don't you ghost?  the original armani is sacred.

hey i know who the features should get to produce their album...

i'm not saying i dont like it...the first ep is wonderful. i like the song itself. its an overall great song. sorry to disapoint you eno.

anything recorded by the features is sacred no matter who produced it.

junior members don't disappoint. you're still a god.

i, too, hate the mahaffey stuff.

hey i don't really care for either one. i would rather listen to quality live stuff or demos over any ep/album they've released/attempted. the best production was on the thursday single.

damn, i hope they don't try to please all of us. god knows what all they would have to do.

p.s. i was under the impression that i was the only person in the world who didn't like the self/features duo album.

speaking of armani suede..they need to start playing it live more. they played it at the 01.10.02 show but that was the first time in a long time i have heard it live.

WHAT??? There's a studio version of 'Armani Suede' that I don't have??? How can this be?!? This situation must be rectified!

I have 17 different studio versions of the song. Which one do you want?

just moving this back up to the top of the page. seems to be relevant again now.

The only Feature studio stuff I don't really like is that of 'Circus' and the original '33 1/3' because every source where I've heard them has such a low quality.

I really really like the Mississippi Album.
The Rawling Sessions aren't that great.
The Beginning and the Mahaffey sessions are both quite good, as different as they are. I like the songs, and getting a decent stack of Features studio stuff has really made a difference in how much I like them after listening to my horde of bootlegs for so long.

in my own humble opinion....even though the other recordings capture the features well...none of them were as good as the mahaffey stuff.....to me the missipi album was too lo-fi and not 'produced' enough....

rawling sessions? what tracks came out of that? Circus needs to be revived and recorded for the upcoming album.