Feels Good To Me (album)
"Feels Good To Me" is a 1977 album by Bruford. Although released under the name "Bruford", in practice this is a solo album by Bill. Although the Bruford band performs on the entire album, Allan would describe this album as session work. Bruford’s music is a highly technical and arranged mixture of fusion and progressive rock, Allan once called it “jigsaw music”. But it’s very well done, and a fan favourite among many. Jeff Berlin really pumps it on bass, and there are several nice guitar solos.
This album exists in two versions: The original mixes, as well as remixes carried out in the 2010s. Fans seem to prefer the original mix.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beelzebub" | Bill Bruford | 3:16 | Guitar solo 0.41-1.02, 1.47-3.01 |
| 2. | "Back to the Beginning" | Bruford | 7:09 | Guitar solo 3.25-5-52 |
| 3. | "Seems Like a Lifetime Ago (Part One)" | Bruford | 2:30 | |
| 4. | "Seems Like a Lifetime Ago (Part Two)" | Bruford | 4:25 | Guitar solos throughout |
| 5. | "Sample and Hold" | Bruford, Dave Stewart | 5:12 | 2.45-3.52 |
| 6. | "Feels Good to Me" | Bruford | 3:49 | Guitar solo 1.46-2.34 |
| 7. | "Either End of August" | Bruford | 5:27 | Guitar solo 4.24-5.27 |
| 8. | "If You Can't Stand the Heat..." | Bruford, Stewart | 3:20 | Guitar solo 1.38-2.35 |
| 9. | "Springtime in Siberia" | Bruford, Stewart | 2:43 | |
| 10. | "Adios a la pasada (Goodbye to the Past)" | Bruford, Annette Peacock | 7:55 | Guitar solos throughout |
Quotes on Feels Good To Me
Allan Holdsworth (Guitar Player 1980)
Over the next few years Holdsworth recorded on several albums, including drummer Bill Bruford’s first solo LP Feels Good To Me, and Jean-Luc Ponty’s Enigmatic Ocean. By this point touted primarily as a soloist, Holdsworth found himself trapped into a one-dimensional mode, feeling he had more to offer than just flashy embellishment to other people’s songs.
Allan Holdsworth (International Musician 1981)
In 1977 I joined Gong which was a potentially interesting writing situation, but they could never stop arguing long enough to orgnaise (sic) anything. We toured a little and then I left. Later that year I played on an album with Jean-Luc Ponty - ‘Enigmatic Ocean. In 1978 I played on Bill Bruford’s solo albums ‘Feels Good To Me’ and ‘One Of A Kind’. I joined U.K. in ‘78 which consisted of Bill, John Wetton, Eddie Jobson and myself, one album there. In 1979 I went to Paris with the new trio, and here we are two years later about to make another album. Ultimately I’d like the band to do a couple of albums and establish in the USA: I’m sure we’ll have more success over there.
Any Key In The U.K. (Unknown publication 1978)
How did U.K. come about? Well, it had been going for a while before I knew anything about it. John and Bill got together first and then found Eddie and, around that time, I met Bill who asked me to play on his solo album. I was introduced to the other guys and that’s how it happened. Nobody actually knew it was going to work or whether we’d get on together ‘cos there are a lot of differences. That’s probably one of the things that make it good.
Player Of The Month (Beat Instrumental 1978)
Bill Bruford’s solo album (out this month) is the latest of Holdsworth’s projects; the featured musicians also include Dave Stewart on keyboards and an American called Jeff Berlin on bass, whom Allan spent several minutes enthusing over ("He’s a killer. He’s gonna scare a lot of people. Really lethal.") At the time of writing secret rehearsals are going on with a new band believed to include Bruford, Holdsworth, Eddie Jobson and John Wetton. Whether this will result in a touring band, or in an album, or in both, is not known yet. Allan had been sworn to silence even regarding band personnel, and this information came from "another source". Let’s just hope it’s accurate.
Meanwhile, he is very content with the guitar sound on the Bruford album. Having experimented for years with amp arrangements and different guitars, he has now settled down with a 50 watt Marshall top, a pair of 4 x l2ins and also a 50 watt Hiwatt top. The amps have been "bodged" to increase the stages of amplification to the level of, say, a Boogie, and the signal-to-noise ratio has been improved to the point where there is virtually no hiss at all. "But also I think a lot of it is to do with that guitar.
Links
Ed's blog: http://threadoflunacy.blogspot.no/2017/07/10-bruford-feels-good-to-me.html
Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/Bruford-Feels-Good-To-Me/release/2178969
Original mix playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nD3ZfgVLReD8XGXzqfeof1FcFSqgVuGGc
Remix playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mcZ2AxnGQTao9w3TSEiB_O4NbYe-YV4AA
