{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Only Life | type = studio | artist = [[the Feelies]] | cover = feeliesonlylife.jpg | alt = | released = September 13, 1988<ref>{{cite magazine |author1=Dupler, Steven |author1-link=Steven_Dupler |title=The Eye |magazine=Billboard |date=1988-09-03 |volume=100 |issue=36 |page=48 |language=English |issn=0006-2510 |quote=Coyote/A&M act the Feelies' new single, "Away," from the album, "Only Life," due out Sept. 13}}</ref> | recorded = | venue = | studio = | genre = | length = 39:17 | label = Coyote/[[A&M Records|A&M]]<ref name=CL/> | producer = Steve Rinkoff, Bill Million, [[Glenn Mercer]] | prev_title = [[The Good Earth (The Feelies album)|The Good Earth]] | prev_year = 1986 | next_title = [[Time for a Witness]] | next_year = 1991 | misc = {{Singles | name = Only Life | type = studio | single1 = Away | single1date = 1988 }} }} '''''Only Life''''' is the third album by the American [[Rock music|rock]] band [[the Feelies]], released in 1988.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-feelies-mn0000762177/biography|title=The Feelies | Biography & History|website=AllMusic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://relix.com/reviews/detail/the_feelies_only_life_time_for_a_witness/|title=The Feelies: Only Life & Time for a Witness|date=June 10, 2016|website=Relix Media}}</ref> It was made with the same line-up that appeared on the band's previous album, ''[[The Good Earth (The Feelies album)|The Good Earth]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ufUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104|title=Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996|first=Andrew|last=Earles|date=September 15, 2014|publisher=Voyageur Press|isbn=9780760346488|via=Google Books}}</ref> The album contains a cover of [[the Velvet Underground]]'s "[[What Goes On (Velvet Underground song)|What Goes On]]".<ref name=RS/>
The album peaked at No. 173 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-feelies/chart-history/tlp/|title=The Feelies|magazine=Billboard}}</ref> [[Jonathan Demme]] directed the video for "Away".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/feelies-saying-something|title=FEELIES SAYING SOMETHING - Record Collector Magazine}}</ref>
==Style== ''Only Life'' has been described as an "updated and mature form" of its predecessor, ''[[The Good Earth (The Feelies album)|The Good Earth]]''. It features fewer acoustic tracks, with a "greater focus on speedy jangle-strum rockers".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Earles |first1=Andrew |title=Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996 |date=September 15, 2014 |publisher=Yoyageur Press |page=104}}</ref>
==Production== The album was produced by [[Glenn Mercer]], Bill Million, and Steve Rinkoff.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jenkins |first1=Mark |title=Records: The Feelies And Pere Ubu: Polished Power |journal=The Washington Post |date=14 Sep 1988 |page=C7}}</ref>
==Critical reception== {{Music ratings | rev1 = [[AllMusic]] | rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web|author=Ned Raggett |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/only-life-mw0000197559 |title=Only Life - The Feelies | Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=[[AllMusic]] |date= |accessdate=2015-11-10}}</ref> | rev2 = [[Robert Christgau]] | rev2Score = B+<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=feelies |title=CG: feelies |website=Robert Christgau |date=1991-03-26 |accessdate=2015-11-10}}</ref> |rev3 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]'' |rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref name="CL">{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=3 |page=415}}</ref> |rev4 = ''[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide]]'' |rev4score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{cite book |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1999 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=419}}</ref> |rev5 = ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' |rev5score = {{rating|4|4}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moon |first1=Tom |title=A STRONG BAND THAT WINS WITH ITS INSTRUMENTALS |journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=9 Oct 1988 |page=G14}}</ref> | rev6 = ''[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]]'' | rev6Score =7.6/10<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21666-only-lifetime-for-a-witness/|title=The Feelies: Only Life/Time For A Witness|website=Pitchfork}}</ref> |rev7 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' |rev7score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="auto">{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thefeelies/albums/album/111234/review/5946864/only_life|title=The Feelies: Only Life : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=November 3, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081103074208/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thefeelies/albums/album/111234/review/5946864/only_life|archive-date=2008-11-03}}</ref> |rev8 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' |rev8score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="RS">{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |page=242}}</ref> |rev9 = ''[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]'' |rev9score = 7/10<ref>{{cite book |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |date=1995 |publisher=Vintage Books |pages=146–147}}</ref> }} ''[[Magnet (magazine)|Magnet]]'' wrote that "the songs grapple with apprehension and the longing for comfort, which the music delivers in the form of indelible hooks and transcendent rave-ups."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://magnetmagazine.com/2016/04/17/essential-new-music-the-feelies-only-life-and-time-for-a-witness/|title=Essential New Music: The Feelies' "Only Life" And "Time For A Witness"|date=April 17, 2016}}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' wrote: "Driven by the interlocking guitars of Mercer and Bill Million, the band constructs waves of beautiful hypnotic drone, with subtle tempo shifts and percussion accents that ripple through the arrangements."<ref name="auto"/> ''[[Trouser Press]]'' praised the "amazingly exacting sound and performances" and "riveting songs of breathless electricity."<ref>{{cite web |title=Feelies |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/feelies/ |website=Trouser Press |access-date=15 April 2021}}</ref> ''[[USA Today]]'' listed the album at number nine on its list of the ten best albums of 1988.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gundersen |first1=Edna |title=The year in music: Only a few stand out in a so-so period for rock: In 1988, pop falls short on substance |journal=USA Today |date=13 Dec 1988 |page=1D}}</ref>
==Track listing== {{Track listing | headline = Side one | all_writing = [[Glenn Mercer]] except where noted | title1 = It's Only Life | length1 = 3:01 | title2 = Too Much | length2 = 4:38 | writer2 = Bill Million, Glenn Mercer | title3 = Deep Fascination | length3 = 4:07 | title4 = Higher Ground | length4 = 4:38 | title5 = The Undertow | length5 = 3:43 | total_length = 20:07 }} {{Track listing | headline = Side two | title1 = For Awhile | length1 = 4:05 | title2 = The Final Word | length2 = 2:23 | writer2 = Million, Mercer | title3 = Too Far Gone | length3 = 3:38 | writer3 = Million, Mercer | title4 = Away | length4 = 5:27 | title5 = [[What Goes On (Velvet Underground song)|What Goes On]] | length5 = 3:37 | writer5 = [[Lou Reed]] | total_length = 19:10 }}
==Personnel== * [[Glenn Mercer]] – lead, rhythm and slide guitars, lead vocals, keyboards * Bill Million – electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals, e-bow * Brenda Sauter – bass, backing vocals * Stan Demeski – drums, percussion * Dave Weckerman – percussion, drums
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{The Feelies}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:The Feelies albums]] [[Category:1988 albums]] [[Category:A&M Records albums]]