Love Me Tenderly,Dance Hall and Lady Day from Pawtucket RI

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#5 Greatest Felice Brothers Song (so far)- Rockefeller Drug Law Blues

Another song that has grown in popularity, in part because it has not been played live in a few years. The opening lyric is memorable "the exhaust from the prison van is going is going to Heaven, but i'm going to Attica"

The Rockefeller Drug Laws, was Draconian legislation enacted in the early 1970's, by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, that sentenced any criminal in possession of over 2 ounces of a controlled substance, to a minimum of 15 years to life. They were the harshest drug laws in the country, and roundly criticized around the nation for being too harsh and possibly discriminatory. They were rolled back in 2004, somewhat.

#6 Greatest Felice Brothers Song (so far)-"Forever Green"

This song has fans begging for its inclusion on setlists, and is growing more popular with every show they do not play it. Lyrically it mirrors The Rolling Stones "Wild Horses"

hear it here:

We would like to publish a video of a live performance of the song, but as far as our research can find, the song was only played live one time, in Rochester NY in 2009. No video exists that we can dig up. Please forward if you have a copy or see a performance in the future.

The great lyric in the song that stirs me is
"grandma was a country singer
id have loved to have seen her
making some barroom swing
i could see you doing that
gotta stetson hat
and electric guitar to sing with"

I researched a bit on the use of the Stetson hat as symbolism in blues music earlier this year. Read that here


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# 7 Greatest Felice Brothers Song (so far) Goddamn You, Jim

Dark and apocalyptic as a Cormac McCarthy novel, with a dash of Tom Waits, Goddamn You Jim, has always been the James Felice tour de force on stage, and the version above is accentuated by The Searchers thunderous accompaniment.
A heartbreaking song.

#8 greatest Felice Brothers song - "Marie"

Mark this up to mostly personal taste, I fell in love with the lyric from the start and the Randy Newman swing that accompanies it. It sounded like a hit song, and still does (although the rough presentation that is charming to me, might keep it away from radio dials).
Lyrically, the smart guy playing dumb, is always a big hit for me (and the song was dubbed "best Lyrics of the year" by Awkward World).

They say we ran our course
But i feel like a racing horse
Got a Feeling i will be running all my life
Oh, all i'm asking you Marie
is spend one more fare on me
Give me one more night

I thought i was smart enough
I read Moby Dick and stuff
I guess i ain't smart enough for you
oh, all i'm asking you Marie
is spend one more fare on me
give me one more night

You say you don't wanna dance
till i wash my hands
but my hands aren't as dirty as my mind
oh, all i'm asking you Marie
is spend one more fare on me
give me one more night

They say this song's in "G"
but i don't give a shit
i wrote this song in the key of love
oh, all i'm asking you Marie
is spend one more fare on me
give me one more night

#9 Greatest Felice Brothers Song- "the Devil is Real"

The first Felice Brothers concert that i attended, i was only familiar with the songs, before the show, and didn't know specifically who sang each tune. About halfway through a raucous set, with Ian Felice handling most of the vocals, the stage was littered with empty whiskey bottles, pots and pans, a tin cover to a trash can, and a sheet of aluminum roofing and had already seen the drum kit lose a cymbal stand into the crowd a couple times. Out of this wreckage emerged the drummer, who had already proved to be quite truculent behind the kit. He had goaded, teased, and joked with audience members, between songs and gave constant props to his brothers.
At This particular moment he stepped to the microphone at the front of the stage as his brother Ian, so readily slunked into the shadows, and the drummer, Simone Felice, proclaimed "This is for the powers that be!"
His eyes snuck back into the back of his skull as he began with a short spoken word poem, and then sang "The Devil is Real", a song so very different than the ones that they had been playing all night. Some argue that great songs, are really built around one great line, and for me the line in this one was "Bonnie, the birthmark at the base of your ass, it's shaped like the gallows and the shadow they cast"

It was powerful, and it added such a dynamic element to the live show of the band.
But also acted as a mission statement for the band at that particular moment in their history. For them, i think, it was a warning to the wide open world, that they were coming for it all. This is a time when their ambition seemed almost limitless. It was very charming, and completely believable.

a video clip

The Greatest Songs in Felice Brothers History #10 Take This Bread

Its tough to pick out 10 of the very best when there are so many great ones, from so many great songwriters to choose from. The standard for these picks are, personal taste, but also the response the tunes get from the audience, in a live setting, or in some cases a mysterious cult that surrounds songs that are rarely, if ever, played, though much admired.

We will post one song every day for the next ten days as we count down to #1.

So at #10, to start the countdown, we have a song off the 2008 self titled album, "Take This Bread". Written by Ian Felice, its a tribute to his late grandfather, who had recently passed away, and used a phrase, i think, similar to "I'm alright if you're alright." The version on the album begins with a phone message recorded from home, and is a much slower version than what we all hear live. The horns, the rollicking harmonies, The sounds of gunfire, coins and bottles falling to the ground, and a fantastic vocal performance by Ian.

The song was lauded this past summer by the Huffington Post as having a positive message to young people and promoting goodwill toward others.

Email me feedback Mvbigtuna@yahoo.com

Hear the album version here!!!

Here is a version from last years "Big Surprise Tour"