The Feeling - 'Join With Us'
Oh brilliant! I love anagrams!
On their last album, the Feeling had two songs which were basically the same song, one about being fed up that your special someone hasn't rung you, and you really want them to (namely 'I Love It When You Call' and 'Fill My Little World'). They don't sound exactly the same, but in the same way that you sometimes can't tell which one of identical twins is standing in front of you unless they are both there, it was incredibly easy to get them muddled up.
It didn't help that both songs were released as singles, but that's not necessarily the band's fault, and in any case, they're both damn catchy.
So, here we are again. This is the song which was used to soundtrack a car ad at exactly the same time that the Feeling's last single - 'Turn It Up' was coming out, and the juxtaposition of the two songs shines a harsh light on just how much of a formula the band are working to at times. I didn't even spot that the song the band was performing on GM:TV all the time wasn't the one they were performing on the dashboard in the ad. And I quite like the Feeling!
Played side by side, the two songs don't sound all that similar, but pull them apart a bit, and the ideas start to merge. Both songs have a three word title which orders the listener to do something to improve their lot in life, before it is too late. Both songs feature a call-and-response chorus in which Dan Gillespie Sells sings that title, answered by ghostly harmonies. Both songs tip such a vigorous nod to early '70s pop that they risk severe damage to their neck muscles.
It's almost as if the band decided that there should be a song about self-improvement, and then sent this brief back to The Past, to see what the artists of the day could come up with. 'Join With Us' is the version of the song which has been written and arranged by ELO and Queen, where 'Turn It Up' was given to ABBA and the Who.
And being more of an ABBA/Who sort of person, 'Turn It Up' is the version that I tend to prefer. Would it perhaps have been a better idea to release this around the time of the car ad, and hold 'Turn It Up' back for a shot at the Christmas party market?
Just a thought...
Download: Out now
CD Released: September 15th
www.thefeeling.com
(Fraser McAlpine)
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