The Felice Brothers: The Felice Brothers

Why is it so much fun listening to The Basement

Tapes and

not that much fun listening to bands inspired by The Basement Tapes It has a lot to do with

reverence. Bob Dylan and The Band didn't have much use for it, yet their

followers cling to it fruitlessly. Fortunately, native upstate New Yorkers The

Felice Brothers bring a sort-of irreverent reverence to their self-titled

American-label debut. The Felice Brothers is loose, sloppy, funny, and more than a

little drunken, which is to say, it nails the mood of The Basement Tapes pretty much perfectly. But

it's the songwriting that helps move The Felice Brothers out of the long shadow

of their influences. The best of the lot is "Frankie's Gun" (one of the five

songs re-recorded from the independently released Adventures Of The Felice

Brothers Vol. 1),

a ramshackle, accordion-powered goof about one palooka who shoots another. It

sounds timeless, yet tossed-off. Best of all, it's a real blast, just like

messing around with your drinking buddies (rock legends or not) should be.