Can You Feel It (Larry Heard song)

"Can You Feel It" is a 1986 song by Larry Heard, released under the Mr. Fingers moniker. It is one of the first deep house records.[2] Its seminal impact on deep house has been compared to that of Derrick May's "Strings of Life" on Detroit techno.[3]

"Can You Feel It"
Fingers Inc. version cover
Single by Mr. Fingers
from the album Washing Machine EP
B-side"Beyond the Clouds"
Released1986
RecordedChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genre
Length5:45
LabelTrax
Songwriter(s)Larry Heard
Producer(s)Larry Heard

Production

Larry Heard created "Can You Feel It" by using the Roland Juno-60 synthesizer and the Roland TR-909 drum machine.[4] In a 2017 interview with Vice, he recalled, "I had two cassette decks—there were no digital recorders or even multi-track recorders—and I did one take, one pass, on one tape, then ran it back to the other one, played some other parts by hand that I wanted to add, and that was pretty much the recording process."[4]

Release

"Can You Feel It" was originally released as an instrumental on Mr. Fingers' 1986 EP Washing Machine.[4] The song later appeared on Fingers Inc.'s 1988 album Another Side.[5]

There are two mash-up versions of the song: one using Chuck Roberts' speech from the a cappella version of Rhythm Control's "My House", and another using Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.[6]

Critical reception

In 2014, Rolling Stone included the song on the "20 Best Chicago House Records" list.[7]

In 2015, Pitchfork placed the song at number 76 on the "200 Best Songs of the 1980s" list.[8] Patric Fallon wrote: "Vocalless in its original form, the 1986 single has no hook and eschews all semblance of pop structure, completely surrendering to an endless groove built on jazzy hi-hats and sumptuous chords."[8]

In 2017, Mixmag included the song on the "Best 20 House Classics from Before 1990" list.[9]

In 2018, Time Out placed the song at number 5 on the "20 Best House Tracks Ever" list.[10]

In 2020, NME included the song on the "20 Best House Music Songs" list.[11] El Hunt stated that the song is "commonly regarded as one of the first examples of deep house thanks to its meditative, ambient undercurrent."[11]

In 2020, Slant Magazine placed the song at number 68 on the "100 Best Dance Songs of All Time" list.[12]

Charts

Fingers Inc.'s version of the song peaked at number 78 on the UK Singles Chart in 1988.[13]

References
  1. Kellman, Andy. "Rave Anthems: The Best Old Skool Rave and Warehouse Classics - Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  2. Iqbal, Mohson (January 31, 2008). "Larry Heard: Soul survivor". Resident Advisor. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  3. Pirovich, Michelle (August 12, 2005). "Various Artists - The Kings of House, Compiled and Mixed by Masters at Work". In the Mix. Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  4. Baines, Josh (June 28, 2017). "Larry Heard Talks Us Through the Making of "Can You Feel It"". Vice. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  5. McDermott, Matt (May 13, 2015). "Fingers Inc.'s Another Side to be reissued on vinyl". Resident Advisor. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  6. Gillen, Brendan (September 27, 2015). "Larry Heard and Fingers Inc. on the Story of a House Classic". Electronic Beats. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  7. Castillo, Arielle; Dayal, Geeta; Harris, Keith (April 2, 2014). "20 Best Chicago House Records". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  8. "The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s (page 7 of 10)". Pitchfork. August 24, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  9. Anderson-Rich, Harrison; Williams, Louis (October 29, 2017). "The Best 20 House Classics From Before 1990". Mixmag. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  10. "The 20 best house tracks ever". Time Out. March 12, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  11. Hunt, El (June 25, 2020). "The 20 best house music songs... ever!". NME. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  12. "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time (page 2 of 5)". Slant Magazine. June 15, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  13. "Fingers Inc". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
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