First of all, thank you for answering, Nigel. I appreciate that your time is limited and therefore it means a lot for you to give such a considered and intelligent reply to my ramblings.

I must disagree, however, on a couple of points. Firstly, that Maurice taught Lawrence et al "everything they knew about music making". True, MD's skills as both a composer and arranger were indispensable to the band in the early days, and a man capable of writing 'Semipiternal Darkness' amongst other instrumental gems would be a massive loss to ANY band. From 'Index' onwards, however it's obvious that Lawrence had developed a distinctive (if rudimentary by comparison) guitar technique that blended superbly with the MD's more florid embellishments. Try to think what 'Evergreen Dazed' would sound like without Lawrence's rhythm playing. It would no doubt still be beautiful, but somewhat less effective (and affecting) in my opinion.

As for later Felt being 'devoid of esotericism', let us not forget that they recorded two wholly instrumental (and wilfully uncommercial) LPs without Deebank. Hardly a pop sell-out by anybody's standards.

In addition to this, Lawrence's skills as a lyricist improved to the extent that he was able to almost effortlessly juxtapose allusive, almost impenetrable poetic imagery with stark and disarming directness. For example, 'Forever Breathes...' is packed with lyrical references to matters spiritual, something which Lawrence typically denied in an interview but is there for all to hear.I understand that your focus is on the musical rather than lyrical aspects, but Lawrence's lyrics are, for most Felt fans, a key part of what makes Felt records an all-encompassing, otherwordly experience.

Back to the purely musical, though, and it cannot be denied that Martin Duffy brought a lot to the table, both in terms of arrangement and decorative flourishes. Consider the lengthy instrumental passages on 'Poem of the River'; if Felt were genuinely aiming for the exoteric by this stage, surely they could have edited the songs down to three minutes and scored an indie-chart hit? This was not the case, however, and instead we get lush, evocative pieces of music with the guitar and organ intertwining perfectly; something which Deebank-era Felt failed to perfect during the short period of overlap in tenure between Felt's two virtuosos.

Anyway, thanks again for your response, Nigel. Though we might not agree on everything, I value your insights and I'm sure we both share the wish for Mr. Deebank to one day share his talents with the public again. If Segovia's development is anything to go by (and I speak their names in the same breath without any hesitation)then it's tragic that such a talent is hidden from view, especially with a couple more decades' worth of experience in both life and music. We live in hope.

There is much less disagreement than one might think. Again, you have already provided many of the pertinent facts, but they just need bringing into greater perspicuity.

Your reference to "Index" is one that I foresaw as part of any potential response. If you look at my forum additions of last year, it will be seen that I commented on the pre-Felt years. It was during this period that LH learnt his craft with MD. The former had a zero knowledge of music creation in 1978 when the two met; he could not even tune the guitar (and still could not in 1985 when MD left). So, even before the time of Felt (and therefore Index) MD was teaching LH what to do with the guitar. May I also point out that I was not including Index in my analysis, as I was referencing Felt 80-85 and comparing it to Felt 86-90. In this context Index does owe its heritage to both Deebank and punk. I trust that this clarifies the point.

With regard to the issue of esotericism I was, as I indicated, feeding off your statement that later Felt did not enjoy the ethereal spirit of earlier Felt. This I agreed with you on. However, if one takes my point that the Deebank legacy had to live on through inevitability, then there is the possibility that faint echos of this esoteric spirit of earlier Felt lived on. Whether it does or not I shall leave to the listener to decide. The fact that Felt did go on to make two instrumental recordings is testimony to the fact that the ethos created by Deebank lived on, as he was instrumental (forgive the pun and the repetition) in championing music without vocals.

You make the distinction between the "music" and the vocal aspect of the compositions. Again, I foresaw that this would be brought up. I was referring to the none vocal creative parts of the songs only; so, when I mentioned "music", I was not including words and lyrics in my analysis. This you have sensed and provided an explanation to that effect. Therefore, Haybaler is free to talk about his vocal influences without interference from me. I trust that this makes perpiscacious the semantics of the word "music".

I think that where we do disagree, though is on the word, "esoteric" and "exoteric". My understanding of these words is such that I could apply the former to a three minute piece of strophic music that contains no instrumental passages whatsoever. I shall avoid giving a definition of the word esoteric from my own point of view, though, as I do not have the time; neither does it matter.

This has been a very rushed response for which I apologise, but It does reflect the true nature of events as they continue to unravel on this most eximious of forums.

Finally, all who find happiness and development in later Felt music should continue to listen to these most worthy musical creations. Try not to see it in terms of "fashion", though. If you like it, then enjoy it and derive the benefit that you do from it with confidence. Always remain open-minded, but at the same time be firm in your beliefs. This will give you the balance that Mr. Deebank sought in his music..., something that I believe he was completely successful with.

Best wishes to you and all Felters.