Peter Doherty Felt Better Alive
Peter Doherty's Felt Better Alive reconceives his mythic chaos as warm domestic storytelling, a collection where rugged survival and newfound fatherhood meet quirky pastoral imagery. Across professional reviews the record earns a 75/100 consensus score from two reviews, and critics consistently point to “Pot Of Gold” and “Calvados” as the album's clearest high points, with the title track “Felt Better Alive” and character pieces like “Poca Mahoney's” and “Ed Belly” also singled out for their narrative charm.
Critics praise Doherty's shift toward recovery and sobriety-informed material, noting how domesticity and rural pastoralism shape the arrangements - fiddle sketches, strings, mournful trumpet and a clarinet solo crop up in observations - and how the songs favor lullaby sincerity over delirious edges. Reviewers agree the best songs on Felt Better Alive trade shock for craft: “Pot Of Gold” emerges as a tender ode to family while “Calvados” primes the album with vivid, Beatles-tinged nostalgia. Across the two professional reviews the consensus suggests the record is less a grand artistic reinvention than a restorative, warmly eccentric statement of survival.
While both reviews admire the album's storytelling and melodic hooks, they also register a few moments that feel overwrought or coy, so the critical picture is appreciative rather than unanimous acclaim. For readers asking whether Felt Better Alive is worth listening to, the critic consensus points to a rewarding, character-driven listen anchored by standout tracks that reframe Doherty as a singular songwriter focused on recovery, family and plainspoken parable.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Pot Of Gold
2 mentions
"On "Pot of Gold" - written for his infant daughter - the former wild man croons"— The Independent (UK)
Calvados
2 mentions
"At first, I bristled at the acoustic strum of lead single "Calvados"."— The Independent (UK)
Ed Belly
1 mention
"‘Ed Belly’ is the perfect blending of these styles"— DIY Magazine
On "Pot of Gold" - written for his infant daughter - the former wild man croons
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Calvados
Pot Of Gold
The Day The Baron Died
Stade Océan
Out Of Tune Balloon
Felt Better Alive
Ed Belly
Poca Mahoney's
Fingee
Prêtre De La Mer
Empty Room
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Peter Doherty sounds unexpectedly domestic and winsome on Felt Better Alive, the record’s best tracks - notably “Pot Of Gold” and “Calvados” - trade his old delirious edges for charming, cutesy melodic hooks. Helen Brown’s prose keeps the reviewer’s amused, slightly sardonic voice, admiring how strings, mournful trumpet and a clarinet solo dress up these pretty ditties. She foregrounds Doherty’s fatherhood and rehab recovery as shaping the tunes, so queries about the best songs on Felt Better Alive point to the lullaby sincerity of “Pot Of Gold” and the deliciously ripe hook of “Calvados”. The review’s tone is affectionate but candid, noting moments that are both transcendent and obnoxious, which is why those two tracks stand out as the album’s highlights.
Key Points
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The best song is “Pot Of Gold” because its lullaby intimacy and personal lyrics showcase Doherty’s renewed tenderness.
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The album’s core strengths are charming melodies, nostalgic Beatles touchpoints, and the interplay of tenderness with boorish wit.
Themes
Critic's Take
Peter Doherty sounds relieved on Felt Better Alive, a record where the best songs - “Calvados”, “Pot of Gold” and the title track “Felt Better Alive” - read like weathered confessions and small-town parables. The opening “Calvados” primes the album with pastoral, fiddle-sketched vignettes, while “Pot of Gold” offers a tender ode to family and the title track operates as a war-scarred manifesto. Doherty leans into character pieces like “Poca Mahoney's” and “Ed Belly”, where storytelling and a country bounce make his strengths unmistakable. Ultimately the record is less about grand ambition and more about exhaling, having fun and reaffirming Doherty as a singular songwriter.
Key Points
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The best song is the opener 'Calvados' because it establishes the album's pastoral, character-driven tone with fiddle and vivid imagery.
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The album's core strengths are Doherty's storytelling, pastoral instrumentation, and a tone of redemption and relaxed exuberance.