Little Feat

Performer: Little Feat
Artist: Ry Cooder
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: It sold poorly (around 11,000 copies) and the band never cut anything like it again, but Little Feat's eponymous debut isn't just one of their finest records, it's one of the great lost rock & roll albums. Even dedicated fans tend to overlook the album, largely because it's the polar opposite of the subtly intricate, funky rhythm & roll that made their reputation during the mid-'70s. Little Feat is a raw, hard-driving, funny and affectionate celebration of American weirdness, equal parts garage rock, roadhouse blues, post-Zappa bizarreness, post-Parsons country rock and slightly bent folk storytelling. Since it's grounded in roots rock, it feels familiar enough, but the vision of chief songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Lowell George is wholly unique and slightly off-center. He sees everything with a gently surreal sense of humor that remains affectionate, whether it's on an ode to a "Truck Stop Girl," the weary trucker's anthem "Willin'," or the goofy character sketch of the crusty old salt "Crazy Captain Gunboat Willie." That affection is balanced by gutsy slices of Americana like the careening travelogue "Strawberry Flats," the darkly humorous "Hamburger Midnight" and a jaw-dropping Howlin' Wolf medley guest-starring Ry Cooder, plus keyboardist Bill Payne's terrific opener "Snakes on Everything." The songwriting itself is remarkable enough, but the band is its equal -- they're as loose, vibrant and alive as the Stones at their best. In most respects, this album has more in common with George's earlier band the Factory than the rest of the Little Feat catalog, but there's a deftness in the writing and performance that distinguishes it from either band's work, which makes it all the more remarkable. It's a pity that more people haven't heard the record, but that just means that anyone who owns it feels like they're in on a secret only they and a handful of others know. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine There was a time, back in its early days, when Little Feat was a country-rock band, perhaps THE quintessential country-rock band. While other contenders for this mantle leaned heavily in one direction or another, Little Feat truly mixed equal parts country twang and experimental rock. Each of the group's first three albums--LITTLE FEAT was their debut--point to how great country-rock might have become, if only (1) country rockers were as brilliant as Lowell George, and (2) fans had shown the slightest interest in the genre as Little Feat created it. Fortunately, before the band moved onto the fusion-inspired funk with which it made its mark, the early Little Feat left a wonderful recorded legacy. LITTLE FEAT is a prime example of that. From the slide trill that kicks off the first track, the album alerts listeners that they are about to experience something raw and wonderful. The album rocks hard, occasionally boogies, intermittently slows down to shed some tears, and always, always swings. The lyrics don't always make sense, but it hardly matters: all the meaning you need can be found in George's growling vocals and screaming guitar.

Rolling Stone (2/4/71, p.58) - "...quite a complex group, with many extraordinary things to say...searing guitar...earthy, just-right lyrics...Little Feat's music is tight, complex, and moving..."

Los Angeles' Little Feat served up a polymorphic gumbo of New Orleans funk, southern boogie, and blues rock with the soulful slide guitar, worn voice, and tremendous country-tinged songwriting of leader Lowell George as its main ingredients. Founded by George and pianist Bill Payne in 1969, Little Feat released a couple of straighter blues rock albums before embracing an infectious, Meters-like groove in their rhythm section (Roy Estrada and Richie Hayward of the Mothers of Invention). Despite a run of critically acclaimed albums throughout the '70s--and George's continuing excellence as a songwriter--the band broke up in 1979 shortly after George died. Reformed versions of Little Feat continued to release records and tour in the ensuing decades.

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