Little Feat-The Lowell George Era

June 1, 2015 by Bill Hart

Man, these guys really did it for me back in day. Hard driving boogie, with a Zappa-esque twist. Lowell George, Roy Estrada (on the first two albums) Richie Hayward and the incredibly funky keyboard chops of Bill Payne. There were few bands that could pull this off- a sort of unpolished, but “right in the groove” sound, any looser and it would fall apart but these guys were tight. The first album, with the Lowell George-penned “Willin’” may be the rawest of the bunch- not a fabulous recording, but lot’s of good songs: “Truck Stop Girl” takes the standard big rig lament to new depths, and the singing doesn’t get taken down by irony. (In fact, few bands could get away with some of the absurdity of the song titles and lyrics and be so damn serious about it!). “I’ve Been the One” is gorgeous- melancholy rarely reaches such heights. Ry Cooder and Sneaky Pete too!

Sailin’ Shoes is an obvious progression- the band is edgier- “Easy to Slip” and “Tripe Face Boogie” are stand-outs. The album is also famous for its cover art, by Neon Park. Lot’s of other goodies here-

Dixie Chicken is probably the band’s best (with the exception of some of the live tracks discussed below). Estrada is gone, and a number of other players join: the first side is almost perfection. (Bonnie Raitt throws her voice into the mix). George takes over production duties.

A white label promo copy above; standard issue Warner “green” below

The next few studio albums don’t grab me as much, and Lowell George dies.

But, Waiting for Columbus reprises so many of their great songs, and is well recorded too! Side 3, with “Dixie Chicken” and “Tripe Face Boogie” is a classic. The record was originally mastered at TML (The Mastering Lab) so make sure your copy bears those marks in the deadwax. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention- it’s “live” so there’s that special energy that comes from a band when playing well (and these folks played really well) before an audience. (“Live audience” is sort of overkill, don’t you think?)

I haven’t followed Little Feat since Lowell George’s death- all good, but not the same.

I caught these guys back in the day- they were very loud. Roy Buchanan opened for them- a/k/a the best guitarist you never heard of. Sadly gone, too. Thankfully, we have these records. Enjoy them.

Incoming- Mrs. Henry Keep on Rising

Mrs. Henry Keep on Rising A 21st century rock opera? Recorded to tape? And mastered at Bernie Grundman’s shop? I’ve started to explore this box (3 LPs, 2 CDs and a substantial book) in more depth and plan on interviewing the producer in an upcoming piece. … [Read More...]

Power to the People-Back Up Generator

Shortly after the Texas "big freeze" in February 2021, I contacted various vendors of back up generators. Some did not bother to respond, a few came out, ostensibly to give me a quote and I never heard from them again. One vendor did send me a blank form with a very high total price, without completing the cost analysis for running gas lines, electrical wiring and the other things that are "adds" to the cost of the generator itself. I kicked this around for a while-- given the heat in Central Texas during the summer--110F for days on end, we got constant warnings last summer (2023) to reduce power consumption, lest we suffer rolling blackouts. And then there's the fact that Austin really isn't "built" for freezing temperatures. Black ice with no road crews, downed power lines, and demand that teeters off the edge of power failure catastrophe. I do not want to go into the power grid … [Read More...]

Incoming-Know what I mean?

Cannonball Adderley's "Know what I mean? is a warhorse, to be sure,but one that deserves its reputation. I was prompted to explore a few different pressings as a result of a thread on the Hoffman forum: https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/do-you-have-cannonball-adderley-bill-evans-know-what-i-mean-the-best-sounding-vintage-jazz-lp.1175660/ I used to shop these OJCs as bargains back in the day when Tower Records was thriving. They were a solid entry point into some very good sounding jazz--some of it "straight ahead" but well made, taken from analog masters for the most part and did I say cheap? Back in the day, these were bargain records when they were released, and until the more recent surge in prices of older LPs, could be readily found for little money. The recent Craft reissue cut by Kevin Gray has brought renewed attention to the record. I thought it might be fun to do a … [Read More...]

We’re Back!

We’re Back! Some fresh content for your consideration. Neil Antin did some modest updates to his seminal book on Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records. Neil did not regard these changes as a “new version” so the download is now 3.1 with a “Record of Changes” at the end. I’ve talked to Peter Ulrich, the drummer from Dead Can Dance a few times over the years because I was fascinated by the group. They hit it big in audiophile circles with “Into the Labyrinth” which became a “demo” record with the MoFi release. I got that, but also sought out an original 4AD pressing, and as I delved into their music, bought more original copies- they were not crazy expensive at the time. When Peter told me he was doing a book on the history of his involvement with the band, I was eager to read it. It offers some great insight into a period when this band was inventing new sounds in the post-punk … [Read More...]

Drumming with Dead Can Dance: and Parallel Adventures- Peter Ulrich

Drumming with Dead Can Dance: and Parallel Adventures Peter Ulrich I didn’t really get on to Dead Can Dance until “Into the Labyrinth,” their most popular LP that made the audiophile rounds here in the States. 4AD, their label, wasn’t well distributed in the US when the band was first developing, it wasn’t exactly mainstream stuff here, even in the audiophile community. Yet the band had a following, starting in Australia, where Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry had a band and moved to a council flat in London where the two met our narrator, a soon to be jobless publicist for a theatrical/live show venue. Ulrich had the time, interest, musical background, and chops as a drummer to become part of their band. So we get the story of DCD from the outset of their adventures in England, playing local venues and developing a following. The scene was a sort of post-punk, … [Read More...]