Little Feat - S&D, C/D

Was always intrigued by their first two albums--they started out as mostly ex-Mothers of Invention, right? Pictured them as living not that far from Beefheart's trailer in the desert. Think some of them played on Bonnie Raitt's excellent version of Chris Smither's "I Feel The Same," and she appeared on at least one of their albums, and there was some talk of her joining the band (a post-LG line-up of LF did very eventually hire a female lead singer, but I don't know how that worked out).

xpost "Long Distance Love" always seemed like a crucial influence on Isbell.

Mike McDonald super backing vox on the funky Red Streamliner...late period greatness

I thought the revive might be about the first Akiko Yano record getting a reissue.

Oh, that’s a good one

Here's a curious artifact

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2jgIQBzQZk

and this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsSl7xOK2Qs

Cool!

While we're sharing vids, here's live in the rehearsal studio one the band made for "Long Distance Love" to air on The Test...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeHlrS-FLH4

Is that the really drugged out one? The boys look tired

How did you wind up getting Lowell George, Bill Payne and Richie Hayward of Little Feat to play on Paris 1919 ?
I loved that album Dixie Chicken. That tone on [George’s] guitar was very sweet. It was the grooves that he had. And after playing me an early cut of that record, [producer] Ted Templeman at Warner Bros. said to me: “Why don’t you use Little Feat as a backup band for Paris ?” He organized it.
one of lots of good tidbits here:https://relix.com/articles/detail/the-shifty-adventures-of-john-cale/
Somewhere else JC mentioned that Wilton Felder, who played bass w the Feats on this occasion (in a studio line-up billed as Penguin), read or at least had the Bible on his music stand during the sessions.

Read more: https://relix.com/articles/detail/the-shifty-adventures-of-john-cale/#ixzz5j8gYBxb4

oops dunno why the link is in there twice oh well

Wilton Felder? Who knew?

"long distance love" is an amazing song, the album it's from gets pretty lethargic in spots though.

half of them have little beady eyes in that vid. v. sad consdering george's fate.

Yeah, it's highly likely all of them are higher than nine sailors on payday in that clip.

It's also weird to see a beardless LG at that late a date.

he even looks svelte? he seems to gain weight pretty rapidly in his last years.

*seemed

40 years since his death this June. Feel like an honorary POV is in order. I’ll submit mine as soon as I sober up

don't know much by this band, but I picked up "Hoy-Hoy!" this week for a coin and have been loving it.
then I see this thread revival, and spot the link to the live bootleg.
looking forward to hearing that.

In the excellent second edition of Ed Ward's Michael Bloomfield bio, updated by ilxor Edd Hurt, the discography incl. sessions incl. MB with Lowell G. and Richie H., also Kaleidoscope's Chris Darrow, and Bloomfield's fellow Butterfield Band alumnus Mark Naftalin on keys---two sets of sessions, both in June '71.
In the first set, they're backing LA actress-singer Teda Bracci: Google her or not, but let's say she's probably pretty spirted on "Jim Dandy, "Jim Dandy {alt.)", "Sweet Thing," and "Wang Dang Doodle." They might be on a Bracci collection, The Lost Tapes, but I haven't found it yet.
The same line-up accompanies Ann-Margaret on "Shine, My Friend" and "Obion Bottom Land"---she's scary-good (feeding on stress) on her solo tracks in There's A Dream I've Been Saving, Light In The Attic's remarkable Lee Hazlewood Industries box (which also has effective duets with Lee)---so I really want to hear her with this crew.
The Bloomfield bio's discography, compiled by William J. Levay, lists all known releases, but apparently these are still in the can, man, at least officially. Is there a Little Feat or LG book?

https://youtu.be/NLFkSJr-PBE
Richie lays it down

I think RnR Dr is maybe their crown achievement
https://open.spotify.com/track/4Dp8KilRsBYHjrklck7Cok?si=fkG7fwIoSCeA6gNV5SXwNg

The same line-up accompanies Ann-Margaret on "Shine, My Friend" and "Obion Bottom Land"---she's scary-good (feeding on stress) on her solo tracks in There's A Dream I've Been Saving,
Interesing. I just looked at the website for this https://lightintheattic.net/releases/963-there-s-a-dream-i-ve-been-saving-lee-hazlewood-industries-1966-1971 and couldn't seem to find those tracks mentioned but maybe this list I am looking at is incomplete.

Ha, I checked that box on Spotify for them too--I think it's just a phrasing fail, stuffing too much information in a comment. I think the tracks in question are post-LHI and unreleased.

I recommend CD4 of the Hotcakes collection. Some hot sh1t. Talking about Eldorado Sam and High Roller. If you’re a head you might imagine what these songs sound like without having heard them, and you’d be right

^^A modified version of that disc (no Factory songs) is included in the big albums box.

Well, yeah

"Doriville" is neat...LG recycled some lines in "Spanish Moon".

xpost you're right; like I said, The Bloomfield bio's discography, compiled by William J. Levay, lists all known releases, but apparently these are still in the can, man, at least officially.

I wish they had a different legacy tune than “Dixie chicken.” It’s decent but

I think both "Sailin' Shoes" and "Willin'" are as well-known & better

"Spanish Moon" has been covered a few times too, seems to be a cover for your jam band groups to do by the Feat.

Always helps having a cocaine shoutout in the lyrics.

I DJ'd this weekend, and did I spin "Seeds & Stems Again Blues" into the '72 version of "Willin'"?

You bet I did!

Commander Cody is pretty good companion listening to the Feat, even if their "Willin'" cover isn't good as you'd think it'd be.

TWO DEGREES IN BE BOP
A PHD IN SWING

Yesterday's day trip was mostly soundtracked by the expanded Waiting For Columbus.

What a band!

You know who else makes good companion listening to the Feet?

'70s NRBQ.

recommend an LP?

Omnivore's been reissuing a bunch of theirs, also a few recent sets (Terry Adams with an all-this-century line-up, I think) The best reissue I've heard is their s/t debut, from 1969, smokin' Louisville backyards and other spaces. Don't know how many of these have been reissued by now, but I liked several of their 70s, At Yankee Stadium, Kick Me Hard, Grooves in Orbit, and Tapdancin' Bats---oh yeah, All Hopped Up has been reissued, but seemed too or wrongly gimmicky at times; they could be that way (ditto the current crew)
And if you really want to take the plunge, Omnivore's High Noon - A 50-Year Retrospective is pretty refreshing, for the most part---as it damn well better be, with 5 CDs.

I was just listening to Workshop, which is what inspired me to post. I've got it was part of a vinyl two-fer with their prior effort Scraps, which might be a good place to start (Sundazed did individual LP reissues). At Yankee Stadium has them starting to get New Wave-y in a way the Feat never lived to reach, but it's the consensus pick and very much worth your time.

I should point out that where the two bands most overlap is in their wacky sense of humor. NRBQ used the Beatles as a jumping-off point the same way the Feat used the Stones.

And while I'm here, let's look at Commander Cody. Your best bets there are their first two: Lost In The Ozone and Hot Licks, Cold Steel and Trucker's Favorites. The two original lives albums are good stuff. Tales From The Ozone is the fine last gasp of the original band. They covered "Willin'" on the self-titled album before that. It's really Country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-TBiCJQVlQ

Once again the overlap is mainly in the sense of humor. Their style isn't that far removed for the first couple of Feat LPs.

RIP Paul Barerre

It is with great sorrow that Little Feat must announce the passing of our brother guitarist, Paul Barrere, this morning at UCLA Hospital. We ask for your kindest thoughts and best wishes to go out especially to his widow Pam and children Gabriel, Genevieve, and Gillian, and to all the fans who were his extended family.

Paul auditioned for Little Feat as a bassist when it was first being put together—in his words, “as a bassist I make an excellent guitarist”—and three years later joined the band in his proper role on guitar. Forty-seven years later, he was forced to miss the current tour, which will end tomorrow, due to side effects from his ongoing treatment for liver disease.

He promised to follow his doctor’s orders, get back in shape, and rock on the beach at the band’s annual gathering in Jamaica in January 2020. “Until then,” he wrote, “keep your sailin’ shoes close by…if I have my way, you’re going to need them!”

As the song he sang so many times put it, he was always “Willin’,” but it was not meant to be. Paul, sail on to the next place in your journey with our abiding love for a life always dedicated to the muse and the music. We are grateful for the time we have shared.

Yours in music,

Little Feat: Bill Payne, Sam Clayton, Fred Tackett, Kenny Gradney, and Gabe Ford.

Well I’m waiting for something to take place
Something to take me away from this place
From city to city, town to town
Running round in the shoes of a clown
I’m that desperate no good desperado

"Walkin' All Night", "Skin It Back", "Old Folks Boogie", "Down On The Farm", "Over The Edge", "Let It Roll", "Texas Twister", "Rad Gumbo"--All Great Songs.

So it seems. That the world keeps on turning but so what

When in doubt , play the feat

I queued up the Ultrasonic Studios 1973 set about an hour ago. Damn, they were special.

Ultrasonic is nice, no complaints here

There was a woman in Georgia

Skin it back is a backup and damn if it’s better than it’s replacing

Don't forget "Oh Atlanta"!

How nuts is it that Feats Don't...kicks off with a defining masterpiece from each of the three songwriters?