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Little Feat: Hotcakes and Outtakes-- 30 Years of Little Feat

By C. Michael Bailey
January 1, 2001
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Little Feat: Hotcakes and Outtakes-- 30 Years of Little Feat

The Synthetic Method of Little Feat made it the savior of American Music in the 1970s.

Little Feat is America’s enigmatic icon. Their music immediately accessible and no one but the faithful managed to accept it. “Dixie Chicken”, a sardonic tome by genius Lowell George, was fully received by the redneck intelligentsia of as gospel, instead of the parody as it was intended. It is sad when one does not know when one is being made fun of.

Rhino, in conjunction with Warner Archives, has produced a very complete testament of America’s most important band. Divided like Beethoven’s life, Little Feat’s career is well detailed here. This is a four disc set that manages to show this “live” band in the studio, on stage, and in development while not wasting the listener’s time. Disc One concentrates on the Lowell George studio era. Super in that it might be compared to Disc 2, where the band performs live (the listener can compare studio and live recordings of the same tunes). This is the apex of the band. Disc 3 highlights the post Lowell George era. Disc 4 consists of outtakes and best shows the development of an iconoclast from beginning to end. While the existing band is superb, even better than any other band performing, this set illustrates the internal importance of Lowell George as a creative force. I wonder what Jimi Hendrix would have thought of Lowell George?

Do not underestimate the importance of this band. If you own nothing by Little Feat, buy this and Waiting for Columbus—The Deluxe Edition. It will provide you, the listener, an idea of how live Rock Music is supposed to sound.

Track Listing

Disc1: 1. Strawberry Flats Payne, Bill 2:23; 2. Hamburger Midnight George, Lowell 2:29; 3. Easy To Slip George, Lowell 3:21; 4. Cold, Cold, Cold George, Lowell 4:00; 5. Trouble George, Lowell 2:17; 06. Tripe Face Boogie Payne, Bill 3:15;7. Willin' George, Lowell 2:56; 8. Cat Fever Payne, Bill 4:35; 9. Sailin' Shoes George, Lowell 2:51; 10. Dixie Chicken George, Lowell 3:16; 11. Two Trains George, Lowell 2:43; 12. Roll Um Easy George, Lowell 3:55; 13. Fat Man In The Bathtub George, Lowell 3:07; 14. Fool Yourself George, Lowell 2:31; 15. Spanish Moon (Single Version) George, Lowell 4:31; 16. Rock And Roll Doctor George, Lowell 2:28; 17. Oh Atlanta Payne, Bill 2:58; 18. Skin It Back Barrere, Paul 3:29; 19. Feats Don't Fail Me Now Barrere, Paul 3:29; 20. Mercenary Territory George, Lowell 4:13; 21. All That You Dream (Single Version) Barrere, Paul 2:43; 22. Long Distance Love George, Lowell 4:26; 23. Day Or Night Payne, Bill 6:23; Disc 2: 1. Hi Roller Barrere, Paul 3:37; 02. Time Loves A Hero Payne, Bill 3:48; Rocket In My Pocket George, Lowell 3:23; 4. Old Folks Boogie Barrere, Paul 3:32; 05. Day At The Dog Races George, Lowell 6:28; 6. Fat Man In The Bathtub (Live) Barrere, Paul 4:57; 07. All That You Dream (Live) George, Lowell 4:31; 8. Mercenary Territory (Live) George, Lowell 4:38; 09. Spanish Moon (Live) George, Lowell 5:01; 10. 20 Million Things Barrere, Paul 2:49; 11. Down On The Farm George, Lowell 3:49; 12. Six Feet Of Snow Payne, Bill 2:32; 13. Gringo Payne, Bill 6:34; 14. Lonesome Whistle Williams, Hank 3:14; 15. Front Page News Payne, Bill 4:50; 16. The Fan (Live) George, Lowell 6:16; 17. Red Streamliner (Live) Payne, Bill 4:57 ;18. Teenage Nervous Breakdown (Live) George, Lowell 4:14; Disc 3: 1. Hate To Lose Your Lovin' Fuller, Craig 4:22; 2. Let It Roll Payne, Bill 4:30; 3. Hangin' On To The Good Times Fuller, Craig 4:46; 4. Rad Gumbo Payne, Bill 3:30; 5. Texas Twister Tackett, Fred 4:47; 6. Representing The Mambo Payne, Bill 5:55; The Ingenue Payne, Bill 4:23; 8. Shake Me Up Payne, Bill 4:53; 9. Things Happen Payne, Bill 4:26; 10. Borderline Blues (Single Version) Payne, Bill 4:22; 11. Cadillac Hotel Payne, Bill 5:31; 12. Ain't Had Enough Fun Payne, Bill 3:27; 13. Can't Be Satisfied/They're Red Hot (Hot Tamales) (Live) Waters, Muddy 4:55; 14. Home Ground Barrere, Paul 4:08; 15. The Blues Don't Tell It All Payne, Bill 6:15; 16. Eden's Wall Payne, Bill 6:32; Disc4 01. Lightning-Rod Man - The Factory (1966) Lowell, George 2:13; 02. Crack In Your Door (Pre-Warner Recording) Lowell, George 2:31; 3. Teenage Nervous Breakdown (Pre-Warner Recording) Lowell, George 3:19; 4. Juliet (Pre-Warner Recording) Lowell, George 2:56; 5. Jazz Thing In 10 Lowell, George 3:31; 06. Rat Faced Dog (From Sessions For Little Feat) Lowell, George 4:53; 7. Doglines (From Sessions For Little Feat) Payne, Bill 2:47; 8. Wait Till The Shit Hits The Fan (From Sessions For Little Feat) Lowell, George 2:48; 9. Easy To Fall (Easy To Slip) (Demo For Doobie Bros.) Lowell, George 2:41; 10. Texas Rose Cafe (Demo For Doobie Bros.) Lowell, George 3:23; 11. Doriville (From Sessions For Sailin' Shoes) Lowell, George 2:43; 12. Boogie (Tripe Face Boogie) (From Sessions For Sailin' Shoes) Payne, Bill 3:45; 13. Two Trains (Lowell Demo) Lowell, George 3:18; 14. Roto/Tone (From Sessions For Sailin' Shoes) Inagber, Elliot 4:06; 15. Ace In The Hole (Hi Roller) (From Sessions For Dixie Chicken) Barrere, Paul 3:28; 16. Eldorado Slim (From Sessions For Dixie Chicken) Lowell, George 4:41; 17. Feats Don't Fail Me Now (From Sessions For Feats Don't Fail Me Now) Lowell, George 2:30; 18. Brickyard Blues (From Sessions For Feats Don't Fail Me Now) Toussaint, Allen 3:01; 19. All That You Dream (From Sessions For Feats Don't Fail Me Now) Barrere, Paul 3:33; 20. Down Below The Borderline (Lowell Demo) Barrere, Paul 1:54; 21. Rockin' Shoes I & II (Lowell Demo) Lowell, George 2:34; 22. Front Page News (From Sessions For The Last Record Album) Payne, Bill 4:44; 23. High Roller (From Sessions For The Last Record Album) Barrier, Paul 3:37; 24. Roll 'Em Easy (From Sessions For Thanks I'll Eat It Here) Lowell, George 2:40; 25. Boogie Wigwam (Short Jazz Piece) ("PZM" Pressure Mic Demo) Payne, Bill 1:10.