A couple weeks ago I was asked, earnestly, by a co-worker: “Which Little Feat record do you think is the best?” My answer, “Shit. Um. Man, I dunno. That’s a tough question, actually.” Turns out, no one had ever asked me about Little Feat before, but, as I’m a card-carrying record nerd, I decide to suss ’em out proper and spend some time revisiting their first six albums!! Here is what I found:
The first LP, Little Feat (1971), comes across as a nice period Rolling Stones nod. It’s not bad, it has a bit of atmosphere, but is still a bit too derivative. Their second LP, Sailin’ Shoes (1972), comes off like a misguided lost Stephen Stills/Van Morrison collaborative album. I love Steven Stills, but I’m not square with “Brown Eyed Girl” lover Van Morrison, so, meh. By their third album, Dixie Chicken (1973), I’da reckoned they would have nailed SOMETHING amazing, but it didn’t happen. They did sorta get soulful, but like most of the long-hair bands still kickin’ around in ’73, they may have wanted to see some chart action. I guess I should mention I like two tracks from this LP: “Fool Yourself,” as its harmonies and pace are real nice and “Juliette.” “Juliette” could be a later-period Free outtake. Feats Don’t Fail Me Now (1974) is, perhaps, their most celebrated album; it’s very commercial and, like the next two LPs, The Last Record Album (1975) and Time Loves A Hero (1977), sounds like it’s covered in feathered hair, an Eddie Rabbit beard, polyester flairs, and a LOT of period earth tones. Yuck.
In the end, I think there is no SINGLE this-is-the-only-one-you-need Little Feat album. There might be a good song or two on each album, but, overall, I can’t give a tap to any one record. It’s odd ’cause guitarist and founder Lowell George had been with the Mothers; legend has it Zappa fired him for being TOO talented, so there was plenty of songwriting ability and skill. Right?! Honestly I’ve always felt this band was a victim of the early-’70s Warner Brothers label insistence that “all our bands sound the same.” So, like their label mates, the (early) Doobie Brothers, they certainly had hella potential to SOUND dynamic/dramatic, and they might’a been great as a live band, but on LP they were tepid and over-produced rural rock.