Customer Reviews

Hotcakes & Outtakes: 30 Years of Little Feat

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4 star:		(6)
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This collection of Little Feat has to be one of the highlights of the year. A group, who like Creedence was from California, but had a sound born of the swamp, is finally getting the treatment they have always deserved. Always known as a musicians band, Little Feat was hard to pigeonhole, thus they never got the radioplay they deserved. But a listen to the songs here will attest to the fact that this was a band who could cover many styles but always keep their sound. From the early tracks and outtakes of disc 4 to the live tracks from Waiting for Columbus, the Feat takes the listener on a musical journey. With Lowell Georges tasty slide to Bill Paynes keyboard work, to Richie Haywards controlled yet frantic drumming, you hear ragtime with Dixie Chicken, country with Willin`, and Southern Rock with Two Trains. Rhino should again be commended for another incredible set, so buy this and learn what Linda Ronstadt, The Doobie Brothers, and Bonnie Raitt have always knew. This band is the best, and with this set there is now no excuse.

Thirty years of sophisticated music is often more than any modern rock band is expected to accomplish, but Little Feat has spent the bulk of the last three decades offering the unexpected. This "box set" dovetails nicely with the band's last retrospective, "Hoy Hoy", that came out two years after the band's founder, Lowell George, died (1979). Since then, the band has gone their separate ways, reformed, re-tooled, and have rejuvinated a sound as authentic to our culture as buffalo nickles and velvet art work. "Hotcakes and Outtakes" provides a common ground for old and new fans to observe the rich, musical talents of a band that bravely never quite fit into any programmable radio format. The first three cd's offer a rich menu of the band's talents, humor, and innovative sound. Replete with an 80 page history of the band, the Little Feat story makes both sense and nonsense out of the band constantly in conflict, but totally dependent on the emotional traction each player brought to the table. However, it is the fourth cd that the die hard Little Feat fan will find the most gratifying. Here, demos and outtakes rule the day. It is a poignant reminder of a time when an entire band shunned sleek studio wizardry and produced simple nuts and bolts rock and roll. Lowell George, Billy Payne, Paul Barrer, Richie Heyward, Sam Clayton, Kenny Gradney, Shaun Murphy, Fred Tacket, and Craig Fuller all make up the tribe called Little Feat: a band intent on befuddling the record industry, and a band smart enough to go straight to their audience. Believe me, bands today could learn a few things from Little Feat.

"Hotcakes & Outtakes" is a must. Stop reading this review and buy it RIGHT NOW. Believe me, it's worth every penny plus a few you won't spend. If you're a fan of great bands (that is, The Meters, The Band, The Street Choir, L'il Band O' Gold), bands that are seamless, bands that have a collective groove that's so hot and so distinctive that it's a trademark sound. If you're a fan of intelligent lyrics and compact songwriting (that is, John Hiatt, Marshall Crenshaw, Steely Dan), this is the real thing - thinking person's ear candy. If you love bands that can jam (that is, The Grateful Dead, The Mothers of Invention, even Phish!), here it is. Little Feat was, and in a big way, is still one of the funkiest bands on the planet. The first two disks takes you through two incarnations of the band led by the late Lowell George, a true rock 'n roll original. To say that Lowell is missed is to minimize the feeling of absence. Like John Lennon or Phil Ochs, he was a revolutionary, a genius and an influence. DiskThree takes you into 1988, through the Craig Fuler years into the present Shaun Murphy Feat. All good stuff...very chooglin'. Disk Four is an amazing collection of demos and outtakes recently unearthed. This disk brings tears to my eyes. This is Little Feat heaven and Lowell George is playing Standing Room Only. This disk is worth the price of admission all by itself. Finally, thehistory of Little Feat by Bud Scoppa reads like a novel. The quotes and nuggets are all fascinating. In fact, Paul Barrere's notes on the new "old" recordings is great. It took me a few days to read all of it. The aretwork by Neon Park is in the best Feat tradition: it is a painting of Aunt Jemima wreaking revenge on the South by destroying Atlanta with laser pancakes. Great. Just great. While Lowell was alive, I saw Little Feat several times. My favorite memories are being glued to the WLIR-FM while they performed live at My Father's Place. What a concert. I still listen to the cassette I made that night. My other memory is of the best concert I ever attended. It was at New York's Beacon Theater and the bill opened with Allen Toussaint and his New Orleans Review. Toussaint was promoting his excellent "Southern Nights" album and was touring with members of The Meters, The Nevilles, Irma Thomas, Gary Brown and more. They filled the stage with the most remarkable funk. After four encores, I wondered how Little Feat could possibly step onto the stage and follow Toussaint. Well they did and all I can say is that the band took the funk up another notch and blew the roof off the place. All I can say is "Hotcakes & Outcakes" places me back in the first row of the balcony. Choice seats. Best seats in the house for the best band on the planet. Like I said in the beginning, BUY THIS RIGHT NOW!

First of all, the packaging is better than any boxed set I've ever owned or seen. Rhino deserves a lot of credit for making a package that any consumer would appreciate (wake up other record companies, this is how you add value to prereleased "product"). The writeup, graphics, photographs and sound quality are superb! Now for the songs: I like the emphasis on Lowell for Discs 1,2 and 4 - which I think is a good move. Some of the non Lowell penned songs are great as well (I was knocked out by "Day at the Dog Races" and "All that You Dream"). I must admit some of the others may never grow on me ("Gringo") - but this is also true of some of the later Lowell stuff "Jazz Stuff in 10"). Disc four is great, its interesting to hear how some of the songs developed, and there are some great tracks I've never heard before. Disc three has the slickest studio sound (Richie Hayward's drums sound superb) and may take the longest to grow on me. Although I think they should have taken more cuts from "Let it Roll" (a superb album proving that the band can still make great music), the tracks are quite nice (ie. "Borderline Blues"). I have no problem with the rotating lead singers (this was always a hallmark of the band), but I fear the other discs may make a case that the songwriting peak of the band may have passed. However, I don't think these musicians have passed their peak in terms of performers. My biggest criticism of disc three is that Paul Barrere sings most of the songs, and although he's good, I think Craig and Shaun brought something to the table that he doesn't. I saw Little Feat support the "Let it Roll" album, which remains the best concert I've ever seen and I'm glad they're still making music. If I could've changed anything in this box, I would've substituted some tracks with those from "Let It Roll" and "Waiting for Columbus". Other than that, this is one heck of a collection.

One of the most inspiring, influential, and original bands I ever heard, Little Feat's history is wonderfully catalogued in this 4-pack. Musically, the Feat reminded me of a Slinky toy with a mind of its own and the ability to move like the knight on a chessboard: able to leap other pieces and conquer new ground. Billy Payne could bring in swirls of condensation on synthesizer, just misting up the background with sounds, or crash and jangle your nerves with offbeat piano. Richie Hayward gave me hours of inspiration (and bewilderment) as I tried to fathom his patterns on drums, and one of my favorite Feats songs gets the jump-start from Kenny Gradney's bass ("All That You Dream"). I also lost sleep on trying to figure how to distinguish Paul Barrere's guitar from the man himself: Lowell George.

Lowell George deserves mention in a separate paragraph for his songwriting, his slide playing, his singing, and lastly, for leaving us far too soon. I personally ask for "Cold Cold Cold" as a request during the freezing New Jersey winters and again on those muggy humid summer nights from the classic rock station-it's my way of having a laugh with the band in Lowell's memory. It is a remarkable thought that the night before he died, he commented on wanting to give up the excesses of a musician's lifestyle and get his life in order. It's okay, Lowell: you can tripe-face boogie my speakers away anytime!

Yes I realize that this is an 83 song Box Set. Most if not all the songs are great. However, there are plenty of gems that are not included here. Romance Dance is such a cool song and it did not make the cut. What about On Your Way Down or the Waiting For Columbus Version of Oh Atlanta. Would rather have different songs from Aint Had Enough Fun and Under The Radar than the one's chosen.

However, Little Feat has so many good songs that you really cannot go wrong here. Just listen to the multiple versions of Hi Roller, All That You Dream, and Mercenary Territory. Each version has special touches that get you to see the creativity in the band. These musicians are just brewing with talent. And classics like Dixie Chicken, Rock N Roll Doctor, Rocket In My Pocket, and Fat Man In The Bathtub will perk up any collection.

As far as the studio outtakes go, most of them are first rate. Only the horrid singing on Lightning Rod Man and the spoken word delivery of Down Below The Borderline are noticeable dissappointments. The real gem of these outtakes is Brickyard Blues. All that song needs is a stinging guitar solo and its a smash hit in any genre. Tripe Face Boogie with Bill Payne singing sounds pretty cool and the alternate version of Roll Um Easy bops along nicely with a spunky country beat.

Almost a five star recording but not quite due to the ommissions of some songs. The outtakes are quite worthy but it might be best to pick up all the original recordings plus the Live CD's before going this route. Nonetheless, the quality is still top of the line.

This is one of the better box sets I have seen; it doubles not only as a best-of, but includes some interesting studio nuggets as well. My only problem is that the original version "Teenage Nervous Breakdown" was left off in favor of a live version, which is not as good. Other than that, this set works both as an introduction to new fans and as must for old timers. Long live Little Feat!

An excellent collection of Little Feats "best of" music, w/ and w/o Lowell Goerge, plus an entire CD of unreleased Goerge work. The unreleased material is often not of the quality of the formal releases but has historical interest when nothing else. Good selection of album entrees w/ less emphasis on Waiting For Columbus which is great because many own already. Every American music collection needs some or alot of Little Feat to in order to be respectable!

Boxed sets can represent many things to many people. For some it's about the rare previously unreleased gems; for others it's the comprehensiveness of a body of work, and, then there are those that want it all. So boxed sets more often than not are doomed to disappoint. Or become an archival geek collector's treasure that rarely gets played. But this set is the real thing. Throw any disc into your changer and you will be transported into that sweaty summery feeling of rock and roll. Energy from one song slips into the tenderness of the next, yet no one takes anything too seriously. Every Little Feat fan has a favourite album that takes them to a special place in their past. This set will transport you from that moment into countless other destinations. If you are into the rock and roll as defined by musicians like Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and NRBQ these discs will spend a lot of time churning through your speakers. And this is the real test of R and R boxed sets. They need to get played LOUD.
Get it soon. these boxed sets have a habit of disapearing.

A must have for any fan of jambands, blues-rock, folk-rock and southern fried boogie.

A wonderful retrospective of a great american band.

Lowell George was one of the finest songwriters in rock. And a great guitar player.