Customer Reviews

Last Record Album

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i guess one should write this review entirely in lowercase as per the original lp sleeve which was covered with hospital bills (ENTIRELY IN UPPERCASE) following richie hayward's near-fatal car accident.

Or maybe not. Lowercase is wearing on the writer as well as the reader. I need to say that this is one of the finest rock albums yet made -- certainly in my Top 20 -- along with their earlier DIXIE CHICKEN. Everything came together perfectly with this album, and the rock critics -- certainly here in the UK -- went ecstatic about it. It has more dimensions to it than its predecessor, FEATS DON'T FAIL ME NOW, which is a more straightforward boogie album. Keyboardsman Bill Payne had been listening to a lot of jazz prior to recording this, and it shows. 'Day or Night', which one of the reviewers here slams, is one of the best tracks on the record. The reference point for the electric piano here is Chick Corea on NO MYSTERY (another excellent CD, by the way).

George's vocals never sounded sweeter than they do here -- e.g. on 'Long Distance Love' -- but it is the instrumental strength of Feat that stuns. Barrere's guitar-playing is just so weird, it's cool. (He failed his original audition, but that was on bass!)

All the tracks are outstanding, and the original recording was excellent too, so the remasterer could do little to improve it. It was a very short LP -- not much more than 32 minutes -- and the addition of a couple of tracks from the double-LP version of WAITING FOR COLUMBUS doesn't really match the mood of the rest of the LP.

This was undoubtedly the band's finest hour. I saw them at an open-air concert at a London soccer ground in 77. Within two years, George died of a heart attack at the age of 34. A total tragedy. This is the CD to remember him by.

I have always thought of Little Feat as three different bands. Phase one was the original four man band when George was most creative. Sailin Shoes is my favorite from that era.

Phase two was the six man band that produced the group's best live music. This album is the best studio work of that era.

Phase three was what the band became without George - a collection of talented session musicians.

I prefer the early years when George was on top of his game. All that music had edge - it was different. Even the worst of it commanded attention. This album is smooth, refined, and well mixed but lacks that original phase one edge.

I would recommend this album though. It might not be Little Feat's best work but it is a close second.

I remember it like it was yesterday. Of course, it wasn't. But, when this album was released, it was supposed to mark the end of Little Feat. Of course, it didn't. This is their finest studio album as all the members really came together to form a complete unit. There's no finer slinky- Feat than "Romance Dance"; no more touching Lowell George ballad than "Long Distance Love" and no better Bill Payne tune than "Somebody's Leavin'". A must for anyone interested in fine music. Period.

Little Feat was (and still is) a band needed to be heard live to capture their best work; which is quite a statement considering the great production work the late Lowell George was capable of. This in my opinion shows the band performing at thier studio best, though songwriting on other albums may be better.

W.H. Auden said a hallmark of great artists is that they go through multiple significant career phases. Shakespeare, Beethoven, etc. But the trick if you're a rock band is that you've generally got to pull it off in six or eight years, before the drugs and the mania do you in. The Beatles, absolutely. Neil Young and the Horse, no doubt. Joni Mitchell...and, yes, Little Feat. Sailin' Shoes is incomparably fresh and crazy, Dixie Chicken both newly-funky and successfully ambitious, and The Last Record Album (in fact the last LF album before Lowell George's sad early death) is really great Rock Noir. This band is world-weary, road-weary and coked-over, but wiser and deeper in the groove for it. Dark, affecting, soulful and often just plain lovely--a fantastic record.

This is the album that helped me discover what an awesome band Little Feat is. Romance Dance, All That You Dream, Day or Night, Mercenary Territory all became live concert staples. Now, twenty-five years after this album's release, these songs remain vital to the Feat collection.

First Ignore the clowns who talk about this album suffering from the decline of Lowell. That's pure HOGWASH. I saw the Band 5 times before and after and believe me when I tell you - you could see the point at which Lowell started to decline and it was at least several years after this album came out. I saw them right after this came out and he was trim, healthy and full of energy. I think this album displayed the synergy of the ensemble more than any of their albums before and after. The rhythm section is incredibly tight and the overall timing was fantastic. Lowell's lyrics are whimsical and humorous (rhyming mercenary with territory with story) and there are no weak songs. His slide playing is mind blowing as is the keyboard playing. This is one of the three 5 star albums they produced (Dixie Chicken and Feats don't fail me now are the others) and its scary to think what they would have done if Lowell had kept it together. BUY IT!

This is it , i've looked and looked and looked all over and finally found it on CD , this is the greatest album by Little Feat and i'm so incredibly happy with this CD and the music on it i simply don't know how or what else to say other than if you also like or are looking for Little Feat music , buy this disc

I love this disc. I have always loved this disc since I originally owned the record. Maybe it's just my nostalgia. I dunno. I had a lot of good times listening to this stuff. This is a fine group of musicians playing some sophisticated grooves. I'm not going to over analyze this stuff with a bunch of adjectives, say Lowell George was this or that by 1977, critique each individual track or compare this to any of the other Feat discs because I love this recording. Plain and simple, this disc is good from start to finish. Anyone that says different is just a musical snob. Oh yeah, Richie Hayward is one of the most under appreciated drummers on the planet. This disc is a steal for the price.

I'm shocked that this album has received anything less than five stars from anyone. It's easily my favorite Feats album. Not to denigrate the other songs, but with "Long Distance Love", "One Love Stand" and, especially, "All That You Dream", the other songs could be covers of the 1910 Fruitgum Company and it would still be a great album. "All That You Dream" is not only my favorite Little Feat song, it's possibly my favorite song, period.