Customer Reviews

Rocky Mountain Jam

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

 

 

Little Feat has always been a "jam band" in the spirit of the Grateful Dead, both in terms of their loyal following and classic tracks that refuse to die. If you count the post-Lowell "new" releases, there have been 7 new studio releases, 3 career-spanning "archive" releases ("Hoy Hoy," "Ripe Tomatos" and "Hot Tomatos"), and 7 "live" releases which exclusively feature the post-Lowell band. If that's not the "Dead Template," then I don't know what it is. Not that it's a bad thing...but "Rocky Mountain Jam" is basically a "Dick's Pick" with a few tunes that haven't appeared on previous live albums. I bought it because I'm a fan of the band and will probably buy every official release. But for the uninitiated, is it their strongest effort? Of course not. Shaun Murphy takes over lead vocal duties on "One Clear Moment" from the departed Craig Fuller, but it's really a Craig song, and her delivery is a bit forced, capturing none of the original's nuances. "Rocket In My Pocket" gets a little crazy with its slide solo...good stuff. The band's never been able to pull off a "Spanish Moon" that tops Lowell's performance on "Waiting For Columbus," but God Bless 'em, they keep on trying. "Dixie Chicken" gives everyone a chance to solo and stretch out. The closer, "Feats Don't Fail Me Now," is energetic, but not the track that will make me come back to this album for repeated listenings. Four stars, not five, and the four come from the fact that every member of the band appears to be 110% into giving their all. Long live the Feat, and R.I.P. Lowell.

More live Feat. Nothing out of the ordinary, just a little twist on their usual live staples. It was nice to hear "Rocket In My Pocket" again; it's been quite a while since that was included on a live CD. "Dixie Chicken" has a little different spin to it here, but remains true to it's long, jammim' format. If you're a true Feat fan, it's worth it. If you're new to Feat, other live sets would be recommended before this one. Bottom line - hey, it's Little Feat - still one of the best jam bands to ever hit the road.

While this is no "Waiting on Columbus" this disc shows that the Feat, along with the Dead and the ABB helped create a genre. Some of the solos burn fire. Especially enjoyable is the 21 minute Dixie Chicken Jam which sounds like a Dark Star from the deep south.

Reasonable mix of old and new songs, nice long jams, not the greatest live little feat I've ever heard (that remains either "Waiting for Columbus" or the collection "Hoy Hoy") but I'm enjoining it still.