The Mighty and Magnificent Little Feat playing live in London

What's the line up ?

Peter

As per 1972-9 Little Feat (minus Lowell George of course) with Fred Tackett on guitar and Shaun Murphy on (some) vocals. I saw them last year, and 10 years ago, and 12 years ago etc!
They really smoke.

See www.littlefeat.net for detail

Everyone tells me that I should give Little Feat a listen.

What album do you guys recommend for a start ? BTW: I usually quite like live albums, though I don't know whether they were good at this.

Thanx.

Bernard

try Dixie Chicken or Sailing Shoes.

Peter

Bernard,

If you like live albums then the Feat live one "Waiting for Collumbus" is an absolute masterpiece.It is available on one CD with a couple of tracks missed out , but is at mid price c£7.99.There is also a 180gm vinyl pressing that is quite superb.All of there albums are fab but Collumbus being a sort of greatest hits live is a good place to start.There are also two live bootlegs "Aurora Backstop" and " Electric Lycanthrope" which it is believed Lowell Geporge the Feat main man actually produced for the bootleggers.I have two double album bootlegs "Live at Santa Monica Civic" and "Chinese Brejeezus" both of which I guess are from the same tour as Collumbus and feature the same band and similar track listings but with the "Feat" no two songs on two nights were ever the same!

Yep, Waiting for Colombus is rather spiffing. If you can stomach spending £40 there is the Little Feat Box set which neatly captures most of their finest moments in splendidly re-mastered sound quality. If you want top see Little Feat there is a Region 1 DVD that captures them live in Germany in 1976. I'd recommend you buy the albums mentioned above before the DVD but for the rest of us it makes a good purchase.

Ere Paul D, I hear my speakers are ready!

I used to have this but thought it was dreary compared with the studio albums. Did I miss something ?

Peter

Plenty of action on the volume control and a pair of DBLs.

In all seriousness, there are some 'noodley' moments on Waiting for Columbus but there are plenty of great tracks too. I.e for every 11 minute Dixie Chicken there is a Mercinary Territory.

The main problem with the CD is that a couple of tracks are surreptitiously cut short - e.g Spanish Moon fades out instead of Richie Hayward doing his stuff as on the LP and box-set, as well as a couple of track missing.

It was 20 years ago that I had waiting for columbus(well more or less), my system has changed. Is there a complete version available on CD, or is it always abridged compared with the original LP.

This sounds like something I could investigate at least on CD, coz I could skip the noodles.

Peter

In fact, I think only Spanish Moon is shortened. The full length version is on the CD box set and LP version. The normal CD has a couple of tracks lopped off and a shortened 'moon'. Trouble is, I really like the LP ending.

Anyway, most of the noodles on LP can be missed out by starting half way through side 3.

BTW The sound quality of Columbus is exceptional, another George Massenburg masterpiece.

BBTW There is another Little Feat live album from 1996 - Live From Neon Park, which is pretty good but has no Lowell.

On this album check out "The Fan"...

At dangerous o'clock on the volume dial of course.

Hope these guys decide to tour on this side of the pond.

John

I know they are playing the US. They're playing Texas too (Texacana (?!) and Austin) see http://www.littlefeat.net/LFTOUR.html for detail. Check out the feat web-site. I'm seeing them in Annapolis MD.

In my opinion, The Fan suffers from having the track Feats Don't Fail me Now and Cold, Cold, Cold either side of it. Crikey, what a place to be!

Thanks for the info.

I will check it out.

John

Even though I like all their records, the 1988 release "Let It Roll"(the first record after Lowell's death) is a killer record. I love every song on it!!! I've seen them live twice with the current line-up and the they opened both times with the title song "Let It Roll" as well as playing an awesome version of "Cajun Girl" from the same record. Always a great show.
(FWIW, I also consider "Let It Roll" the best recorded Little Feat album.)

Ron The Mon

P.S.
Trivia; In Frank Zappa's autobiography, he said drummer Jimmy Carl Black's nick-name for Lowell George was "Little Feet", because he had unusually tiny feet. When Lowell and Roy Estrada left the Mothers Of Invention, they changed the spelling and the rest is history.