Little Feat
Feats Don't Fail Me Now

THE REVIEW

After two consecutive masterpieces, Little Feat find themselves somewhat demoralized with this album due to their undeserved lack of chart success, even though the group remains a great live attraction and continues to enjoy the respect of industry insiders.

Despite being burdened by a lot of negative toxins, for me, this is the most electrifying work by Lowell George's group. Of course, the "deserted" ballads of the early works, that sound so tied to the dusty American provinces made of abandoned wrecks and empty bars, of siestas under the patio waiting for nothing, are no longer there. In this album, there's more cityscape, noisy trucks stuck in traffic, prostitutes in broad daylight: '70s funk forcefully enters into the band's "strings" and becomes the dominant trait, although it is interwoven with the band's classic style. The compositional level, however, remains at the highest levels, and that is what matters.

"Rock And Roll Doctor" is a dirty r&b-rock incredibly arranged, with an enveloping and rhythmic cadence and a slide that carves and embellishes; the composition is defined through a thousand evolutions, making it difficult to discern verse from chorus, and one is astonished by the genius of the writing as the not even 3-minute track already ends.

George's great quality is that of writing unpredictable tracks where the classic verse-chorus structure is thrown out the window, so much so that in a single song you can count more than one verse and more than one chorus.

"Oh Atlanta" is a vigorous piano rock'n'roll with choral and country-esque choruses; the track is more linear than the previous one, but the way of renewing and mixing two "classic" genres (country and rock'n'roll) so convincingly and entertainingly is impressive.

"Skin It Back" is a kick-ass funky-rock, a classic of the genre. The guitar-keyboard riff is so successful that it seems like a famous track even to those who don't know it.

As in the first track, George's voice is so sexy and lived-in, brushing against and expanding the familiar territories of the best Jagger, is the winning weapon of an already stratospheric group.

"Down In The Road" is a sleepy rock-ballad (with hints of various other genres) that recalls the "Sailin'Shoes" period.

The darkest funk returns with the beautiful "Spanish Moon": brass arrangements, funky clavinet, voice, and backing vocals of great personality make it a track for a '70s soundtrack.

Musical surrealism returns with "Feats Don't Fail Me Now": gospel-boogie for drunks? I wouldn't know how to define this comprehensive and swaggering piece, fluid yet skewed.

With "The Fan," the Feats get serious: they launch into a jazz-rock with prog hues with ample instrumental digressions, supported by an obsessive and powerful rhythm ... a great track, unique in the band's discography.

To wrap it up splendidly, the Feats dive into a live-in-studio medley of the classics "Cold, Cold, Cold/Tripe Face Boogie": an excellent performance and beautiful central improvisation.

In short, this record is among the best albums of the '70s in the rock-blues field and is perhaps even more relevant than the previous two.